Is there any serious difference between the doctrine of justification in the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church? The Agreed Statement of the Second Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC II) ‘Salvation and the Church’ (1987) concluded that this was “no longer an area where any remaining differences of theological interpretation of ecclesiological emphasis either within or between our Communions could justify our separation”(§32).

McGrath examines the Statement beginning first with the importance of the Reformation and at the Council of Trent, and then more recent debates on justification within the Anglican Communion and the ecumenical world. McGrath then takes a detailed look at the Statement itself, its format, scope, use of Scripture, and implications.