Recognizing that the Christian churches continually are called to grapple with new moral issues and that reaching different conclusions can complicate the search for Christian unity, a commission of Catholic and Anglican bishops and theologians has been studying how their traditions make decisions and what they can learn from each other.

Members of the official Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) met May 11-18 in Strasbourg, France, to continue their examination of “how the Church local, regional and universal discerns right ethical teaching,” according to a statement released May 27.

“For the first time in its work, ARCIC III has chosen to include two case studies as part of its reflection — one where Catholics and Anglicans reached broadly the same teaching, and one where they did not. These case studies, on Enslavement and Contraception, illustrate the doctrinal and structural similarities and differences between the two communions and also serve to highlight unresolved questions,” the statement said.

The Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) held its annual plenary meeting at the Centre Culturel Saint-Thomas in Strasbourg, France from May 11-18, 2024. It continued to work on the second part of its mandate examining how the Church discerns local, regional and universal right ethical teaching.

Drafting the Agreed Statement for this phase of the Commission’s work had continued during the Commission’s 2023 plenary meeting in Cyprus and aims to be finalised by 2025. When published, the Agreed Statement will complement the document published by ARCIC III in 2017, ‘Walking Together on the Way: Learning to be the Church. Local, Regional and Universal’.

In its Communiqué, issued at the end of the meeting, the Commission stated that it has “adopted an approach of receptive ecumenical learning, whereby each dialogue partner seeks to identify elements of church life found in the other tradition which might be gifts for the enhancement of their own traditions. A large part of the Commission’s work in Strasbourg was therefore devoted to reflecting on moral discernment in our two traditions and on what they can learn from each other’s practices.”

Unity within Christian communities and the unity of all the churches will grow only as believers draw closer to Jesus and learn to be honest in examining if they are listening to the Holy Spirit or to their own preferences, Pope Francis told leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“We are called to pray and to listen to one another, seeking to understand each other’s concerns and asking ourselves, before enquiring of others, whether we have been docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit or prey to our own personal or group opinions,” Pope Francis said May 2 as he welcomed to the Vatican Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the primates of the Anglican churches.

“Surely, the divine way of seeing things will never be one of division, separation or the interruption of dialogue,” the pope said. “Rather, God’s way leads us to cling ever more fervently to the Lord Jesus, for only in communion with him will we find full communion with one another.”

Pope Francis read his speech to the group, but also set aside time to respond to the primates’ questions, Archbishop Linda Nicholls, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, told reporters. The questions, she said, allowed the pope to talk about “his own passions in ministry, unity in diversity, harmony, and he said in several ways that ‘war is always, always, always a defeat.'”

Speaking to the Primates of the Anglican Communion, Pope Francis says that even the very earliest Christians had their disagreements.

Senior clergy from the Anglican Communion are in Rome this week for the body’s 2024 Primates Meeting – the first of its kind to be held in the Eternal City.

On Thursday morning, participants, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, met with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Long history of cooperation

Pope Francis began his address by thanking Archbishop Welby for his presence, noting that he “began his service as Archbishop of Canterbury around the same time that I began mine as Bishop of Rome.”

“Since then,” the Pope added, “we have had many occasions to meet, to pray together and to testify to our faith in the Lord. Dear brother Justin, thank you for this fraternal cooperation on behalf of the Gospel!”

He stressed in particular the pair’s joint trip to Sudan in 2023, which, he said, was “really beautiful”.

In a historic meeting, Anglican Communion Primates from around the world have attended an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican, during the morning of May 2.

In the hour-long meeting, the Pope shared words of encouragement and affirmation in conversation with the primates, responding to questions from those gathered.

In his address, Pope Francis spoke about themes of synodality, church unity and the prioritization of relationships, Christian love and service.

The Pope said: “Only a love that becomes gratuitous service, only the love that Jesus taught and embodies, will bring separated Christians closer to one another. Only that love, which does not appeal to the past in order to remain aloof or to point a finger, only that love which in God’s name puts our brothers and sisters before the ironclad defence of our own religious structures, only that love will unite us. First our brothers and sisters, the structures later.”

This was a significant moment in a week in which the Anglican Primates’ Meeting has been held in Rome. They have gathered for pilgrimage, prayer, and discussion about joint mission and witness, along with conversation about synodality, structures, and decision-making in the Anglican Communion.