The meeting of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), jointly set up by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and by the Office of the Anglican Communion, is now being held in Malta (19 to 23 November). The Commission aims to complete the activity of ARCIC (Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission). Analysis of the relations between Catholics and Anglicans throughout the world; consolidation of the results of over thirty years’ contact and ecumenical dialogue and the formulation of guidelines for the future: these are the tasks of the bishops who form the majority of IARCCUM. The Commission derives its origins from the joint Declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, issued in 1996, and the subsequent international meeting of Anglican and Catholic bishops, held in Canada in May 2000, in which the hope was expressed that a new commission would be established, responsible for relations between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Church. The first meeting organized by the new Commission was held in November 2001. The primary objectives identified by the Commission at the time it was set up include: examination of whether it is possible to prepare a joint declaration in which the degree of existing accord between Anglicans and Catholics may be formally expressed; analysis of the ways in which IARCCUM may guide and promote the study and reception of declarations agreed between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church within ARCIC; and the search for strategies aimed at translating into practical and visible signs the degree of spiritual communion achieved. During the plenary meeting now being held in Malta, the second since the establishment of the Commission, the situation regarding the realization of these aims will be reviewed. The members of IARCCUM have expressed their conviction that, “by enabling a spirit of dialogue and cooperation to pervade their relations, Anglicans and Catholics will offer to the world a potent example of how, guided by the Spirit, it is possible to overcome differences”.
