Catholics and Anglicans are trying to reach an agreement on a crucial aspect of their divergences: the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and of her Assumption into heaven. Members of the “Arcic” theological Commission which has been working for years to bring the two Churches closer together, met in September in the College of Education in Dublin. Father Don Bolen, Catholic co-secretary of Arcic and member of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, said that the members of the Commission had reached a provisional agreement for a joint declaration on the role of Mary in the life and doctrine of the Church. It seems that the drafting of a first draft has already been begun. The two dogmas are at the centre of the doctrinal divergences between the two Churches and progress in this area would be very significant for the ecumenical path towards unity. “There is a good deal of hope said Father Bolen to the weekly ‘The Catholic Herald’ in what we’ll succeed in saying”. But at least two years will be needed before the “Arcic” Commission reaches any joint declaration shared by Catholics and Anglicans.
