Decisive steps

November will be a key month for dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church. For the first time since the Church of England was founded by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century, all the Catholic bishops of England and Wales will confer with their Anglican colleagues who sit in the “Bishops’ Chamber” in Parliament at a meeting in Leeds from 13 to 16 November. During the same month the leader of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, will make an official visit to the Pope. We asked Monsignor Andrew Faley, general secretary for ecumenism and inter-religious relations in the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, for his comments on these two important events. What’s the significance of the meeting in Leeds? “It’s one of brotherhood, bishops who meet other brother bishops, and this reflects the ecumenical work we pursue, the great cooperation that exists at this time, at the local level, between the two churches, the way in which the two communities are engaged in work and in the support they give to society and to citizens. The bishops will also share moments of common prayer, vespers in the Catholic tradition and matins in the Anglican tradition, then we will discuss how to step up our witness”. In a recent interview, speaking of ecumenism, Cardinal Murphy O’Connor, Catholic Primate of England and Wales, declared that dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics is frozen due to the question of the ordination of women bishops, but that the obstacles of the Reformation have been overcome. What’s your view? “I agree. A document of the ‘Iarcuum’ Commission to be published very soon establishes the common ground between the two churches and it’s clear that key theological steps have been made and unity achieved on the significance of the Eucharist, the Sacraments and the ordained ministry. But we ought not to underestimate the obstacle posed by the ordination of women bishops, a difficulty that seems insurmountable”. Do you see any way out? “I don’t see any way out. As the cardinal explained, it’s an insurmountable difficulty for the time being”. And what do you plan to do? “As always the Catholic Church will continue to give its support to the Church of England and seek dialogue, but the problem is that no centre of unity exists in the Anglican Communion. At the local level, relations between the two churches are excellent; parishes collaborate and bear witness together to the Christian faith”. Don’t the theological obstacles to dialogue impact on the work performed at the local level? “Without doubt that’s our greatest fear. With the crisis that now exists within the Anglican Communion, where many parishes don’t recognize the authority of women bishops, we have to ask ourselves how the Anglican Communion can guarantee to its own faithful the presence of God in the Eucharist and the authority of the Sacraments. However, it’s important to remember, as Cardinal Kasper said in April, that unity cannot be achieved without repairing our theological divisions. Ecumenical dialogue with the Anglican Church had always had an important place for the Catholic Church, as shown by the historic meeting between Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey forty years ago, and the road opened by that meeting will continue when the present Anglican Primate Rowan Williams meets the Pope next month”. What do you expect from this meeting? “I’ll participate in it together with Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, but the meeting between the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury will be wholly private. The two will discuss the difficulties encountered by the two communions on the road to unity and the question of authority within the Anglican Communion”. In Leeds will there be any joint declaration by Anglican and Catholic bishops? “I don’t think so. I think the meeting in Leeds will emphasise the need for minor meetings between Bishops. The Anglican and Catholic Churches have united their forces on issues of social importance such as assisted suicide or the defence of immigrants, and their united voices are more influential on the government. Cooperation between Anglicans and Catholics is very strong, but at times we forget the work done with other faiths, such as the Methodists, whose number throughout the world far exceeds that of Anglicans; important progress has been made in their relations with the Catholic Church”.