Clarifications regarding the front page article
in The Times, 19 February 2007,
on Anglican - Roman Catholic relations
by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission
for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM)
from
Archbishop John Bathersby, Catholic Co-chair of IARCCUM
and
Bishop David Beetge, Anglican Co-chair of IARCCUM
[February 19, 2007] Growing Together in Unity and Mission is being published as
an agreed statement of IARCCUM (the International Anglican - Roman Catholic
Commission for Unity and Mission), and is to be published
under the Commission's authority, not as an official statement of
the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. It is being put forward
to foster discussion and reflection, as the statement clearly states.
The statement was recently completed by IARCCUM, and is scheduled to
be published by the Commission as soon as a Catholic commentary to accompany
the document has been completed; an Anglican commentary has already been
prepared for publication. The text was made available to the Joint Standing
Committee of the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Council and to
the Anglican Primates, currently meeting in Tanzania. The Primates were
also presented with a copy of the agreed statement of the International
Commission of the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue, entitled The
Church of the Triune God. Through these two texts, Anglican leaders
were able to look at the recent results of important international dialogues
with which the Anglican Communion is currently engaged. Both of these texts
address the theology of the Church, and given that the Anglican Primates
are currently discussing the nature of the Church, it was felt that the
dialogue documents had something to contribute to those discussions.
Growing Together in Unity and Mission has not yet been officially
published. It is unfortunate that its contents have been prematurely
reported in a way which misrepresents its intentions and sensationalises
its conclusions. The first part of the document, which treats doctrinal
matters, is an attempt to synthesize the work of ARCIC (the Anglican -
Roman Catholic International Commission) over the past 35 years. It identifies
the level of agreement which has been reached by ARCIC, but is also very
clear in identifying ongoing areas of disagreement, and in raising questions
which still need to be addressed in dialogue. Those ongoing questions and
areas of disagreement are highlighted in boxed sections interspersed throughout
the text. It is a very honest document assessing the state of Anglican
- Roman Catholic relations at the present moment.
Both the heading of the article ('Churches back plan to unite under
Pope') and its opening sentence, which speaks of 'radical proposals
to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership
of the Pope' need to be put into proper perspective. For 35
years this dialogue has addressed questions of authority, including the
papacy. The so-called 'radical proposals' found in Growing Together
in Unity and Mission are the same proposals which ARCIC has been putting
forward over the past 35 years. What this document says about the Petrine
Ministry is not new, but a synthesis of what is said in ARCIC's documents
on authority (Authority in the Church I, 1976; Authority in
the Church II, 1981; The Gift of Authority, 1999). While
it is encouraging that a document of this kind can be produced and that
practical day to day cooperation between Catholics and Anglicans can be
strengthened, talk of plans to reunite the two communions is, sadly, much
exaggerated.
The second part of the document sets forward proposals for concrete
initiatives, identifying aspects of common mission, common study, common
prayer which are for the most part already permitted according to authoritative
sources of the Catholic Church and the provinces of the Anglican Communion.
Most of these proposals aren't new, and some of them have been implemented
for decades in some places. The document draws together a series of proposals
which IARCCUM's members believe are possible in the present context
given the degree of faith we share. But it also says that local bishops
in each part of the world will need to discern what is appropriate locally,
given that the context and dynamics of relationships between Anglicans
and Roman Catholics differ widely across the world.
The Times article speculates about the Catholic Church's
response to a possible schism within the Anglican Communion. It should
be pointed out that the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
has consistently spoken of the value of the Anglican Communion remaining
a communion, rooted in the Apostolic faith, as indicated in this statement
from 2004: “It is our overwhelming desire that the Anglican Communion
stays together, rooted in the historic faith which our dialogue and relations
over four decades have led us to believe that we share to a large degree.” During
the visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury to Pope Benedict in November,
2006, the Holy Father noted: “It is our fervent hope that the Anglican
Communion will remain grounded in the Gospels and the Apostolic Tradition
which form our common patrimony and are the basis of our common aspiration
to work for full visible unity.”
We hope that when published, Growing Together in Unity and Mission invites
a good deal of discussion, and that it will be a helpful instrument on
the long journey towards full communion which has been the stated goal
of Anglican - Roman Catholic relations for the past 40 years.
ENDS