ECUMENISM
“We recognise the importance of working together to present a shared witness to our society, and acknowledge the importance of working with other denominations, and with those of other faiths to take forward the common good in society”, declares the joint statement of the Catholic Primate of England and Wales Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and the leader of the Anglican Communion Rowan Williams who both participated in the historic meeting between the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Church of England House of Bishops at Leeds. The meeting, the first of its kind since the Reformation with which Henry VIII divorced the Church of England from Rome, ended on 15 November. “This meeting is a significant sign of our mutual commitment to dialogue and joint witness based on our common faith. It underlines our responsibility to work together as partners in mission and service to the people of our country. The mission given to us by Christ obliges and compels us to engage more deeply and widely in this partnership in mission, grounded in dialogue and shared prayer”, add the two Primates, recognizing that, although the Christian faith of the two Churches “is rooted in our common baptism”, “our communion remains imperfect”. “Our enthusiasm for dialogue – the statement continues – means that we must be honest in addressing the issues on which we disagree. This is possible when we hold to the Gospel. We trust in the Holy Spirit to inspire our pilgrimage to unity and common mission”. Held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the visit of the then Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey to Paul VI – during which Montini gave his pastoral ring to Ramsey, who was visibly moved – the meeting forms part of the process envisaged by the IARCCUM commission for dialogue. Despite considerable progress, a number of obstacles remain, such as the ordination of women bishops, homosexual pastors and gay unions, but these do not prevent the two churches from having excellent relations at the local level. Next year another document is expected from IARCCUM, which prepared the meeting in Leeds. Another ecumenical event will be the visit of Rowan Williams to Benedict XVI on 23 November. Williams will be accompanied by his wife Jane, by Archbishop Peter Carnley, co-chairman of the commission for inter-religious dialogue ARCIC, by Bishop David Beetge, co-chairman of IARCCUM and by Bishop John Flack, the archbishop’s representative to the Holy See.
