Tea at the Apostolic Palace: the British are coming; the British are coming!

Yesterday, when many MOJ contributors and readers were occupied with preparing for the Thanksgiving Day feast, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams and His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI met at the Apostolic Prayer (whether crumpets or cornetti were served was not disclosed). Both the Pope and the Archbishop presented their respective addresses [HERE]. Afterwards they issued a Common Declaration [HERE].

The three texts all discuss matters such as dialogue, friendship, and ecumenism. However, I found the Pope’s published address to be a revealing text. Twice he mentioned the search and work for “full visible unity” between the Anglican Communion and Rome. This is an important statement free from general platitude and the ambiguities that often accompany diplomatic exchanges. The Pope acknowledged that obstacles continue to “keep us apart.” And what might those obstacles be? The Pope was not reticent in providing insight.

After noting the existence and effect of negative influences and pressures that the “secularized Western world” have on Christians as individuals and as communities, the Pope identified two major problems that fortify the separation without saying they are the only ones. The two specified are: (1) the ordained ministry; and (2) certain moral teachings. It could well be that within this second concern lies another line of questions pertaining to what are the beliefs held by the Anglican Communion? The fault lines of the present day found within the Anglican Communion indicate the plausibility of these questions. The Pope lamented that these vital topics he mentioned not only affect the relations between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church, but they also make uncertain the future of the Anglican Communion itself. For the Pope, these two issues are of vital importance to the continuing discussions between the Apostolic Palace and the Lambeth Palace. In this context, the Pope concluded on a prayerful and hopeful note that the Anglican Community will remain grounded in the Gospels and the Apostolic Tradition of the common patrimony essential to the “full visible unity” of which the Pope spoke.

If this were Wimbleton, the Holy Father was successful in keeping the ball in the other’s court. But keeping score really was not Benedict’s purpose. His objective was to send his welcome guest back home with a list of important questions that must be addressed by the Anglican Communion so that when the guest returns he will not only find an open door but also an expectation of presenting answers to the previously posed questions—answers that are essential to determining whether “full visible unity” is possible.   RJA sj