News & Opinion

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1967
1966


IARCCUM co-chairs Bishop David Hamid, the Church of England's Suffragan bishop in Europe, and Archbishop Donald Bolen, archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Bishop pairs from 27 countries were commissioned by Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls on January 25, 2024
On recognition of ministries and the IARCCUM commissioning (14 Mar 2024)

Catholic Bishop Adrian Wilkinson and Anglican Bishop Niall Coll pictured with the Irish ambassador to the Holy See, Frances Collins, outside of the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The bishops, in Rome for the IARCCUM Summit, attended Vespers at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and were commissioned by Pope Francis and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to return to Ireland and promote relations between the two churches
Kilkenny bishops reflect on special international Anglican-Roman Catholic summit (18 Feb 2024)

Bishop Peter Collins, Roman Catholic bishop of East Anglia (right) and Bishop Stephen Race, Anglican bishop of Beverley, reading an extract from the address of St. Gregory the Great sending St. Augustine on his mission to the Angles. The bishops were participating in Morning Prayer at San Gregoria al Celio, where St. Gregory commissioned St. Augustine in 596 AD
Bishop Peter Collins reflects on summit in Rome and Canterbury (15 Feb 2024)

IARCCUM bishops gathered with the Canterbury Cathedral clergy following the Sunday service during the IARCCUM Summit
Second IARCCUM Summit takes place in Rome and Canterbury (9 Feb 2024)

Rev. Dr. Iain Luke, principal of the College of Emmanuel & St. Chad in the Saskatoon Theological Union, and Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and a member of ARCIC III (the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission)
Roman Catholic document on blessings could bring new perspectives to Anglican same-sex marriage debate, leaders say (7 Feb 2024)

2015 ~ Anglican-Roman Catholic news & opinion

Recollections of the first Anglican-Catholic encounter in the Vatican
2 December 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1819
Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1945-1961. He was the first Archbishop to visit Rome since the Reformation

On December 2nd, 55 years ago, Pope John XXIII had a private audience with the Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher, the first time that Anglican and Catholic leaders had met together since the Reformation. Following their historic encounter, the archbishop met with Cardinal Augustin Bea, head of the newly established Secretariat for Christian Unity, leading to the invitation of Anglican observers to the Second Vatican Council. The meeting also paved the way for the first official encounter between their successors, Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in March 1966 and the establishment of an Anglican Centre here in Rome.

Rebuild my house: Sermon to the General Synod of the Church of England by Father Raniero Cantalamessa
25 November 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1709
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa ofm, Preacher to the Papal Household, preaches to the General Synod of the Church of England in Westminster Abbey during a Eucharist to mark the inauguration of the 10th five-year-term of the General Synod

Few prophetic oracles in the Old Testament can be dated so precisely as that of Haggai, which we have just heard in the first reading. We can place it between August and December in the year 520 BC. The exiles, after the deportation to Babylon, have come back to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. They set to work, but soon grow discouraged, each preferring to work on his own house instead. Into this situation comes the prophet Haggai, sent by God with the message we have heard.

The Word of God, once it is proclaimed, remains forever alive; it transcends situations and centuries, each time casting new light. The situation deplored by the prophet is renewed in history each time we are so absorbed in the problems and interests of our own parish, diocese, community – and even of our particular Christian denomination – that we lose sight of the one house of God, which is the Church.

The prophecy of Haggai begins with a reproof, but ends, as we heard, with an exhortation and a grandiose promise: “Go up into the hills, fetch timber and rebuild the House, and I shall take pleasure in it and manifest my glory there” – says the Lord”.

One circumstance makes this point particularly relevant. The Christian world is preparing to celebrate the fifth centenary of the Protestant Reformation. It is vital for the whole Church that this opportunity is not wasted by people remaining prisoners of the past, trying to establish each other’s rights and wrongs. Rather, let us take a qualitative leap forward, like what happens when the sluice gates of a river or a canal enable ships to continue to navigate at a higher water level.

Anglican bishops plan February meeting to discuss marriage canon
30 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1799
The Anglican Church of Canada's Commission on the Marriage Canon presented their report to the Council of General Synod. Bishop Bishop John Privett (speaking) was a member of the Commission

At their autumn meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., members of the Anglican Church of Canada’s House of Bishops agreed to convene a special meeting from February 23-26 to discuss the report of the Commission on the Marriage Canon.

In a communiqué released October 26, the bishops said this meeting would “pay particular attention to the theology of marriage, the nature of episcopacy, and the synod’s legislative process” and “wrestle with how to honour our roles as guardians of the Church’s faith and discipline and signs of unity both locally and universally.”

The question of legislative process — how General Synod 2016 will approach the divisive vote on whether or not to allow same-sex marriage — has raised some anxiety among bishops, and was brought up in the communiqué.

“We are concerned that parliamentary procedure may not be the most helpful way to discern the mind of the Church, or of the Spirit, in this matter,” it stated. “We would ask those in charge of designing the process whereby the draft resolution comes to the floor…to consider ways in which trust and understanding can be deepened and promoted.”

Anglican bishops respond to authorized lay ministry in ELCIC
29 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1801
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's decision to allow authorized lay people to preside over the Eucharist in some circumstances has caused concern in some Anglican circles

When the Anglican House of Bishops met in Niagara Falls, Ont., in mid-October, one of the first items on the agenda was the policy of authorized lay ministry adopted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) during its National Convention this summer.

Sometimes called “lay presidency,” authorized lay ministry is a dispensation by which—in extraordinary circumstances—lay people can preside over services of the eucharist. While it can hardly be considered part of standard Lutheran practice, the convention voted in July to allow it in heavily circumscribed circumstances.

In an interview with the Anglican Journal, ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson said that the measures were brought in to meet a serious need.

“We find ourselves with occasional situations where it’s difficult and/or impossible to provide regular word and sacrament ministry,” she said, explaining that after considering a number of possibilities, including greater use of reserve sacraments and local ordination, authorized lay ministry was seen to be the “best compromise.”

Vatican cricketers beat Archbishop’s XI in Rome
24 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=3012

Anglican and Vatican cricketers met for the second time in Rome today in a match that saw the Vatican team win.

This morning’s match was played at the Capanelle Ground in Rome, coinciding with the conclusion of the Roman Catholic Church’s Synod on the Family.

St Peter’s XI reached 147 for 6, the Archbishop’s XI were all out for 105 runs.

Last autumn, in a historic first match between Vatican and Anglican sides, the Archbishop’s XI narrowly triumphed with five balls to spare in a memorable showdown at Kent County Cricket Club ground in Canterbury.

Brockville Catholics, Anglicans unite in aid of refugees
23 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=3014
Children from Brockville Wesleyan Church help Agape Brockville move in furniture and prepare an apartment for a refugee family from Eritrea. The refugee family is expected to arrive in November

With growing concern about the plight of refugees, a Catholic parish in the City of Brockville, Ont., is coming together with two Anglican parishes to make a difference in the lives of three refugee families. Agape Brockville is a joint sponsorship effort between St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, St. Paul’s Anglican Church and St. Lawrence Anglican Church. Together, the three parishes are joining forces to prepare new homes for two families from Eritrea and one family from Syria. “The plight of refugees has just been in the news for a long time,” said Michelle Bushnell, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier and one of the founding members of Agape Brockville. “So we’ve been (increasingly) concerned about what we can do as Christians. Like in World War II, we go back and we admire so much that generation that sacrificed so much for each other and even in World War I… yet today, we have so many more people suffering.”

Archbishop’s XI head to Rome for return fixture
9 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=3010
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Archbishop's XI

The Archbishop of Canterbury gave his blessing this week to the Archbishop’s XI, an English cricket team who are heading out to Rome this month to compete against a Vatican side. The trip (21-26 October) follows a visit by the St Peter’s Club — made up of seminarians studying in Rome — to England last autumn. In a memorable meeting in Canterbury, the first-ever match between a Vatican side and an Anglican side ended in a narrow victory for the hosts in the last over (News, 26 September 2014), and raised money for the Global Freedom Network, a joint anti-trafficking initiative (News, 21 March 2014).

Anglican and Oriental Orthodox churches reach historic agreements on the incarnation of Christ and procession of the Holy Spirit
9 October 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1803
The Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission has held its fourth meeting from the 5th to 10th October 2015 at Gladstone’s Library, Hawarden, in the Diocese of St. Asaph in the Church of Wales

Historic agreements have been signed between Anglican and Oriental Orthodox Churches helping to heal the oldest continuing division within Christianity. An Agreed Statement on Christology, published in North Wales this week by the Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission (AOOIC), heals the centuries-old split between the Anglican Churches within the family of Chalcedonian Churches and the non-Chalcedonian Churches over the incarnation of Christ. In addition, the Commission has made substantial progress on issues concerning the Holy Spirit, which have continued to keep the Churches apart over the centuries.

Same-sex marriage ‘theologically possible,’ says Canadian Anglican commission
22 September 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1713
Commission members present their report to Council of General Synod members (L to R): Stephen Martin, Canon Paul Jennings, Bishop Linda Nicholls, Patricia Bays, The Rev. Paul Friesen and Archbishop John Privett

The church may want to look at same-sex marriages as partaking “in the same covenant” as heterosexual unions, but “on somewhat different terms,” and possibly involving alternate liturgies, recommends the report of the Commission on the Marriage Canon, released today.

Just as the New Testament describes the Gentiles in the early church as drawn into the people of Israel’s covenant with God, but not required to observe Jewish tradition, so might the Anglican Church of Canada understand same-sex couples as drawn into the same covenant as heterosexual couples, but in a new way, commission member Stephen Martin told members of the Council of General Synod (CoGS), who gathered for a special session in Toronto to receive the report.

“We’re suggesting this might be the more accurate, faithful and biblical way of thinking about what might be happening in the church today,” added commission member Canon Paul Jennings, who explained the report’s section dealing with models for same-sex marriage. “That is, it’s not a question of us redefining marriage in the abstract to be more inclusive and thereby imply, I don’t know what – that the previous understanding of marriage was wrong. But, it may be simply that God is calling same-sex couples into marriage and thereby broadening and enriching the institution without denying its previous meanings.”

Archbishop of Canterbury calls for Primates’ gathering
16 September 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1657
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Williams standing outside Lambeth Palace

The Archbishop of Canterbury today wrote to all 37 Primates inviting them to attend a special Primates’ gathering in Canterbury to reflect and pray together concerning the future of the Communion. The meeting, to be held in January 2016, would be an opportunity for Primates to discuss key issues face to face, including a review of the structures of the Anglican Communion and to decide together their approach to the next Lambeth Conference. The agenda will be set by common agreement with all Primates encouraged to send in contributions. It is likely to include the issues of religiously-motivated violence, the protection of children and vulnerable adults, the environment and human sexuality. Archbishop Justin Welby said: “I have suggested to all Primates’ that we need to consider recent developments but also look afresh at our ways of working as a Communion and especially as Primates, paying proper attention to developments in the past.”

Changing marriage canon would ‘abrade ecclesial trust,’ ARC-Canada warns
29 June 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1715
Bishop Donald Bolen of Saskatoon and Bishop Linda Nicholls of Huron, the Roman Catholic and Anglican co-chairs of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada (ARC)

In a nine-page contribution submitted to the Anglican Church of Canada’s commission on the marriage canon earlier today, the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Canada (ARC) warns that changing Canon 21 to allow for same-sex marriages would “weaken the very basis of our existing communion, and weaken the foundations upon which we have sought to build towards fuller ecclesial communion.”

The contribution, produced at the request of the Anglican church, acknowledges that while great changes have taken place in the broader cultural understanding of marriage in North America in recent years, “Roman Catholics are left to wonder what has changed, such that our previous common understanding of marriage is left in doubt.”

The commission on the marriage canon, established by Council of General Synod in the fall of 2013, was created in response to a resolution approved at General Synod earlier that year to bring a motion concerning same-sex marriage to its next meeting in 2016. The commission’s mandate is to carry out a “broad consultation” within the church in preparation for the motion, and part of this consultation has involved seeking opinions from ecumenical partners such as the Roman Catholic Church.

Anglican Communion Interim Secretary General to lead Canadian ecumenical body
19 May 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1805
Lt. Col. Jim Champ congratulates his successor The Rev. Dr. Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, as President of the Canadian Council of Churches. Prior to her retirement, Barnett-Cowan was the Director of Unity, Faith, and Order at the Anglican Communion Office in London, England, and served as Interim General Secretary of the Anglican Communion

A new chapter of the Revd Canon Dr Alyson Barnett-Cowan’s lifelong ecumenical engagement has begun with her installation as the new president of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) on 14 May. The current Interim Secretary General of the Anglican Communion and its former Director for Unity, Faith and Order, she was unanimously elected to a three-year term as CCC president by the council’s Governing Board. She succeeds Lt. Col. Jim Champ of the Salvation Army. A priest of the Anglican Church of Canada, for which she served several years as ecumenical officer, Canon Dr Barnett-Cowan had previously served a term as one of CCC’s vice-presidents. She brings with her a wealth of ecumenical experience, having been engaged with various inter-church dialogues and councils of churches at the local, regional, and international level. “I am delighted and honoured to have been chosen for this important voluntary position. It is wonderful to be able to put the experience I’ve gained working for the ecumenical life of the Anglican Communion to use in the service of the Canadian churches,” Canon Dr Barnett-Cowan said of her appointment.

Anglican-Catholic Commission to hold next year’s meeting in Canada
6 May 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4132
ARCIC III co-chairs, Archbishops David Moxon and Bernard Longley, chat with Pope Francis during a private audience with the dialogue members

The fifth session of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission concluded this week with a decision to hold next year’s meeting near the southern Canadian city of Toronto.

The group, known as ARCIC III, met at a retreat house south of Rome from April 28th to May 4th to discuss relations between local, regional and Universal Churches and how moral or ethical decisions are made within each tradition. The Anglican and Catholic scholars have also been reviewing the substantial progress made by earlier ARCIC groups and are preparing to publish commentary on five jointly agreed statements from the previous phases of the dialogue.

During an audience with the group on Thursday, Pope Francis said these discussions remind us that ecumenism is not a secondary element in the life of the Church and that the differences which divide us must never be seen as inevitable.

Following that audience, Philippa Hitchen caught up with the two co-presidents of ARCIC III, Anglican Archbishop David Moxon from New Zealand and the Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham in the UK, Bernard Longley …

Pope Francis meets members of ARCIC III
30 April 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1597
Pope Francis met with members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission

This morning Pope Francis received in audience twenty members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, meeting in these days in order to study the relationship between the universal Church and the local Church, with particular reference to processes for discussions and decision making regarding moral and ethical questions. The Commission was created as a result of the historic meeting in 1966 between Pope Paul VI and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur Michael Ramsey, who signed a joint declaration to establish dialogue based on the Gospel and the common tradition in the hope of leading to the unity in truth for which Christ prayed.

Nigerian bishop to be the Anglican Communion’s next Secretary General
2 April 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1807
The Rt. Rev. Josiah Idowu Fearon (centre) with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury (left) and Bishop James Tengatenga, chair of the Anglican Consultative Council (right)

The Most Revd Dr Josiah Atkins Idowu-Fearon has been appointed to be the next Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. Dr Idowu-Fearon currently serves as Bishop of Kaduna in the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) where he has earned a global reputation in the Church for his expertise in Christian-Muslim relations. He was selected out of an initial field of applicants from Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Since 1998 the Most Revd Dr Idowu-Fearon has been Bishop of Kaduna, and he is the current Director of the Kaduna Anglican Study Centre. Before that he served as Bishop of Sokoto, Warden at St Francis of Assisi Theological College in Wusasa, and Provost of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Kaduna.

Boston College to host theologians for dialogue on Anglican-Roman Catholic relations
23 March 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1569

An international group of 16 prominent Anglican and Roman Catholic theologians and church leaders is gathered at Boston College March 22-26 for the third annual meeting of the Malines Conversation Group, a grassroots forum committed to dialogue and unity.

The Malines Conversation Group has support from both the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace. The group takes its name from the Malines Conversations hosted in the 1920s by then Archbishop of Mechelen (Malines)-Brussels Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier. The Malines Conversations were resurrected in Belgium in 2013. Another meeting followed in England in 2014. This is the group’s first meeting in the United States.

The group is expected to discuss the sacramentality of the Word and the Eucharist. Last year’s conversation focused on themes surrounding communion, memory and the future. The group’s first meeting included reflection on socio-cultural, liturgical and ecclesial developments from the time of the Malines Conversations to the present, and on the anthropological dimension of liturgical experience in the two Communions.

Woman bishop challenges future of Anglican-Catholic dialogue
30 January 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1558
The Rt. Rev. Libby Lane was consecrated as bishop of Stockport, a suffragan of the Diocese of Chester. She is the first woman consecrated bishop in the Church of England following the July 2014 decision of General Synod to allow the ordination of women to the episcopate

While the consecration of the Church of England’s first woman bishop presents significant challenges in bringing Catholics and Anglicans into “closer communion,” ecumenical leaders say the door to dialogue remains open.

The consecration of Libby Lane as an Anglican bishop earlier this month creates a “further challenge to a hope of organic reunion”, said David Moxon, another Anglican bishop, in a Jan. 29 interview with CNA, reiterating concerns expressed by Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham.

Moxon and Archbishop Longley are co-chairs of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which aims to advance ecumenical relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

In a Jan. 27 interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Longley, acknowledging the challenges presented by Lane’s Anglican episcopal consecration, stressed that it “shouldn’t affect the way in which the dialogue is continued.”

Catholic archbishop responds to first woman bishop in Church of England
27 January 2015 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=1553
The Rt. Rev. Libby Lane was consecrated as bishop of Stockport, a suffragan of the Diocese of Chester. She is the first woman consecrated bishop in the Church of England following the July 2014 decision of General Synod to allow the ordination of women to the episcopate

The Catholic archbishop of Birmingham says he wishes the Church of England’s first female bishop well in her ministry and will be remembering her in his prayers. Archbishop Bernard Longley is the Catholic co-chair of ARCIC, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission. He told Vatican Radio that the consecration of Bishop Libby Lane on Monday was a “historic moment in the life of the Church of England” but noted that there has long been “the presence, the witness and the work of women” as bishops within the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Reverend Libby Lane was ordained in York Minister as the new Bishop of Stockport, after the Church of England voted to adopt legislation last November to allow women bishops. Archbishop Longley said that while the ordination of women presents challenges to the Anglican-Catholic dialogue, this latest development “shouldn’t affect the way in which the dialogue is continued”.