wfn.org | [ENS] Pope John Paul II describes new obstacles to unity

["mika larson" <mini.mika@verizon.net>]

10/8/2003

Pope John Paul II describes new obstacles to unity

by James Solheim 

[Episcopal News Service] In a cordial but abbreviated meeting, an ailing
Pope John Paul II met with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and
said that the search for unity had been complicated by recent decisions
within Anglicanism, a clear reference to the election of the Episcopal
Church's first openly gay bishop. 

"As we give thanks for the progress that has already been made, we must
also recognise 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," the pope
said at the October 4 meeting.	

"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," he said. "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."  

Listening hard

Williams, for his part, made no mention of the controversy concerning
sexuality, but spoke of the papacy: "Your invitation to church leaders
and theologians to engage with you in a patient and fraternal dialogue
about the Petrine ministry is a sign of generosity and openness, and I
will be glad to participate in the reflection on the possible sharing of
a primacy of love and service."  

Asked at a news conference about the acceptance of homosexual clergy,
Williams declared, "We are conscious of the ecumenical implications of
what has been done [by certain Anglican churches]. We have listened hard
in these last days to what has been said in Rome."  

While some reports of the meaning characterized the pope's comments as a
warning, he was "merely pointing out some new difficulties," said Bishop
Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's deputy for ecumenical and
interfaith relations, in an interview. "We have lots of issues we have
discussed over the years-and this is one of them. What's important is
that the dialogue continues. Neither side has shown any inclination
otherwise."

Epting said that the pope's statement should be seen for what it is-and
what it is not. "It's not a warning because there is no threat of
consequences." He added that it's important to see ecumenical relations
in the broader international context. "The Vatican is dealing with the
whole Anglican Communion, not only the actions of a member church."

Steady progress

In a statement released shortly before the Vatican visit, the Pontifical
Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity outlined what it said was
the steady progress in bringing the two churches closer together, making
no mention of the sexuality issue.

"These exchanges of visits are a clear sign of the desire of the
Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church to continue to operate
together toward the goal of full communion," the statement said. It
pointed out that two joint commissions have reached agreement on several
key theological issues in recent years.

Privately, Vatican officials concede that the decision by the Americans
raises a new issue-although it is not one that will lead to a break in
relations, according to a story in the Associated Press. Bishop Michael
Nazir-Ali, the Church of England bishop for Rochester, said that the
issue of homosexuality touches an even deeper nerve in the relationship
between the two churches than that of the ordination of women because it
is "a question about biblical revelations and its relationship to moral
order."

Still on the path

In a communication prior to their meeting, the pope assured Williams
that the search for unity will require persistence although he added,
"We are still on that path and irrevocably committed to it."

In a separate meeting with Williams, Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the
Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, raised the sexuality issues.
He said that he "expressed my concerns over this problem, because it is
not only an internal problem of the Anglican Communion, but it also
touches on our relations."

In his statement, Kasper added 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," he said referring
to the election of a gay bishop and approval of blessing same-gender
relationships in Canada. "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."

Time of testing

"The family at times has its disagreements," said Williams during the
meeting with Kasper, "and I cannot pretend that we are not at a testing
time at present. We are facing questions not just of contemporary
morality but of our understanding of the nature of ecclesial communion,
and of our responsibility to each other within the body of Christ."

Noting that the two churches have been in formal dialogue for over 30
years, Williams concluded, "We are on a journey together to become the
Church that accords with Christ's call, where its marks of unity,
holiness, catholicity and apostolicity are visible, where we know
ourselves to be caught up in the unimaginable communion of the Holy
Trinity."

During an interview on Vatican Radio, Williams said that the Anglican
Church's teaching on sexuality was the same as that of the Roman
Catholic Church. When asked about the upcoming Primates' Meeting, he
said that "very few primates" wanted a split in the Anglican Communion.
But that means "we have a good deal of work to do to find the right
mechanisms, the right language, to hold this without fudging the
question about boundaries which we are currently facing." 

Williams said that the challenges for the primates will be to find "a
clear sense of the limits of what the Communion can stand at any one
moment-the obvious difficulty created by one province moving in a
different direction." Another challenge is to "actually make real a
sense of responsibility to one another and therefore some mechanisms for
better decision-making in common."

He added, "I pray for a solution which will hold us together."

(Comments by the pope, Williams and Kasper are available on the Anglican
Communion Web site at www.anglicancommunionnews.org)

-- James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service