wfn.org | ACNS3610 Statement of His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper

["Anglican Communion News Service" <acnslist@anglicancommunion.org>]

ACNS 3610     |     EUROPE     |     7 OCTOBER 2003 

Statement of His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper during the Archbishop
of Canterbury's visit to Rome

[ACNS source: The Vatican] I would first of all wish to say that we
rejoice in Archbishop Williams' visit to Rome and to the Holy See in his
capacity as Archbishop of Canterbury. Such visits are a clear sign of
the desire of the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church to continue
to work together towards full communion. I was honoured to be able to
attend Archbishop Williams' enthronement in Canterbury last February,
and am very happy to be able to welcome him here.

While the path to full communion has proved to be long and not without
difficulties, the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion continue to
seek this goal, and remain committed firstly to the ongoing pursuit of
doctrinal agreement through theological dialogue, and secondly, to
incarnating as much as possible, in appropriate aspects of our ecclesial
lives, the level of faith we already share. These complementary tasks
are taken up most directly by our two international commissions, the
Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the newly
formed International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and
Mission (IARCCUM).

The theological dialogue, ARCIC, has produced a number of agreed
statements over the past 33 years on doctrinal matters where Anglicans
and Catholics have traditionally diverged. The most recent statement,
The Gift of Authority (1999), builds on ARCIC's previous work on
authority in the Church, and reveals significant progress towards a
common understanding of the Petrine ministry. ARCIC will soon complete
an agreed statement on the role of Mary in the life and doctrine of the
Church. The Commission's aim has been to study the dogmas of the
Assumption and the Immaculate Conception of Mary in the light of
Scripture and our ancient common Tradition. It is hoped that significant
progress will be recorded in the forthcoming agreed statement.

The second international commission (IARCCUM), constituted principally
of bishops, builds on the historic meeting in May, 2000, of 13 Primates
of Anglican Provinces with the heads of the Catholic Episcopal
Conferences from the same countries, under the leadership of Cardinal
Edward Cassidy and Archbishop George Carey. IARCCUM is intended to
complement the work of ARCIC. It has taken up the threefold mandate
given to it at the Mississauga meeting: the preparation of a text which
would concisely articulate the degree of agreement in faith that exists
between Anglicans and Catholics; reflection on ways in which the study
and reception of the agreed statements of ARCIC could be fostered and
promoted within the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church; and
identifying strategies which would translate the degree of spiritual
communion that has been achieved into visible and practical outcomes.

As you know, there are currently tensions within the Anglican Communion
over the teaching and practice concerning human sexuality. It is not my
task to comment at length. In our private conversations, we have
certainly discussed the recent decisions taken in two Anglican
Provinces. Archbishop Williams knows that we are deeply concerned about
this, and that depending on how the present situation is resolved, these
decisions could cause new problems for our relations. Catholic teaching
is very clear in this regard, and is concisely expressed in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church (nn. 2357-59). Until recently, one
could state with relative confidence that Catholics and Anglicans shared
the same moral principles regarding human sexuality. We hope that it
will remain so, for the world today needs our common witness. I hope and
pray that the Anglican Communion will find a constructive solution to
the present situation, both for the sake of the Anglican Communion
itself and for the sake of our relations as well.

Our dialogue has produced many excellent results, and we look forward to
working together to ensure that it continues to do so.

___________________________________________________________________
ACNSlist, published by Anglican Communion News Service, London, is
distributed to more than 6,000 journalists and other readers around
the world.  For subscription information please go to:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/acnslist.html