Communiqué: Meeting of Pope John Paul II and Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie

Creation: 9 May 1980 The date of original creation or publication, if known
Event: Meeting of Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie, Accra, Ghana, 9 May 1980
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Communiqué after meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie

Accra, May 9, 1980

The first meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie, though a brief encounter in the midst of full programmes, has been a joyful and moving occasion. They were glad that it took place in Africa where the rapid expansion and the self-sacrificing zeal of the Church and the visible enthusiasm and love for Our Lord Jesus Christ has many lessons for Christians in Europe. They recognize the immense opportunities for the Christian Church in the countries of Africa to proclaim Christ in worship and in service and to make a contribution to the search for peace and justice. They believe that the time is too short and the need too pressing to waste Christian energy on old rivalries and that the talents and resources of all the Churches must be shared if Christ is to be seen and heard effectively.

Their much loved predecessors, Paul VI and Archbishop Donald Coggan, saw the urgent need for this common action and solemnly committed themselves to work for it in the common declaration of 1977. Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie endorse that commitment to “collaborate more earnestly in a greater common witness to Christ”, and they share the recognition that common action depends on progress in the “serious dialogue”, now nearly fourteen years established, by which Roman Catholics and Anglicans have been seeking the way to that unity of faith and communion which Christ wills for his Church.

Today in Accra, the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have established a personal friendship and trust upon which they intend to build in a fuller meeting in the future. They look forward to working together to achieve the unity for which Christ prayed to his Heavenly Father.