New Zealand Anglican Archbishop, David Moxon, says there seem to be many obstacles to fully visible Anglican Catholic union and it is unlikely to be achieved in the near future. He is the co-chairperson of the Anglican-Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and was speaking at the Commission’s meeting in Hong Kong last week. “We can, however, do a lot of things together during this slow process,” he says.

The Catholic co-chairperson, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, speaking before the meeting said,”I do understand those doubts, misgivings, and sometimes frustrations and disappointments particularly on the part of those people who have committed many years to dialogue and who at the outset thought the prospects of unity were much more realistic than they are now. New challenges, new obstacles have come in the way in the path of unity.

As the 4 to 10 May meeting of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) drew to a close, participants emphasized the importance of social witness and openness in ecumenical dialogue.

“There seem to be many obstacles from a human point of view, and it does not seem likely to have fully visible unity in the near future,” New Zealand Anglican Archbishop David Moxon, the co-chairperson of the meeting, said on May 8. “We can, however, do a lot of things together during this slow process,” he added.

“As we discussed in the meeting, there can be more collaborations between us, such as (humanitarian agencies) Caritas International and the Global Anglican Relief and Development Alliance,” he said.

Discernment of right ethical teaching was one of a number of issues on the table at the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission’s latest meeting in Hong Kong. The Commission is chaired by New Zealand’s Archbishop David Moxon and the Most Rev Bernard Longley (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham), and comprises 19 theologians from across the world. They have been meeting at the Mission to Seafarers in Kowloon. The agenda covered the Church as Communion, local and universal, and how in communion the local and universal Church comes to discern right ethical teaching.

The Commission has also been asked to present the documents of ARCIC II for reception by the relevant authorities of both communions. At this latest meeting, running from May 3-10, the Commission built upon the framework it had prepared at its first meeting. This seeks to address the interrelated ecclesiological and ethical questions of its mandate under four headings: the identity and mission of the Church; the patterning of the Church’s life that undergirds local and universal communion; shortcomings in the churches which obscure the glory of God; and ethical discernment and teaching.