A wound, not a breach” “

“A moment of genuine ecumenical sadness”. That’s how. Crispian Hollis, Catholic bishop of Portsmouth, a diocese on the south coast of England, and head of the Department for mission and unity of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, defined the decision taken jointly by the Vatican and the Anglican Communion to postpone the plenary session of the International Anglican-Roman Catholicdi Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) and the task assigned to it of preparing the publication of a joint document on faith. The suspension of the work was decided during a meeting held in the Vatican on 25 November, following the consecration of a homosexual bishop in the USA (see the previous page). On this question, and on the future of ecumenical dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics, we interviewed Bishop Hollis, who served on IARCCUM for three years. Bishop Hollis, how come there’s this crisis in ecumenical dialogue? “I wouldn’t speak of crisis, but of a delay; the negotiations have been deferred. In this moment the Anglican Communion is divided between those who support the ordination of the homosexual bishop Gene Robinson and those who oppose it. So there is no representative or spokesman who can speak on behalf of all Anglicans. These wounds need to be healed so that the negotiations can continue. We Catholics continue to be in dialogue with Anglicans to improve the understanding we have of each other, but to do so we need to have a precise interlocutor. The Anglican Primate Rowan Williams is working hard to preserve unity. We support him in this work, in the hope that Anglicans may achieve full and visible unity”. How are you supporting him? “By maintaining contacts with the Anglican bishops and closely collaborating with them. In my diocese, at Portsmouth, in the south of England, there are four Anglican bishops. I regularly speak with them and we mutually understand and support each other; we’re friends”. What are the most serious difficulties in pursuing dialogue? “The issues on which we fail to find an agreement are the ordination of women priests or bishops and moral choices that we cannot share, such as abortion and contraception, and then there’s the serious problem of the role of the Bishop of Rome and authority inside the church. I don’t think, however, that the divergences are of substance. I don’t believe, in other words, that we truly believe in different things: I think, rather, than we have different points of view. In recent years dialogue has continued to progress. Its not a static, but a very dynamic process”. What is the most important progress you have made? “In England – I can speak only of England because I have been involved in dialogue here – Anglicans and Catholics have made progress on the issue of the Eucharist, on the priestly ministry and on the role of authority. The two Churches have given proof of mutual love and good will”. When will be the next meeting? “In February, in Seattle the IARCCUM dialogue will continue not in plenary sessions but in the form of sub-groups”.