wfn.org | ACNS3609 Pope John Paul II's greeting to the Archbishop Of

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ACNS 3609     |     EUROPE     |     7 OCTOBER 2003 

Pope John Paul II's greeting to the Archbishop Of Canterbury

[ACNS source: The Vatican] It is a great pleasure to welcome you here on
this your first visit to the Apostolic See as Archbishop of Canterbury.
You continue a tradition which began just before the Second Vatican
Council, with the visit of Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher, and you are the
fourth Archbishop of Canterbury whom I have had the pleasure of
welcoming during my Pontificate. I also vividly recall my own visit to
Canterbury in 1982, and the moving experience of praying at the tomb of
Saint Thomas Becket with Archbishop Robert Runcie.

The four centuries following the sad division between us, during which
time there was little or no contact between our predecessors, have given
way to a pattern of grace-filled meetings between the Bishop of Rome,
the Successor of Peter, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. These
encounters have sought to renew the links between the See of Canterbury
and the Apostolic See which have their origins in the sending by Pope
Gregory the Great of Saint Augustine, the first Archbishop of
Canterbury, to the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms in the late sixth century. In
our own day, these meetings have also given expression to our
anticipation of the full communion which the Holy Spirit desires for us
and asks of us.

As we give thanks for the progress that has already been made we must
also recognize that new and serious difficulties have arisen on the path
to unity. These difficulties are not all of a merely disciplinary
nature; some extend to essential matters of faith and morals. In light
of this, we must reaffirm our obligation to listen attentively and
honestly to the voice of Christ as it comes to us through the Gospel and
the Church's Apostolic Tradition. Faced with the increasing secularism
of today's world, the Church must ensure that the deposit of faith is
proclaimed in its integrity and preserved from erroneous and misguided
interpretations.

When our theological dialogue began, our predecessors Pope Paul VI and
Archbishop Michael Ramsey could not have known the exact route or
duration of the path to full communion, but they knew that it would
require patience and perseverance, and that it would come only as a gift
of the Holy Spirit. The dialogue they initiated was to be "founded on
the Gospels and on the ancient common traditions"; it was to be coupled
with the fostering of collaboration which would "lead to a greater
understanding and a deeper charity"; and the hope was expressed that
with progress towards unity there might be "a strengthening of peace in
the world, the peace that only He can grant Who gives 'the peace that
passeth all understanding'" (Common Declaration, 1996).

We must persevere in building on the work already achieved by the
Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and on the
initiatives of the recently established joint Commission for Unity and
Mission (IARCCUM). The world needs the witness of our unity, rooted in
our common love for and obedience to Christ and his Gospel. It is
fidelity to Christ which compels us to continue to search for full
visible unity and to find appropriate ways of engaging, whenever
possible, in common witness and mission.

I take heart that you have wished to pay a visit to me so early in your
ministry as Archbishop of Canterbury. We share a desire to deepen our
communion. I pray for a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon you
and your loved ones, upon those who have travelled here with you, and
upon all the members of the Anglican Communion. May God keep you safe,
watch over you always, and guide you in the exercise of your lofty
responsibilities. On this feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, an apostle
of peace and reconciliation, let us pray together that the Lord will
make us instruments of His peace. Where there is injury, may we bring
pardon; where there is hatred may we sow love; where there is despair,
may our humble search for unity bring hope.

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