God knows where the women bishops vote leaves Anglican-Catholic relations - Mgr Mark Langham, The Tablet - Blogs

15 July 2014 by Mgr Mark Langham            

The vote by the Church of England to ordain women as bishops changes nothing in its official relations with the Catholic Church. And yet it changes a great deal. It is to be noted that the decision in England only confirms a reality that has existed in worldwide Anglicanism since 1989. The Anglican–Roman Catholic dialogue has been dealing with the reality of women clerics since the 1970s, (early ordinations took place in Asia, North America and New Zealand) and so this decision in one part of the Anglican Communion changes little; indeed, a woman bishop from Canada, Linda Nicholls, is a member of the current Anglican-Catholic dialogue commission, ARCIC III.

But ecumenical relations are not just about cold theological facts. Progress in dialogue is built also on personal co-operation, on feeling comfortable in each other’s presence. And here the decision does create a problem. Anglicans can be frustrated by Rome’s concentration on what happens at Canterbury (or, in this case, York). In 1989, the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, noted this fixation, suggesting that Rome had ignored “ the actual existence of women priests in the United States for a number of years … We have never tried to hide this.”

Yet among most Anglicans, the Church of England does have a sentimental position as “mother Church”, and the Archbishop of Canterbury is the “first among equals”. If anyone is a spokesman for Anglicanism, it is he, and accordingly Rome is right to take notice of developments in Anglicanism as they occur in the Church of England. The discussions leading to the 1992 vote for women priests occasioned a particularly frank exchange between Pope and Archbishop, and it was to a gathering of Church of England bishops in 2008 that the then-head of the Vatican’s ecumenical office, Cardinal Walter Kasper, gave his dire warning that the ordination of women would move Anglicanism away from Catholic orthodoxy and closer to the continental Reformed Churches.

Thus, this is a critical moment for ecumenical dialogue. Anglicans do not seem always to realise how difficult such a move is for Catholics. In 2009 Archbishop Rowan Williams tried to suggest that the ordination of women as priests is a “second-order issue” of mere canonical or juridical significance. ARCIC had previously argued that the question of the ordination of women is of a “different kind” to more serious theological issues. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith gave short shrift to these notions, asserting that the ordination of women is a doctrinal issue, intrinsic to the theology of priesthood.

Thus, it is true to say that hope of union has receded. There is no mid-point now between having women bishops and not having them. From speaking of unity, realistically dialogue now considers how two traditions, one of which ordains women bishops and one which does not, co-exist. The rug has been pulled from under those who longed for unity within the foreseeable future.

Yet ecumenists are upbeat; they have come too far, and weathered too many disappointments, not to continue to have faith in the movement. Ecumenism, they point out, is not a human construct, but a divine imperative. Wonders have happened; the Holy Spirit is not discouraged. At a time when, institutionally, we seem far away apart, faith in God’s will for unity has to be stronger than ever.

Mgr Mark Langham is Catholic chaplain to the University of Cambridge and was previously co-secretary to ARCIC III and an official at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
Source: The Tablet - Blogs, with grateful acknowledgement
And see The Tablet's report on the General Synod's decision and the ecumenical implications here.

Could the Archbishop and the Pope really reunify the Church? - Paul Vallely in The Independent

Paul Vallely in The Independent, 21st June 2014

Something significant happened in Rome this week [15th June 2014] when the Archbishop of Canterbury met the Pope for the second time since the two men took office, within days of one another, just over a year ago.

They have agreed a joint project to use the worldwide reach of their churches to combat the global trade in human trafficking. They discussed how to pressurise 50 top multi-national companies to render their supply chains free of forced labour by 2020 – and ensure they “slavery proof” the investments and purchasing of their own churches. There were other areas of practical co-operation, including peace-building in areas like South Sudan. As he left Rome, Archbishop Justin Welby hinted that other new initiatives had been discussed.

But what was also striking was the renewed commitment the two men made to the idea that their two churches should merge. Pope Francis said that “the goal of full unity… remains the aim which should direct our every step along the way”.

This is a process which many assumed had stalled. The decision by the Church of England to ordain women in 1992 caused a theological rift between Canterbury and Rome. The ordination in the wider Anglican communion of openly gay bishops, like Gene Robinson in 2003, created another obstacle. And next month the General Synod is likely to vote for women bishops – something Rome sees as a greater theological problem even than female priests.

Yet in the background heavyweight theological discussions, on what unites rather than divides the two churches, have been continuing. One of the purposes of Archbishop Welby’s visit to Rome was to launch a new website (www.iarccum.org) dedicated to implementing better ecumenical relations.
Such a small step is a far cry from the early heady days of ecumenism when it was widely assumed that unity was just a few years away.

Things had moved swiftly after the meeting by Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher and Pope John XXIII in 1960 – the first time an Archbishop of Canterbury had visited to the Vatican for 600 years. Pope John asked when the Anglicans would return to the Catholic fold. Archbishop Fisher replied: “It is not a question of returning, but going forward together.” His words became the model for a new relationship which was affirmed when John XXIII’s revolutionary Second Vatican Council (1962-65) recognised the validity of baptism by other Christian denominations.

In a gesture of massive significance, in 1966, Pope Paul VI gave an episcopal ring to Archbishop Michael Ramsey – which Archbishop Welby wore this week on his visit to Rome. A year later an Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) began unity talks. By clarifying old misunderstandings and embracing new scholarship it resolved many of the divisions which had bedevilled the two churches since the Reformation.

Much of ARCIC’s work is safely banked. When Rome’s top ecumenist, Cardinal Walter Kasper, called a meeting of Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Reformed churches in 2010 it found, one insider said, “not one single area of theology in which we do not have some measure of agreement”. This was not just a clever repackaging of old disputes. It is a real growth in understanding.

But until recently ARCIC had hit the buffers. When Rome took an extraordinary 10 years to respond to one key ARCIC agreement many Anglicans lost patience and went ahead with the ordination of women and more liberal attitudes to gays.

In response the Vatican pulled the plug on the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM). Pope Benedict XVI’s unilateral decision in 2009 to set up an Anglican Ordinariate to poach dissident Anglicans to Rome caused further resentment.

Yet things have clearly begun to change. Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby have similar visions. Both are no-nonsense characters with a “sleeves rolled up” approach to making change happen. Yet both see theological union as crucial. They have no patience with the “let’s agree to disagree on theology and just open a food bank together” approach.

In Rome Archbishop Welby – who despite his evangelical background, has a Benedictine spiritual director and has invited a French Catholic religious community, Chemin Neuf, to live in his home in Lambeth Palace – said that Anglicans and Catholics had to “get away from being quite comfortable with the fact we live separately”. Without theology, he said, the churches will become “just another NGO with a lot of old buildings”.

The renewed talk of unity is more than a pious aspiration. A third round of ARCIC talks has had meetings so far in Bose, Hong Kong, Rio and Durban. They have shifted the focus away from what divides the two churches to “receptive ecumenism” – what each side has to learn from the other.

At the heart of their discussions is how the two Communions go about making decisions. There are huge contrasts: Catholicism is heavily centralised whereas in Anglicanism authority is dispersed between many churches in many nations. Division is part of the Protestant DNA. And Anglicans are more divided among themselves now than ever before.

But Pope Francis clearly wants to change the governance of the Catholic Church so it is less like a mediaeval monarchy and more open to the wisdom and insights of all its members.
Given the practical difficulties posed by issues of gender and sexuality it is hard to see what unity between Catholics and Anglicans might look like – certainly not uniformity. But if the intellectual difficulties are greater now than 50 years ago, emotionally the two churches are closer than at any time since the reign of Henry VIII.

Archbishop Welby this week presented Pope Francis with a cutting from the giant fig tree planted in Lambeth Palace by the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, Reginald Pole (1500-1558). What fruit it will bear, and when, is hard to predict. But hope is a theological virtue. For the past five decades the two churches have been moving on parallel lines. It feels as though, at last, those lines may be once more converging.

Paul Vallely is the author of ‘Pope Francis – ‘Untying the Knots’ 21/6/14

© The Independent Photo - Osservatore Romano

Source: Anglican Centre in Rome

Two traditions, one holy ground - The Tablet

19 June 2014 by Christopher Lamb                                  

After his visit to Rome, the Archbishop of Canterbury tells  Christopher Lamb where he finds the most important points of unity between the Catholic and Anglican Churches




One is an Argentine son of Italian immigrants, the other an Old Etonian whose mother worked for Sir Winston Churchill.

Yet despite coming from opposite ends of the earth – both literally and metaphorically –  Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury have some uncanny similarities.

The two leaders of Christianity’s largest global communions were both considered outsiders when chosen for their roles, both took up their positions within a week of each other and both are renowned for their no-nonsense, down-to-earth style.

If their immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and Lord Williams of Oystermouth, had a love of the early Church Fathers in common, with Lord Williams able to read Benedict’s theology in the original German, Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby have decided to roll up their sleeves and put the Gospel into action.

During his two-day visit to Rome on Sunday and Monday, the archbishop’s jam-packed itinerary certainly chimed with Pope Francis’ call for pastors to be familiar with the “smell of the sheep”.

This included going to a street shelter project run by the community of Sant’Egidio, meeting a victim of human trafficking and a trip to a refugee project at the Anglican church, St Paul’s-Within-the-Walls.

Combating human trafficking was a major theme of the visit and one of the first items on Archbishop Welby’s agenda was a meeting with the Global Freedom Network at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The initiative, founded by the Australian philanthropist Andrew Forrest, hopes to eradicate modern- day slavery by 2020.

But does this focus on joint action now take precedence over the two Churches seeking full, ecclesial unity by solving doctrinal disagreements?

“No,” the archbishop says when we meet at the “ceremoniale” in Rome’s Fiumicino airport, the executive lounge for visiting dignitaries, before he catches his plane back to London.

“I think we’re layering one thing on top of the other. There’s a very good theological foundation and there’s now joint action around what the Holy Father described as the three Ps: prayer, peace and poverty.”

He describes his meeting with the Pope, which included a 40-minute private discussion with just a translator present besides the two church leaders, as “a real engagement of love and not just a business connection”.

The archbishop is wearing the episcopal ring of Pope Paul VI given to Archbishop Michael Ramsey following their meeting in 1966 and which is now worn by Archbishops of Canterbury when they come to Rome. As someone who loves history, Archbishop Welby looks back and points to a “renewal in the relationship” between Catholics and Anglicans that started more than 50 years ago with the 1960 meeting between Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher and Pope, now Saint, John XXIII.

A few years later the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (Arcic) was established whose work Archbishop Welby enthusiastically describes as a “profound theological exploration” that has made “huge progress”. This dialogue has sought to overcome differences between the communions but hit the buffers due to the ordination of women bishops and different approaches to homosexuality. Relations were further strained by the creation of personal ordinariates for groups of Anglicans who wanted to become Roman Catholics, a move about which Lord Williams expressed concern to Pope Benedict XVI. Nevertheless, in 2011, a new phase of Arcic began. 

At a reception at the Anglican Centre in Rome on Sunday night, Archbishop Welby launched a new online resource for relations between the Churches, www.iarccum.org, which stands for the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (Iarccum, founded in 2000) that works alongside Arcic.

The impression, however, is that the archbishop’s passion is for action rather than theological dialogue. Like Pope Francis, and unlike his predecessor Lord Williams, Archbishop Welby is not a professional theologian. (He spent years working in the oil industry before becoming a late entrant to the priesthood; Pope Francis was the Jesuit provincial in Argentina before being appointed a bishop more than a decade later.) And at the launch of the website when speeches explaining the work of Arcic and Iarccum went on over their allotted time, the archbishop moved to wrap up proceedings pointing out to the gathering that it had been a very long day.

When it comes to resolving differences between Anglicans and Catholics, Archbishop Welby is realistic. Next month at the General Synod, the Church of England is likely to vote for legislation allowing women bishops, already permitted in other parts of the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Brian Farrell, the secretary at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said in an interview earlier this year that such a move “weakens” the special relationship that exists between Anglicans and Catholics. Archbishop Welby acknowledges the problem.

“I am very conscious that this is something we have to deal with,” the archbishop tells me. “This is a difficulty but a difficulty that we can handle in the context of a good relationship rather than a pit into which we [are likely to] fall.”
His meeting with the Pope on Monday was the second they have had within 18 months and was described by the archbishop as “very, very honest”.

“The discussion was much more transparent, real about the issues we face, honest about where we go with them.”




Read full article here: The Tablet - 21 June 2014

Pope to Anglican Primate: Our division is nothing less than a scandal and burden

2014-06-16 - Rome Reports


"It's always good to see you.”
For the second time, Pope Francis welcomed the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

"It's an exceptional pleasure to see you again.”
The archbishop was in Rome on a three-day tour. It included a review of the progress made by the Global Freedom Network, a joint Catholic-Anglican project to counter human trafficking. It's been one of the areas of greatest cooperation between the two Churches. Archbishop Welby introduced his delegation, which included two female priests.


In his address to the Pope (see below), the Anglican leader expressed his desire to achieve full communion between the two Churches. He also praised their cooperation to promote peace and reconciliation.

MOST REV. JUSTIN WELBY, Archbishop of Canterbury: "I marvel at the way God guides frail human vessels to be bearers of the message of salvation, leaving us a legacy across hundreds of years, to which we in our time are called to be faithful. We also know that from the start, as for so many at this time, this has been a witness unto death.”

For his part, during his speech (at the foot of this post), Pope Francis asked the archbishop not to forget the three P's: prayer, peace and poverty, for which they must walk together, he added. The Pope also talked about their shared history, which includes not only, cooperation, but also division.

POPE FRANCIS: "We cannot claim that our division is anything less than a scandal and an obstacle to our proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the world. Our vision is often blurred by the cumulative burden of our divisions and our will is not always free of that human ambition which can accompany even our desire to preach the Gospel as the Lord commanded.”

They followed their speeches with the traditional gift exchange. The archbishop's gifts were loaded with meaning. The first was a branch from a fig tree with historic roots.

"It comes from a fig tree planted by Cardinal Pole, the last Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury in 1556, which is inside Lambeth Palace. That tree came from the Holy Land.”

PF: Let's hope that they're sweet.
JW: Oh they are. They're very good. They need sunshine.

His second gift was the copy of a register belonging to Card. Pole, as well as a book on the Lambeth Palace Library. Meanwhile, Pope Francis also gave the archbishop a book, but in a much larger scale.

"This is the book with all the papal medallions from all of the buildings in the Vatican.”

After they exchanged gifts, the two leaders walked by side, inside a chapel at the Apostolic Palace. They prayed in silence for a few minutes before an image of Baby Jesus.

Source: Pope to Anglican Primate: Our division is nothing less than a scandal and burden


Address of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to Pope Francis at their 16 June 2014 meeting at the Vatican

Your Holiness, Dear Friends,

My heart is full of gratitude to God, that I have the privilege and pleasure of addressing you once again in this city of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. I marvel at the way God guides frail human vessels to be bearers of the message of salvation, leaving us a legacy across hundreds of years, to which we in our time are called to be faithful. We also know that from the start, as for so many at this time, this has been a witness unto death. I was moved to be in Santa Bartolomeo where amongst many recent martyrs, the seven members of the Anglican religious order the Melanesian brotherhood are commemorated.

Your Holiness much has happened in the year since I first received your gracious hospitality here. I am grateful for the progress that has been made through the generous support of many, to draw to the attention of the world to the evils of Modern Slavery and Human trafficking. The Global Freedom Network can achieve much practically to dismantle what you have so often rightly said is a grave crime against humanity. It is a crime that we all need to overcome as a matter of urgency, as a matter of human dignity, freedom and wholeness of life. May God give us the resolve and cooperation we need together.

With so many around the world I am profoundly grateful for your remarkable witness of care for the poor and suffering of the world, for your passion for reconciliation, as witnessed so recently in your visit to the Holy Land. 

Calling the faithful to pray for peace and reconciliation and doing that publicly is a witness to the power of prayer, one that I have sought to imitate. Such prayers are urgent and vital in so many countries. I especially hope and pray that our collaboration may lead to effective challenge to the unspeakable disaster of wars and civil conflict. In recent months I have travelled with my wife to many of them, into the heart of the areas of war, and the memory of the dead lying unburied and the suffering of the survivors is imprinted on our hearts. What more could be done by our churches together to challenge the resort to war and offer the dream of peace?

Your Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium was inspirational for all Christians. The task of making disciples is of compelling urgency so that the light of Christ may shine into every corner of the world. I have personal reasons for gratitude for the work of the Alpha Course of evangelism, so it is significant for me that it has found a place in the Catholic Church, especially in Latin America. We continue to develop many other means of evangelism, most recently in the Pilgrim Course, pray that we may continue to learn from one another about the joyful task of leading people to know Jesus Christ.

As we remember the precious spiritual heritage that is common to us both. I pray for the continuing work of the members of the official groups who conduct our ecumenical conversations.


Remembering always the desire of Our Lord that “all may be one”, we remain deeply committed to this work. I realise that that there are matters of deep significance that separate us. Yet looking back, we see that the Grace of God has led so much to happen. In November this year be it will be 50 years since the decree on ecumenism, Unitatis Redintigradio, was promulged by your predecessor Blessed Pope Paul VI, and it is right that I should pay tribute to the work of the Holy See through the PCPCU through these fifty years towards the goal of full visible unity. In 2016 we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Archbishop Ramsey's historic visit, commemorated in the ring given him by Pope Paul VI.

Your Holiness when we first met, I expressed the hope that we might find ways to strengthen what we share, and that we might seek opportunities as pastors of the Christian family to pray, act and speak together. I am glad that there have been opportunities as well for me and His Eminence Cardinal Vincent Nichols to do just that. I have found much encouragement in this. A further sign of this joyful intention is the establishment of the Chemin Neuf Community at Lambeth Palace. This religious Order with an ecumenical charism founded by Fr Laurent Fabre, is a daily sign of hope to us in our spiritual life of what we can share spiritually. Last Wednesday I saw again Jean Vanier, and we prayed together. What a gift he is to the whole of the poor of the earth.

Please be assured, Your Holiness, of the continuing respect and affection of the Anglican Communion, and the assurance of our prayers as we seek with you to serve the call of Christ to maturity in faith, and to do so full of joy in service.

I’d like to end with a prayer for the Global Freedom Network in its struggle to persevere against modern slavery and human trafficking: that the Church has the freedom and courage to witness to and to serve the cause for peace, together, globally. Amen.





Pope's Address to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

"The goal of full unity may seem distant indeed, yet it remains the aim which should direct our every step along the way"
The Vatican translation of the Pope's address to Archbishop Justin Welby of the Anglican Community 16 June 2014 at the Vatican:

Your Grace,
Cardinal Nichols,
Cardinal Koch,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" (Ps 133:1). Once again we meet, Your Grace, as co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard and fellow pilgrims on the path to his Kingdom. I welcome you and the distinguished members of your delegation, and I pray that today’s meeting will serve to strengthen further our bonds of friendship and our commitment to the great cause of reconciliation and communion between Christian believers.

The Lord’s question – "What were you arguing about on the way?" (Mk 9:33) – might also apply to us. When Jesus put this question to his disciples they were silent; they were ashamed, for they had been arguing about who was the greatest among them. We too feel ashamed when we ponder the distance between the Lord’s call and our meagre response. Beneath his merciful gaze, we cannot claim that our division is anything less than a scandal and an obstacle to our proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to the world. Our vision is often blurred by the cumulative burden of our divisions and our will is not always free of that human ambition which can accompany even our desire to preach the Gospel as the Lord commanded (cf. Mt 28:19).

The goal of full unity may seem distant indeed, yet it remains the aim which should direct our every step along the way. I find a source of encouragement in the plea of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism that we should advance in our relationship and cooperation by placing no obstacle to the ways of divine providence and by not prejudicing future promptings of the Holy Spirit (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio, 24). Our progress towards full communion will not be the fruit of human actions alone, but a free gift of God. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength not to grow disheartened and he invites us to trust fully in the power of his works.

As disciples who strive to follow the Lord, we realize that the faith has come to us through many witnesses. We are indebted to great saints, teachers and communities; they have handed down the faith over the ages and they bear witness to our common roots. Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Your Grace celebrated Vespers in the Church of San Gregorio al Celio, from which Pope Gregory the Great sent forth Augustine and his monastic companions to evangelize the peoples of England, thus inaugurating a history of faith and holiness which in turn enriched many other European peoples. This glorious history has profoundly shaped institutions and ecclesial traditions which we share and which serve as a solid basis for our fraternal relations.

On this basis, then, let us look with confidence to the future. The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission represent especially significant forums for examining, in a constructive spirit, older and newer challenges to our ecumenical engagement.

At our first meeting, Your Grace and I discussed our shared concerns and our pain before a number of grave evils afflicting our human family. In particular, we shared our horror in the face of the scourge of human trafficking and forms of modern-day slavery. I thank you for the leadership you have shown in opposing these intolerable crimes against human dignity.

In attempting to respond to this urgent need, notable collaborative efforts have been initiated on the ecumenical level and in cooperation with civil authorities and international organizations. Many charitable initiatives have been undertaken by our communities, and they are operating with generosity and courage in various parts of the world. I think in particular of the action network against the trafficking in women set up by a number of women’s religious institutes. Let us persevere in our commitment to combat new forms of enslavement, in the hope that we can help provide relief to victims and oppose this deplorable trade. I thank God that, as disciples sent to heal a wounded world, we stand together, with perseverance and determination, in opposing this grave evil.

(Pope Francesco): Don’t forget the three p's:
(H.G. Welby): Three p's?…
(Pope Francesco): Prayer, peace and poverty. We must walk together.
(H.G. Welby): We must walk together.

Your Grace, I thank you once more for your visit. I ask the Lord to shower his blessings on your ministry and to sustain you and your loved ones in joy and peace. Amen.

Anglican leader comes to Vatican, launches IARCCUM website Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio, 14 June 2014) The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby arrives in Rome on Saturday for a two day visit that will culminate on Monday in a meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. On Sunday the Anglican leader will preach at Vespers at the church of St Gregory on the Caelian Hill, visit the two Anglican churches here in Rome and take part in a prayer service with the St Egidio community at St Bartholomew’s on the Tiber Island. During his packed programme, the Archbishop will also launch a new website for the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), showcasing ways in which members of the two communions are increasingly worshipping, working and witnessing side by side.

To find out more, Philippa Hitchen spoke with Canadian bishop Donald Bolen, co-chair of IARCCUM and Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, director of Unity, Faith and Order at the Anglican Communion office in London and co-secretary of IARCCUM…

Listen:





Bolen: The website is meant to be a resource centre on-line for anyone interested in Anglican-Roman Catholic relations, from parishes looking for best practises, to researchers looking into the archives of Anglican-Catholic dialogue, to anyone following the news who might be interested in more information – for example about the visit of the ABC to Pope Francis.

Q: It’s a real scholars’ paradise of documents relating back to the beginning of the dialogue in the 1960s?

Yes, the coordinators of Anglican-Roman Catholic relations passed the guidelines that once material is over 30 years old it could be made available to the public, so there’s a wide range of archive materials up to the early 1980s, but there’s also newer material that will be of interest to many people…..

It’s also got a small photo galley that we hope can become much bigger – our hope is that people working on Anglican-Roman Catholic relations in different part so the world will send in resources, best practises, covenants, photographs, videos, which will give other people encouragement and ideas about how to foster relations in their area.

Q: IARCCUM itself is all about encouraging best practises, isn’t it?

Yes indeed, IARCCUM is really called to address the gap between what we could do and share together in terms of common witness, common mission, common prayer, common study, and what we actually do – which is very little. So the idea of best practises, which are all fully acceptable to our churches but which would give inspiration or ideas to others, is one of the purposes of the website….

In New Zealand the local Anglican and Catholic bishops have come up with joint liturgies for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Advent, that’s a practise which would be quite easy to emulate.

Q: There’s also the question of covenants you mentioned?

I was involved in the preparation of one of those covenants in southern Saskatchewan in western Canada, so that will be on the website and I think would be a good model for other diocese who would be interested in entering into a deeper relationship with their Anglican counterparts…..it identifies many of the things which are held in common and have been worked through in our dialogues, it identifies common concerns and then sets out some practical steps…. for instance from praying in each other’s cathedral together once a year, working together with First Nation people or some other justice issues, to joint formation on everything from altar servers, to sharing of ideas about stewardship and a wide range of ideas where it’s responsible for us to work together.

Alyson Barnett-Cowan, what can you do to spread this kind of work?

Barnett-Cowan: One of the strategies we have is to try and identify pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops in every country of the world who’ll be champions for the work of putting Anglican-Roman Catholic initiatives together – they’ll be the lead people in promoting this, but we hope that word about the website will spread, that the stories on our Communion news services and the work of Vatican Radio will all penetrate to parts of the world which don’t have perhaps have formally established dialogues.

Q: How does IARCCUM hope to move forward when there are still theological issues still causing obstacles?

The theological stumbling blocks are still there but that’s no reason for us to stop trying to do as much as we possibly can together. Often when you’re trying to solve a theological dilemma, it looms large as the only thing to think about, but the shared faith we have is far larger than the few things that divide us.

Q: You were meeting most recently with ARCIC in South Africa – what can you share from that encounter?

It was a very exciting venue to be in – we met in a leadership development centre where Anglicans, Catholics and Methodists are together working on leadership development with young south Africans, often in situations of poverty. Then we went to a number of projects, an HIV-AIDS cooperative, a women’s collective and places where the churches in Diakonia are equipping the people to be self-supporting – it’s really important for ARCIC to be aware that the Diakonia work of the church is, in many ways, more important than the theological conversations, since it actually changes lives of people directly.

Anglican leader comes to Vatican, launches IARCCUM website Vatican Radio

Anglican Centre in Rome : York Weekend on ARCIC III - October 11 + 12, 2014

Organised by the Friends of the Anglican Centre, Rome

SATURDAY 11TH OCTOBER – 11am – 4pm at Clements Hall

York Open Meeting The Synod of Whitby (664AD) : The Church Universal and Local – ARCIC III

• Dr Clare Stancliffe, Honorary Reader in Ecclesiastical History at Durham University with a research interest in Christianity in Northumbria to 800
• Father Henry Wansbrough, Emeritus Member of the Faculty of Theology at Oxford, a Benedictine monk at Ampleforth Abbey and a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III).

Lunch provided – cost £20 per head (£10 for those in full time education)

SUNDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2014

Pilgrimage to Whitby, Lastingham and Rosedale

A short pilgrimage following on from the Open Meeting, to embrace some of the significant Christian sites in North Yorkshire. Overnight at Sneaton Castle, Whitby. £32.60 a head for B & B, plus £13 for a 2 course evening meal on arrival

Further details for both Saturday and Sunday from:

Canon David Goodacre - david.goodacre29@sky.com

The Rt Revd Edward Holland - ed.holland@uwclub.net

The Revd Bill Snelson, Development Officer – development@anglicancentre.it (01423 862660)

Whole York Weekend

Download full information

Download booking form

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Book by email here, and pay using the Donate button on the Anglican Centre site here:

Anglican Centre in Rome : York Weekend - October 11 + 12, 2014

Pontifical Council for Unity: Relations with the Anglican Communion in 2012, by Mgr Mark Langham

From the Osservatore Romano, in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 18-25 January 2012 http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20130118_reflection-langham_en.html Internal Developments This year has witnessed a continuing climate of dissent within the Anglican Communion, with ethical questions concerning the episcopal ordination of active homosexuals creating serious tensions between different Anglican provinces, and presenting a major problem for ecumenical relations with the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the move in the Church of England towards ordaining women bishops, while not a new development on the scale of the worldwide Anglican communion, has further entrenched an intractable church-dividing issue. Nevertheless, there are also indications that the co-operation between Anglicans and Catholics continues at many levels, and two successful visits to Rome by the Archbishop of Canterbury underlined the close relations between the two communions. Worldwide Anglicanism continues to be dominated by damaging ethical disagreements between provinces. In North America, conservative dioceses continue to secede from The Episcopalian Church, while there appear to be serious problems over the progress of the Anglican Communion Covenant, with the Church of England itself voting not to accept it. As ever, Anglicanism in general, and the Archbishop of Canterbury in particular, face the dilemma of maintaining some sense of identity in an increasingly diverse worldwide Communion, while remaining deeply averse to any centralised authority. The Anglican Covenant, to which the Archbishop of Canterbury has given his personal support, his been widely criticised as too authoritarian and "un-Anglican". At the meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Auckland, New Zealand, in October, much time was given to the Covenant, and it was clear that the structures of doctrinal limitation it implies are unpopular with the majority of Provinces. At present, it is hard to see that the Covenant will gain communion-wide approval, and since adherence to it was to determine participation in ecumenical dialogues, the consequences for Anglican – Catholic relations remain unclear. In the Church of England, meanwhile, the failure of General Synod to pass legislation permitting the ordination of women to the Episcopacy has created a crisis, with the Government seeming to threaten at least indirect pressure to reverse the decision. It is important to note that this vote was not about women bishops per se: that development is inevitable, since the vast majority of English Anglicans support it. The vote was about providing a substantial framework for those Anglicans who cannot accept the measure; the proposal failed as not enough members of Synod felt that safeguards for opponents were secure, despite assurances from the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is hard to see how the legislation, when it returns, can be adapted to encompass two essentially conflicting points of view. The ramifications for relations with the Catholic Church both locally, and more widely, are yet to be seen. ARCIC III and IARCCUM Despite these problems, the second meeting of the current phase of the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) took place in May a positive and fruitful environment. The Commission, under the co-chairmanship of Roman Catholic Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham and Anglican Archbishop David Moxon of Aotearoa-New Zealand, met in Hong Kong, as guests of the Anglican diocese, to continue its discussions on the themes ‘ The Church as Communion, local and universal’, and ‘How in communion the local and universal Church comes to discern right ethical teaching’. Both these topics are crucially relevant to the Anglican Communion at this time. During the meeting, it was decided to treat the ethical issue through "case studies", that is, to consider particular ethical issues where there is either agreement or disagreement between Catholics and Anglicans, and to investigate how those differing positions have been reached. It is hoped that this work will be of real value in local circumstances throughout the world where Anglicans and Catholics work together. The Commission met with the leadership of the Catholic and Anglican communities in Hong Kong, and held an evening of discussion and exchanging information with seminarians from both traditions. Members of the Commission were also introduced to the work of the Mission to Seamen, undertaken jointly by Anglicans and Catholics. At a further small planning meeting in November, the ARCIC work assignments in preparation for beginning work on an agreed statement, ahead of the third meeting of ARCIC III, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in May 2013. The International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), which was developed following a successful joint meeting of Anglican and Catholic Bishops in 2000, has been revived. Its scope is to publicize the work of ARCIC and promote reception of its work. The co-chairmen, Anglican Bishop David Hamid and Catholic Bishop Donald Bolen, have sent all known local Anglican-Catholic dialogues a questionnaire, to ascertain what is being done about ecumenical relations at present, and to share good practice. These results will be collated early in 2013, and local bishops identified in each region who can help promote the ecumenical achievements of ARCIC. Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, announced earlier in 2012 that he would retire at the close of the year, in order to return to a life in academia. This added a poignancy to his two visits to Rome, and in particular his second journey became an opportunity to thank him for his leadership of the Anglican Communion and to bid him farewell. In March, Dr Williams was in Rome to take part in the millennium celebrations of the Camaldolese Order, whose basilica of San Gregorio al Celio has particular historic links with England. As part of these events, Dr Williams participated in Solemn Vespers celebrated by His Holiness Pope Benedict, and delivered an address. Following Vespers, together with the Prior of San Gregorio he prayed in the Chapel of St Gregory, in preparation for its dedication as a special place of pilgrimage for Anglican visitors to Rome. On the following day, he took part in a conference on monastic life, and later visited the San Egidio centre in Trastevere. The Archbishop also engaged in a dialogue with the seminarians of Venerable English College, answering their questions and discussing ecumenical relations with them. In October, Dr Rowan Williams returned to Rome to address the thirteenth ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the profound connection between contemplation and the task of evangelisation. His intervention was given in the presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict, and was followed by a period of dialogue with the Synod Fathers, following which the Archbishop held a short meeting with the Holy Father. On the following day, Dr Williams was present in St Peter’s Square for Holy Mass celebrated by His Holiness Pope Benedict to inaugurate the Year of Faith. During this final visit, the Archbishop met with many friends from the Curia to bid them farewells, including H.E. Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Upon the announcement in November that Right Reverend Justin Welby had been appointed to succeed Dr Rowan Williams, Cardinal Koch sent a letter of congratulations. He will attend the Archbishop’s enthronement next March, and it is hoped that the new Archbishop of Canterbury will make a first visit to Rome later in the year. Other contacts The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity welcomes many visitors through the year, who help to strengthen bonds of friendship and provide first-hand information about Anglican developments. Bishop Steven Croft of Sheffield, England, was present at the Synod of Bishops, as Anglican Fraternal Delegate, and made a brief intervention. He later reported his experience in very positive terms to the General Synod of the Church of England. Bishop Robert Ladds was present in Nettuno for a symposium on the role of the Virgin Mary in ecumenism, in which Monsignor Langham of the Pontifical Council participated. Monsignor Langham also addressed the Trustees of the Anglican Centre, present in Rome in November for their annual meeting. In June, there was a significant visit to Rome by the clergy and choir of Westminster Abbey, London, which recalled the presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict to the Abbey in 2010, and provided an example of collaboration that bears profound witness to the shared heritage of Anglicans and Catholics. The famed Abbey choir was granted the privilege of singing at the Papal Mass on the Feast of SS Peter and Paul, alongside the Sistine Choir, after which they were greeted by His Holiness. On the following day, a concert was given by both choirs in the Sistine Chapel, at which H.E. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone spoke warmly of the English choral tradition. In the same month, Cardinal Koch traveled to England, where in Canterbury and London he met with members of the Church of England and wider Anglican communion representing different traditions within Anglicanism. This visit, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, was an opportunity for the President of the Pontifical Council to experience something of the breadth and inclusivity of Anglicanism. In October, Monsignor Mark Langham of the Pontifical Council attended the Anglican Consultative Council in New Zealand, and made presentations on the work of the Pontifical Council and upon the importance of the Anglican Centre in Rome. He also took part in two workshops on Anglican – Catholic relations. In Rome, the Annual Informal Talks were between the Pontifical Council and representatives of the Worldwide Anglican Communion were held in November. This event offers a regular opportunity for a frank and fraternal exchange of news and opinions on a range of subjects, allowing information to be shared and questions to be answered. This year, the meeting was held at the offices of the Pontifical Council, was chaired by Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council and included other important representatives of the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion. In December, a significant ecumenical milestone was reached when His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester visited the Venerable English College, and read a message from Her Majesty the Queen congratulating the College on the six hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its original foundation. The message from the second Queen Elizabeth was a small, but significant, indication of how far relations between Anglicans and Catholics have been transformed in recent decades. It was announced earlier in the year that Canon David Richardson, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative in Rome and Director of the Anglican Centre, would retire at Easter in 2013. In December, his replacement was named as Archbishop David Moxon of New Zealand, currently co-president of ARCIC. Cardinal Koch sent a message congratulating Archbishop Moxon, and expressing confidence that his considerable experience and gifts would suit him well for this important position which has such a significant role in relations between the Holy See and Canterbury, confirming the bonds of affection between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, and assisting our mutual understanding and work. FUTURE PROSPECTS Certain developments in the ecumenical scene that affect relations between the Catholic Church and Anglicanism are having a negative impact on ecumenical relations, calling into question earlier agreements made by the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission, and presenting serious departures from Catholic moral and doctrinal teaching. The internal controversies that these developments have occasioned have made it difficult for Catholics to discern a clear Anglican position on certain issues. The Pontifical Council had hoped that the Anglican Covenant might provide some coherency to Anglican ecclesiology, and limit doctrinal diversity, but its virtually certain rejection means that it is unlikely that help will come from that direction. The question of provision of women bishops in the Church of England has attracted great Press attention, and has been portrayed by many as a significant moment in the life of the Anglicanism. The Anglican Communion has, however, been appointing women bishops in other Provinces for twenty years, and ARCIC has for a long time had to take account of this reality. However, events at the General Synod in London are of major significance to the international dialogue, because of the special position of the Church of England within the communion. These event emphasizes the entrenchment of a development which is a serious obstacle to the progress of Christian unity. With Methodists also, there are increasing concerns about the extent to which local practices do not conform to agreed worldwide practices, and the gap between official Methodist discipline and practice is a matter of some concern to the Catholic Church. In this atmosphere, the positive spirit of the dialogue talks with both Anglicans and Methodists has been all the more remarkable. It is notable that, at the same time as ethical and doctrinal differences present seemingly intractable obstacles, fruitful dialogue on many other topics has still proved possible. ARCIC is preparing important work on the structures of ethical decision making, which it proposes to share with local Anglican – Catholic dialogues. There was particular delight in the Methodist – Catholic dialogue at the areas of common tradition that emerged from its discussion of holiness and sanctification. In addition, ecumenical relations have been cemented through visits to Rome. The Anglican choir of Westminster Abbey, present at the Holy Mass on the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul, sang the Ave Verum Corpus of William Byrd. This piece of music was written by a Catholic for the small and persecuted Catholic minority. That it should be sung in Rome in the presence of the Holy Father by an Anglican choir, was a striking demonstration of how many historical obstacles have been overcome. Above all, the visits by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the important address made by him to the Synod of Bishops, showed a depth of spiritual kinship and co-operation that resonates strongly even in difficult ecumenical times. The new Archbishop of Canterbury, although from an Evangelical background, has cited strong Catholic influences upon him. The coming year will provide opportunities to come to know him, and to carry forward the essential work of striving for Christian unity.

New Grants

At the recent meeting of the Catholic League's Executive, the following grants were approved in realisation of the League's objectives:

• £10,000 to the Anglican Centre in Rome towards the costs of its fine new booklet for free distirbution on the history of Anglican-Catholic relations and the imperturbably hopeful work towards corporate reunion between the Apostolic See of Rome and the "Church of England entire" with the Anglican Communion, within the one Catholic Church. Our grant will, moreover, enable the creation of a "virtual centre" of resources, documents and agreements that chart the progress of Anglican-Catholic unity and support the current work of ARCIC
• £3,000 to the Ordinariate to support the The Portal, the online magazine to inform Roman Catholics and Anglicans alike about the Ordinariate’s positive purpose and to explore their shared patrimony, as it evolves into an official organ of the Ordinariate
• £1,000 to the Norbertine Priory at Chelmsford towards the promotion of vocations

For the Record: Anglican Papalism, by Fr Brooke Lunn

January 2006

Anglican Papalism is a movement, from schism to unity, with a clear idea of our starting point, and a definite sense of direction. The movement’s antecedents go back to the schism, and its future goes forward to its destiny - full communion with the Roman Apostolic See. It is the expression, in a particular historical and geographical context, of the desire for unity in accordance with the expressed will of Our Lord Jesus Christ [John 17].

The usage - Anglican Papalism - goes back scarcely a century, though what it indicates, namely, efforts to heal the break with Rome, go back to the break itself. Because of widespread misunderstanding of it, it is necessary to be clear about its precise meaning.

My dictionary gives:

• Anglican…(Anglicana ecclesia in Magna Carta)…Of or pertaining to the reformed Church of England or any Church in communion with it.
• papalism n., papalist n. & a. (a) n. a supporter of the Pope or the papacy; (b) adj. Of or pertaining to papalism or papalists.
• Romanizer n. a person, esp. an Anglican, who favours or adopts practices of the Roman Catholic Church M19.

From the above we may see Anglican Papalism as a movement of members of the Church of England or any Church in communion with it in support of the Pope or the papacy.

Thus Anglican Papalism is not to be confused with Romanizers. The former belongs in the realm of ideas, the latter in the realm of phenomena. The phenomena of Romanizers are relatively easy to perceive. The idea of Anglican Papalism requires much more application in order to begin to comprehend it.


Anglican Papalism - essential points

1. Christian unity
Unity is a fundamental concept running through the Holy Scriptures.
a) The story of Adam and Eve illustrates the essential unity of the whole human race.
b) We are created in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity, the perfect society, the model of unity in diversity.
c) The story of Cain and Abel illustrates the social responsibility aspect of the essential unity of the whole human race.
d) The struggle to establish Jerusalem as the centre of unity of God’s people over against the high places, and the focussing of this unity on the Temple, is a central theme of the Old Testament; and is still very much present today.
e) Along with this goes the emergence of ethical monotheism in God’s revelation.
f) Jesus’s concern for the unity of God’s people is expressed in various ways, particularly in John 17: ‘that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’
g) Ephesians 1:9-10 reads: ‘For he (God) has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.’
h) From this follows the need for Christian unity. The French catholic priest Paul Couturier, who has become known as the Apostle of Unity, saw in the prayer of Jesus in John 17 the basis of his own understanding of prayer for unity, so he produced for his Week of Prayer the formula that the visible unity of the Kingdom of God may be such as Christ wills and achieved by whatever means he wills.
j) God’s will, as Ephesians says, is to unite all things in heaven and on earth, so unity also means the unity of the whole human race, through, amongst other needs, inter-religious dialogue.
k) It also means the unity of the whole creation…ecology, the ‘green movement’, and so on.

Unity is the primary motivation of Anglican Papalism. The understanding of what unity means continues to develop, but the basic motivation remains.


2. Rome
Anglican papalists are convinced that the fulness of the Church is to be found both in the local Church, the bishop and his people, and in the universal Church, the communion of all the Churches with the Church of Rome, the Apostolic See. It is not a case of either/or, but of both/and. Thus full communion with Rome is not just some optional extra, which might be helpful, but is essential for the fulness of the Church. Rome holds a unique place in the unity of the Church, over and beyond the fact that unity necessarily involves all Churches and ecclesial communities and, indeed, everyone of good will who professes the Christian faith.

Section 23 of the ARCIC Agreed Statement Authority in the Church I reads:

If God’s will for the unity in love and truth of the whole Christian community is to be fulfilled, this general pattern of the complementary primatial and conciliar aspects of episcope serving the koinonia of the churches needs to be realized at the universal level. The only see which makes any claim to universal primacy and which has exercised and still exercises such episcope is the see of Rome, the city where Peter and Paul died.
It seems appropriate that in any future union a universal primacy such as has been described should be held by that see.

3. Prayer
 Prayer is very much to the fore in Anglican Papalist work for unity. The Church Unity Octave, first observed in 1908, originated with two Anglican papalists. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity developed from this. Couturier, the ‘Apostle of Unity’ was first brought to England through the efforts of Anglican papalists. Today the Catholic League is active in promoting prayer for unity. A special edition of The Messenger of The Catholic League, no. 280 October 2003 – February 2004 was dedicated to the vision of Paul Couturier as part of the observance of the fiftieth anniversary of his death. Also from the Catholic League comes the Christian Unity Prayerbook.


4. Doctrine
It is fundamental to Anglican Papalism that an essential prerequisite for full unity is agreement in the essentials of Christian doctrine. Until Vatican II this was identified in the Creed of the Council of Trent. Today the touchstone is the Catechism of the Catholic Church  of 1994. The work of ARCIC is recognised as of great importance in the search for unity.


5. Liturgy
 Lex orandi - lex credendi - lex vivendi…worship, faith, life…Christianity is all of a piece, and all the parts belong together in its wholeness. The catholic Church, as distinct from many ecclesial communities which express themselves primarily through ‘Confessions’ [Augsburg, Westminster, etc.] expresses herself primarily through liturgy. Thus Anglican Papalists give due significance to their convictions through liturgy. This is not the same as saying that Anglican Papalism is primarily about liturgy. It is not. There are many Romanizers who are most definitely not papalists; and there are Anglican Papalists who would scarcely merit the description of Romanizer. The difference between papalist and Romanizer is fundamental, yet there remains much confusion. Yet indeed many Anglican Papalists are Romanizers. Issues raised by this are dealt with in a Catholic League publication, Liturgy and Unity.


6. Loyalty
Anglican Papalists have been on the receiving end of much unjust criticism - that their position is irrational, hypocritical, disloyal, etc. Where such criticism has been just, and this seems to be very rare, the object of such criticism has been exceptional and untypical of Anglican Papalism. Geoffrey Curtis CR, not a papalist himself, in Paul Couturier and Unity in Christ [p. 163] gave a fair appreciation which questioned the charge of disloyalty. This is considered further below.

One of the most frequent grounds for the allegation of disloyalty is the adoption of practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This ground is refuted in Liturgy and Unity, already mentioned above. Another ground is that Anglican Papalists stress the importance of bishops but then don’t do what their bishops tell them to do. There is more than an element of truth in the waggish observation - unlike most Anglicans, I have a high doctrine of episcopacy, but low expectations; whereas most Anglicans seem to have a low doctrine, but high expectations; and I am the one who is least often disappointed! Put another way, I do not subscribe to a doctrine of the infallibility of individual bishops!

Pope Paul VI, who succeeded John XXIII, and had the task of seeing the Second Vatican Council through to its completion, is almost definitely the Pope with the best knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of Anglicans since the ferment of the sixteenth century. He said, at the canonisation of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales in 1970, that on the day when the Church of Rome would embrace firmly her ever-beloved Anglican sister in the one authentic communion of the family of Christ ‘no offence will be afflicted [sic] on the honour and sovereignty of a great country such as England. There will be no seeking to lessen the prestige and usage proper to the Anglican Church’ [Rome and Canterbury Through Four Centuries, Bernard and Margaret Pawley, pages 341-342]. Anglican Papalists, loyal to all that is of good value in our Anglican heritage, say a heartfelt ‘Amen’ to that.

I now live in retirement in the London Charterhouse. The very first of those Forty Martyrs canonised in 1970 was Saint John Houghton, Carthusian Prior of the London Charterhouse. He was martyred, viciously, on 4th May 1535, because he refused to accept Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. To accuse Saint John Houghton of disloyalty to the Church in England because he supported the papacy would be a manifest travesty. 'Anglican' and 'Papalist' are terms that came into usage later, but Anglican Papalists today look to Saint John Houghton, along with many of his contemporaries, as true witnesses, even unto death, to the conviction which we share with him.


7. England
Anglican Papalists recognise both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in England as rightfully claiming descent from the undivided Church in England before the sixteenth century schism. We do not accept derogatory epithets such as 'the Italian Mission' or 'the immigrant Irish Church' to describe the Roman Catholic Church in England.

One of the powerful motivations of Anglican Papalism is the Christian mission to the people of England, of whatever racial, religious or cultural background. We perceive the present disunity among Christians in England as a scandal, a stumbling block to the mission of the Church in our land. It is not just some historic scandal [Henry VIII and all that], but a continuing scandal, an actual scandal, here and now, in which the Churches and ecclesial communities in England today participate. Reunion and unity, for us, mean one visible Church in England, with a common identity, not a stifling uniformity but unity in an acceptable diversity. What that means for us has been explored in, for example, Liturgy and Unity, already mentioned above, and Reuniting Anglicans and Rome - a special issue of The Messenger of the Catholic League  from October 1994.


8. Individual reception
Recognising Newman’s dictum about the primacy of conscience, Anglican Papalists see this as applying not least to those Anglicans who enter individually into full communion with Rome. The Catholic League, in recognising this, logically opened membership to all who agree with the four objects of The League and with the doctrinal basis of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.


9. Ecclesial communities and corporate reunion
Those Anglican churches, including the Church of England, which have formally moved away from the catholic teaching and practice of apostolic succession in holy orders [as taught in the Ordinal with its Preface accompanying the BCP 1662] are now Ecclesial Communities rather than Churches in the proper sense. This leads to a substantial change in the basis for seeking corporate reunion with the Roman Apostolic See. In no way does it diminish the need for reunion. In so far as Rome recognises ecclesial communities, then this reunion will properly be corporate.


10. Unity of creation
Unity includes Christian unity, unity with other religions and life stances, and the unity and harmony of the whole creation. This is added in as a reminder that our own particular motivations need to be seen in the overall context of God’s will for the unity of the whole creation, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.


Two Classic Texts
I elaborated the above ten essential points from my own personal experience and understanding of Anglican Papalism over more than half a century. It is an understanding at the beginning of the third millennium. Basic to it are two classic texts of Anglican Papalism - England and the Holy See, by Spencer Jones in 1902; and The Church of England and the Holy See (the 1933 Centenary Tractates of the Council for Promoting Catholic Unity).

I take a glance at these two texts below, as they are critical evidence for the true nature of Anglican Papalism. A recent book and the reviews of it reveal the extensive ignorance of the true nature of Anglican Papalism, and the prejudice, misrepresentation, misunderstanding and false judgements deriving from this ignorance. The reason why so many commentators on Anglican Papalism who are not themselves Anglican Papalists are so hostile is complex. This is a challenge to Anglican Papalists. This present article merely attempts to throw some light on what Anglican Papalists themselves understand it to be.


Anglican Papalists’ true home in mainstream Christianity
Anglican Papalism is a movement from schism to unity, from the margins to the centre, from a backwater into the mainstream of Christianity. As such it is the very opposite of extreme. So how is it that it is so frequently misrepresented as extreme ? Extreme depends on what one identifies as the norm. If you perceive the Church of England to be The Norm of Christianity, with Dissent wandering off from this norm in one direction, and catholics refusing to come into line with the norm in the other direction, then clearly Anglican Papalists are out of line with this norm. The term nonconformist makes the point, having been used to describe both Dissent and catholics.


The evidence does not support the view that the Church of England is the norm of Christianity. It does support the view that the catholic Church is the norm. This is not so much because she is overwhelmingly the largest body of Christians, but more because of her faithful witness to God’s revelation down the ages. That there is a gap between the faithful teaching of the Church and all too much of the actual practice, not just of individual members but also of the members corporately, is recognised in the teaching by the model of the Church as the pilgrim people of God rather than as the perfect society.


This proper norm was recognised by the English Church down the ages until the state imposed an alternative norm in the sixteenth century. Yet the arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury to this day incorporate the Pallium, the symbol of authority conferred by the Pope, thus indicating the proper norm. The Gospels of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, probably brought to England by Saint Augustine himself when sent by Pope Gregory, being used at the enthronement of Archbishops of Canterbury, including our present Archbishop, likewise indicate the proper norm. The ARCIC process has helped to acknowledge the proper norm [e.g. Authority I.23]. The second half of the twentieth century has seen much progress in acknowledging the proper norm of Christianity, though there is still much more to be done here.


A key principle in Spencer Jones’s England and the Holy See is that of proportion. Thus, to treat the Church of England as the norm of Christianity is to get things seriously out of proportion. To treat the catholic Church as the norm is to restore a sense of proportion. Anglican Papalism, with its conscious desire and commitment to pursue the expressed will of Our Lord Jesus Christ for unity, and our recognition that this necessarily involves full communion with the Roman Apostolic See, places our true home right at the heart of mainstream Christianity.


Loyal Anglicans
The loyalty of Anglican Papalists to our Anglican heritage is second to none. Spencer Jones’s England and the Holy See is a classic Anglican text, written for Anglicans by an Anglican. The overriding purpose of the Centenary Tractates of 1933 is to demonstrate that the true home of the Church of England is full union with the Holy See - which they demonstrate most effectively. The title of the series is - The Church of England and the Holy See.

The loyalty of Anglican Papalists to our Anglican roots is seen in many ways, of which the following are some:

1. Anglican Papalists have a good knowledge, understanding and appreciation of our Anglican heritage; usually better than that of fellow Anglicans. The two texts referred to above demonstrate this very clearly.

2. Anglican Papalist clergy and laity have a fine record of devoted work, often in the pastorally tougher parts of The Lord’s Vineyard. I note in The Catholic Herald of November 11, 2005, "H.J.Fynes-Clinton, one of the prime movers [of Anglican Papalism], rarely had a good congregation at St. Magnus the Martyr."

I was a server at St Magnus from 1951 to 1959, when I went off as a student to Trinity College, Dublin, months before Father Fynes died. Latterly, I served the 8am weekday Mass, occasionally attended by local office workers, as well as the lunchtime services. I myself worked in Barclays Chief Foreign Branch just up the road. For the 8am Mass Fr Fynes would catch the underground from St James Park, near where he lived, to Monument, close by St Magnus. He was in his eighties. His GP had told him that this was too much for him, and when Fr Fynes carried on nonetheless, his GP said: ‘Well, you’re on your own.’

A good congregation? City of London parishes were viewed by many as sinecures. Fr Fynes viewed the parish of St Magnus as the very opposite, a most demanding ‘cure’ of souls. Far from being sinecures, City of London parishes are seen by diligent pastors as among the toughest pastoral assignments. Fr Fynes led the way in weekday services in the City. Our community of worshippers in the 1950s at St Magnus had a powerful influence on me, for good, as I believe; and the inspiration for this was Fr Fynes. I wish to say much more on this, but now discipline myself; except to say that the comment which provoked my response I consider to be unworthy, and ignorance is a poor excuse.

3. Our recognition that we are in schism is an honest self-appraisal, not disloyalty. Were St John Houghton and his fellow Carthusian martyrs being disloyal to the Church in England when they took their stand against the tyrant Henry VIII ? Was St Thomas More likewise being disloyal? Was St John Fisher also being disloyal? They were not Anglicans in schism. We are. But the issue is the same.

4. A true, thorough, critical evaluation of all that is good and worthwhile in our Anglican heritage is a necessary exercise of the principle of proportion.

5. The willingness to persevere in the face of misunderstanding, unfair treatment and misrepresentation is a test which demonstrated the loyalty of our forebears who were actively persecuted; and continues to be a test for us today.

6. Anglican Papalists, notably Spencer Jones and Fr Fynes-Clinton, expressed themselves very clearly
about the responsibility of bishops to exercise a ministry of unity in witnessing faithfully to God’s revelation. They were absolutely clear that the mind of the Church took precedence over the vagaries of individual bishops. For this they have been criticised as inconsistent, disloyal and undisciplined. Yelton, in Anglican Papalism puts it thus: ‘This was a fairly typical attitude to bishops by those who on the other hand sought to uphold church order, displaying one of the ambiguities which has plagued the Catholic Revival throughout its existence.’ Which prompts the question: 'Was Athanasius wrong to confront the Arian bishops?' Was Athanasius ambiguous? What nonsense!

When it comes to charges of disloyalty, those who have in our times changed the fundamental nature of our Anglican heritage should become aware that they are in a very vulnerable glass house.


How others see us
About thirty years ago the local council of churches decided to hold the Week of Prayer service in our church. It was their first visit. The secretary of the council came around to arrange things, and I shewed her the church. ‘The council won’t like this’, she said, as her nose twitched at a suspicion of incense in the air. ‘Shrines, candles…’ - the usual list of aids to worship in catholic churches which so upset the anti-catholic prejudice nurtured in the English since the sixteenth century. ‘But’, said I, ‘the local catholic Church is an active member of the council of churches, and you have held services there?’ ‘Yes’, she replied, ‘but then we expect such things of them. We expect you to know better.’

Even to this day we should be well aware of just how deep-seated is anti-catholic prejudice and ignorance. In so far as this has declined, this has coincided with a decline in the place of religion as a whole in our society. So, Anglo-Catholics, and Anglican Papalists even more so, are criticised because we ought to know better.

An appreciation is given by Geoffrey Curtis CR in his Paul Couturier and Unity in Christ, 1964 [p.163]:

We are beginning to see that Anglican Papalists have been unfairly judged. Abbe Couturier saw this very clearly. They are accused by English Roman Catholics of failure in logic and by many of their fellow Anglicans of disloyalty. There may be Anglican Papalists who are a law unto themselves and who ignore the force of the ordination pledges and are thus disloyal to our Church and to its bishops. There may well be an Anglo-Roman underworld as there have been Protestant and Modernist underworlds and, for all I know, an Inferno of ‘Moderation’. But the true Anglican Papalists are not of this calibre. They are a small group with a long lineage in our Church, and many are of the salt of the earth. Their particular standpoint many of them have recognized as involving a call to a life of reparation. Contrary to average opinion this small group is notable for its intellectual power as well as for its holiness. Perhaps the books of Anglican theology of this century that have been most widely read abroad have been books by Papalists - Spencer Jones’ England and the Holy See and Gregory Dix’s The Shape of the Liturgy; Dr S.H.Scott’s great work, Eastern Churches and the Papacy, is used by scholars in most parts of the world. 

To other Anglicans their position seems neither disloyal to our Church nor, given their convictions, contrary to the logic of charity, but rather sadly disproportioned. We believe that our own Anglican heritage possesses certain Christian values in trust and that these would be jeopardized if we were to submit to Rome as she now is.

That is a gracious appreciation, but I am greatly puzzled that Fr Curtis sees Anglican Papalists as willing ‘to submit to Rome as she now is’ [his book was published in 1964], and so jeopardize our own good Anglican heritage. Submission is the Roman Catholic approach to Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Roman Apostolic See. It is difficult indeed to see how this is compatible with the Anglican Papalist principle of corporate reunion. In number eight of the Centenary Tractates of 1933, Fr Fynes-Clinton has a section headed ‘Corporate Return’. In this he emphasizes: ‘Our schism from Rome was Corporate: the remedy must be Corporate’. Fr Corbould, in the same tractate [pages 25-26…quoted later and see previous post] lists eight Anglican aspects which might be agreeable to Rome in the cause of reunion.


Fr Curtis was clearly sympathetic to the cause of unity with Rome. This is seen in his biography of Paul Couturier. Also, Fr Curtis was a prime mover in the recognition at the London Charterhouse of the Carthusian Martyrs. What is it about Anglican Papalists that Fr Curtis found to be ‘rather sadly disproportioned’ ? He is not alone among those of goodwill who seem to misunderstand us. Does some of the problem lie with us, and our possible failure to communicate clearly what our principles are ? I remain genuinely puzzled. This is not because I believe that our movement is above criticism. Yet I suspect that some of our critics are more familiar with the fringe elements rather than with the essence - not a sound basis for fair judgement.


There is also the phenomenon, still very much with us today, of anti-papalism amongst strongly traditional Anglo-Catholics. Amongst these would be found those content to be called Continuing Anglicans.


A more bizarre hostility is found in a Jesuit reviewing Yelton’s book. His review takes up so much space with abuse of Anglican Papalism that he leaves himself with no room at all to substantiate his false accusations. Briefly damning with faint praise - ‘occasional intellectual brilliance’ - to heaping abuse - misconceived, travesty, dishonest, parasitic, pastorally disastrous…what is it about Anglican Papalism that draws out such unfairness? But one point above all in that review suggests that time should not be wasted on it. ‘For Catholics, papalism is a position which few will understand.’ Recall the dictionary definition of papalism - ‘a supporter of the Pope or the papacy’. A Jesuit, whose fourth vow is one of special obedience to the Holy Father in the matter of accepting missions, not understanding papalism ? Let’s move on quickly.


A completely opposite and very positive view of us is seen by many Roman Catholics. Witness, for example, the warm relations we have enjoyed for many years with our contacts in the monasteries and diocese of Bruges where we visit annually in the hope of and furtherance of Anglican-Roman Catholic unity. A key ingredient of such good relations is friendship.

Fair minded Roman Catholics acknowledge that Anglican Papalism has drawn some of the anti-catholic prejudice away from Roman Catholics. A fair number of Roman Catholics learnt their catholic faith and life in the Church of England. Amongst these only a few ‘kick the ladder away’ or ‘bite the hand that fed them’. The Catholic League, once exclusively Anglican Papalist, now has Roman Catholic members, including Officers and Council members. We are in good heart.


Anglican Papalism since 1960
 I take the date 1960 from Yelton’s Anglican Papalism - A History 1900-1960 [p.16]: ‘The real undermining of the Papalist tradition came in the period after 1960, which is not dealt with in detail in this study.’ This judgement is supported by reviewers of Yelton’s book: ‘He has written a study in failure’; ‘A lost cause’; ‘the coup de grace’; and so on. So, given the precise meaning of ‘Anglican Papalism as a movement of members of the Church of England or any Church in communion with it in support of the Pope or the papacy’, consider the evidence.

On 3rd December 1960 Dr Geoffrey Fisher visited the Pope. This was the first ever visit of an Archbishop of Canterbury to the Pope since the sixteenth century schism. Subsequent Archbishops of Canterbury, including our present one, have visited the Pope. Since 1960 the Second Vatican Council led to great improvement in Anglican-Roman Catholic relations. The Vatican 2 Decree on Ecumenism said [13]: ‘Among those in which Catholic traditions and institutions in part continue to exist, the Anglican communion occupies a special place.’ Since 1960 ARCIC was set up, and continues to do valuable work towards unity. Pope Paul VI, from a position of considerable knowledge and understanding, expressed a most gracious and generous appreciation of our Anglican heritage.

 The Catholic League took Vatican II totally on board, and subsequently took the Catechism of the Catholic Church [1994] as our touchstone of orthodoxy. The League’s publications, including The Messenger, continue to promote the papalist cause. Notable here are two special issues - Reuniting Anglicans and Rome in October 1994; and The Unity of Christians: The Vision of Paul Couturier in February 2004.

The Congregation of the English Mission was an initiative of The League regarding corporate reunion, whose explorations for three years to 1990 are briefly described in Reuniting Anglicans and Rome. Much of the work and prayer for unity goes on at the grassroots level and doesn’t make the headlines. A good example is the inauguration of the Emmanuel Chapel in the Begijnhof guesthouse in Brugge, for which the League provided the monstrance and the icon of the Mother of God. The years since 1960 have seen some of the most positive gains in the search for unity. Sadly, the last few years have seen a significant turning away from unity with Rome on the part of the Church of England.

For several centuries the religious life of England was largely to be identified with the Church of England, hence Anglican Papalism. The continuing marginalisation of the Church of England in English society raises questions concerning the Anglican dimension of papalism. We may be moving towards a situation where the need would be better expressed as English Papalism. The 1933 text was The Church of England and the Holy See. The 1902 text, England and the Holy See, may now more accurately reflect the situation.

Whether it be Anglican or English Papalism, the movement remains as necessary as ever, new challenges notwithstanding. Seeking the will of Our Lord Jesus Christ is not a lost cause. Failure is not an option. The coup de grace ? A tradition undermined ? Inevitable flaws ? A lost cause ? Failure? Shades of Mark Twain: Reports of our death are an exaggeration.

For the Record: Fr Brooke Lunn on "England and the Holy See" by Spencer Jones

A glance at Spencer Jones’s seminal work for Anglican Papalism
Brooke Lunn, January 2006

This book was published in 1902 when Spencer Jones was Rector of Batsford with Moreton-in-Marsh. It runs to 440 pages, plus an introduction of 16 pages by Viscount Halifax, and a preface of five pages by the author. It is subtitled An Essay towards Reunion, and is written primarily for the benefit of the English people and members of the Church of England, to commend to them the idea of reunion with the Holy See. It is not an attempt to commend the Church of England to the Holy See with a view to reunion. In 1902 anti-papal, anti-Roman, anti-catholic sentiment was still widespread in our society. This sentiment remains into our time, though much diminished in a society where Christianity itself is increasingly marginalised.

The Preface gives some indication of the author and his motivation:

If in the following pages I speak for the most part in the first person it is because I am speaking only for myself. I have to shelter myself, therefore, under the well known saying that in questions of this kind egotism is true modesty…  

My thoughts have been running upon the subject of Reunion for thirteen years; and I have made some attempt to analyse what I think may be described as the chronic difficulty of the Anglican Church; until at the last I feel constrained to speak…

My general aim is to contribute materials for discussion and to do something towards restoring the great doctrine of unity to that position in the context of Christian thought which properly belongs to it; and the leading idea throughout is the principle of proportion as applied to any progressive movement that may arise in the direction of Reunion with the Holy See…

For the rest, if the unity of the Church is destined to become one of the commanding and controlling thoughts of the New Century, words recently uttered by the late deeply revered Bishop of Durham may here be set down in order to give a certain stamp and seal to this project. “If I were to choose a motto,” he said in his annual charge to his clergy (1900), “If I were to choose a motto for the coming age I should say that its work and its aim lies in applying to every relation of life the truth which is now dawning upon us, ‘Ye are all one man in Christ Jesus.’ ” 

Proportion

In seeking to commend the Holy See, the writer puts forward a principle which he terms proportion. He sees a great disproportion [p.23] between our attitude towards Dissent and our attitude towards the Holy See. We are fair towards the former and unfair towards the latter. His principle of proportion, therefore, requires equal fairness in our attitude to others. This fairness requires that we seek to know and understand others before forming judgements; that is, that we should consciously avoid prejudice.

Much of the Essay is taken up with exploring particular areas of prejudice, seeking to throw light on these areas, and so eradicate false and unfair judgements. The largest chapter, more than a third of the book, entitled ‘Hindrances and Helps’, looks at some of these areas, seeking to clarify and so assist fair judgement. The area most treated is the place of the Bible in the catholic Church. Other areas include The Blessed Virgin, Infallibility, Indulgences, Images, Jesuits, and so on. It is a measure of change that I understand why Jesuits were included, for when I was young our protestant world presented them as bogeymen. Today Ignatian spirituality is appreciated well beyond the bounds of the catholic Church.

Unity, Saint Peter, and Divisions

Spencer Jones sees three types of unity:

The question is, are we to wind up our dogma at the risk of alienating men, or are we to relax it in order to attract them? 

The Undenominational type of Unity follows the latter course, and the Catholic type of Unity the former.

The basis of Undenominational Unity is a common sentiment; and of Catholic Unity a common faith. And the latter would seem to be in accordance with the teaching of the New Testament and the experience of history.

Spencer Jones further distinguishes these two types by seeing their different ends as, respectively, union and unity. Union is some sort of coming together, recognising each other - today sometimes referred to as Federal unity. Unity, on the other hand, necessitates full agreement on the essentials of doctrine and morals. Union implies an invisible unity; unity necessitates visible unity.


The writer calls the third type Anglican. This is the so-called Branch Theory - Anglican, Greek and Latin. Spencer Jones simply and briefly describes this and passes no judgement on it other than to leave it behind.

Now of these three principle types I think it will be acknowledged that the Roman type comes nearest to that ideal of Unity presented by Our Lord which I have made some attempt to pourtray [sic] in this chapter.

Chapter III treats of Saint Peter in 89 pages, presenting a case for the Petrine ministry. In this the writer is to some extent anticipating the work of ARCIC. Chapter IV is entitled ‘Divisions’.

It may be convenient to consider Contradiction and not Division as the proper antithesis of Unity; and to restore the proportions of Christendom not to destroy its divisions as the proper aim of Reunion…

So to regard Divisions is to recognise them as a necessary condition of our case; it being only when they are pressed beyond their limits that we rightly describe them as contradictions or conveniently characterise them as unhappy. Unity is not uniformity, although the two ideas are often confounded; and discrimination in the use of the term Division will perhaps best secure the proper distinction between them.

Let the idea of Division, then, be considered as at once necessary and subordinate to the idea of Unity, and our unhappy Divisions or Contradictions as destructive or antagonistic to its life.

In short, unity in diversity - legitimate diversity.


Twenty-eight propositions
Returning to the first chapter, entitled ‘On the Principles of Reunion’, Spencer Jones sets out twenty-eight propositions:

With a view to promote discussion…some of which, indeed, will appear obvious, while as regards others I shall ask the reader to assume the limitation of a prefix, such as, Let it be granted - or, Let us assume for discussion’s sake - or Does it not appear likely that ? - but all of which are intended to clear our minds and to guide us in the consideration of the subject that is before us:

1. That Christendom is divided against itself.
2. That a house divided against itself cannot stand.
3. That our Lord meant us to be one.
4. That it is our duty, therefore, to compose our quarrels.
5. That he has endued us with the power to do so.
6. That this power discovers itself in the work of the Holy Spirit on the part of God, and in prayer and labour on the part of man.
7. That it was to the Church regarded as one that our Lord vouchsafed the promise of His presence.
8. That the enterprise of Re-union is, therefore, genuine since its purpose is divine.
9. That a “divine ideal must be capable of fulfilment.”
10. That as a matter of history no other form or principle of Government has been able to come near to the Holy See in its power to keep together in the bond of a living fellowship so many thousands of Christians.
11. That the Communion of Rome is conspicuous in the records of Scripture (“I thank God that your faith is spoken of throughout all the world”); and appears at once unique and conspicuous in the subsequent records of the Church.
12. That the See of Rome is the Apostolic See and is destined to become the visible centre of Christendom.
13. That Rome is in fact the mother of English Christianity.
14. That Reunion, for the English Church, signifies Reunion with the Church of Rome.
15. That England cannot formally remain as she is except in so far as she is infallible.
16. That Rome cannot formally cease to be what she is since she claims to be infallible.
17. That two cannot continue to agree except they walk together.
18. That fellowship and communion are therefore necessary if faith is to continue one.
19. That two cannot walk together except they be agreed.
20. That it is therefore necessary to study the belief of other Communions before we oppose them or unite with them.
21. That a more extended recovery of contact is calculated to destroy prejudice and thereby to prepare the way for Communion.
22. That since “large changes and adaptations of belief are possible within the limits of the same unchanging formulae,” explanation will be found in fact to remove misunderstandings and to reduce the distance between us.
23. That time, which is an “element in all growth,” has already effected much.
24. That circumstances which alter cases do thereby, and so far determine duties.
25. That movements, therefore, which may be inexpedient at one point of time may come to be wise and proper at another.
26. That fair and free discussion as distinguished from recommendation of practical steps will serve to prepare us for conjunctures.
27. That Reunion has come at length to be frankly recognised both as an idea and a necessity among all Communities of Christians; and that the same freedom of discussion must be allowed in relation to Rome as is universally permitted in all other directions.
28. And that at all times and under all circumstances “love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Conclusion
Spencer Jones is an Anglican country parson and scholar, writing primarily for Anglicans, in the classic Anglican tradition - scripture, tradition and reason - sweet reason. While his style is very much that of 1902, his content, again and again, speaks directly to our situation a century later. His key principle of proportion has made some headway, specifically in the work of ARCIC. However, the official Anglican attitudes to the catholic faith on the one hand, and on the other to those who follow alternative religious paths, remain disproportionately favourable to the latter.


It is particularly noteworthy that his principle of proportion is most ironically ignored when it comes to Anglican Papalism itself, of which he is such a key exponent. It remains an urgent question for Anglican Papalists as to why we continue to be so misunderstood, misjudged and misrepresented. Whatever the reasons for this, a reasonable acquaintance with the writings of Spencer Jones would serve as a significant corrective.