A document released by the Roman Catholic Church reconsidering its policy on blessings—including those to people in same–sex relationships—offers Anglicans a new way to think about divisions within their own communion, says the Rev. Iain Luke, principal of the Saskatoon–based College of Emmanuel and St. Chad and a member of the Anglican–Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada.

The declaration Fiducia Supplicans, endorsed by Pope Francis on Dec. 18, lays out a shift in the Roman Catholic Church’s approach to blessings. It encourages clergy to offer blessings from the church to any who ask without first scrutinizing whether they are in compliance with the church’s doctrines or meet some moral standard.

When someone asks for a blessing, the document says, regardless of their marital or moral status, they are showing their openness to God’s love and assistance. “This request should, in every way, be valued, accompanied, and received with gratitude,” it states. “People who come spontaneously to ask for a blessing show by this request their sincere openness to transcendence, the confidence of their hearts that they do not trust in their own strength alone, their need for God, and their desire to break out of the narrow confines of this world, enclosed in its limitations.”

The Roman Catholic–Anglican dialogue is advancing on the path of reconciliation after four centuries of conflict and separation. This decades–long effort is now moving beyond theological dialogue at the international level to building a movement whose guiding principle is: “The Christian churches should do all things together except where deep differences require that we act separately.”

Canada’s Catholic archbishop of Regina, Don Bolen, and the Canadian British–born Anglican suffragan bishop in Europe, David Hamid, explained this to America at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, on Tiber Island in Rome, on Jan. 25.

The two bishops are the co–chairmen of the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, which goes by the acronym IARCCUM. Composed entirely of bishops from both churches, the commission came into existence in 2001 and held a two–part summit in Rome and Canterbury during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18–25. The summit brought together pairs of bishops from 27 countries, one from each Anglican province and one from the Catholic bishops’ conference in the same region.

I spoke to them just before the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, celebrated the Anglican Holy Eucharist in the Basilica of St. Bartholomew “with the permission of the bishop of Rome,” he said. (Archbishop Welby’s predecessor, Archbishop Rowan Williams, celebrated the Holy Eucharist in the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome’s Aventine Hill on Nov. 26, 2006, with the permission of Pope Benedict XVI.)

Both bishops agreed that Pope Francis’ approach to ecumenical dialogue dovetails well with the commission’s model. Indeed, from the beginning of his pontificate in March 2013, Francis has encouraged Christians to cooperate in concrete ways in addressing the problems of the world, even when theological or doctrinal problems may still create roadblocks to unity between the different Christian churches. He believes that “by walking together,” “praying together” and “working together” wherever possible, friendships can be built between the leaders and members of the different churches that not only give an important Christian witness to the world but also make it easier to address the theological obstacles to Christian unity.

As Catholics and Anglicans pray and work for the day when they can celebrate the Eucharist together, they are called to support one another in situations of suffering, apologize together for times when they have sinned and work together to share the good news of God’s love, said bishops from both communities.

Pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops from 27 nations traveled to Rome Jan. 22–25 and to Canterbury, England, Jan. 26–29 for prayer, discussion and a commissioning by Pope Francis and Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury.

The pilgrimage was organized by the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, a body established in 2001 to promote common prayer and joint projects to demonstrate concretely how the theological agreements the churches have made also have practical implications in witnessing together to the Christian faith.

A final statement drafted by participants was posted Feb. 1 [at IARCCUM.org] and on the websites of the Anglican Communion and the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

It’s time to ‘walk together, pray together, and seek justice together’, say Anglican and Catholic Bishops.

Anglican and Catholic bishops participating in the ecumenical summit Growing Together have shared their post–conference ‘Call’ today. Entitled Our Common Witness, Calling and Commitment, it comes after a weeklong gathering (22–29 January) that saw the bishops meeting in Rome and Canterbury, for pilgrimage and discussion on joint mission and witness.

Meeting during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the summit was attended by Catholic and Anglican bishop pairs, representing 27 countries from all over the world. During the summit, each pairing was commissioned by Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, during Vespers, at the basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome.

The summit was organised by IARCCUM, an ongoing International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. It is supported by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity in Rome and the Anglican Communion Office, Secretariat to the Anglican Communion.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in a summit of the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission. IARCCUM’s mandate is to help give tangible expression to the formal agreements reached between our two communions of churches over the past 60 years. Even with so much theological consensus on so many things, there is still so much more that Anglicans and Catholics can and should be doing together.

In that spirit, 50 bishops from 27 countries where Catholics and Anglicans live side by side in significant numbers spent a week gathered in Rome and then Canterbury on an ecumenical pilgrimage of common prayer, relationship building, discussion, and discernment about how we can be better witnesses of reconciliation in our own lands and in the world.

IARCCUM bishops work in pairs – an Anglican and a Catholic bishop from each country represented. My Canadian Catholic “twin” is Bishop Martin Laliberté of Trois–Rivières. He‘s also currently the president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec/Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec. Bishop Martin and I have known each other since 2019 when he served as an auxiliary bishop in Quebec City. We got to know each other better still over the course of the week, and discussed ways Anglicans and Catholics in Quebec and the rest of Canada might work more closely together.

Each pair of bishops was invited to briefly share a snapshot of the context of their ministries. Bishop Martin and I explained some of the challenges and opportunities of being the church in a sometimes aggressively secular age – something we were reminded is not unique to Quebec or Canada. We also shared our churches’ involvement in the residential schools system, and our attempts to be reconciled with Indigenous peoples.

The Reverend Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, the Reverend Professor Thomas Pott and the Reverend Dr Jamie Hawkey discuss the work of the Malines Conversation Group – an international group of Anglican and Catholic scholars – and how we might work towards unity between and within the churches. The seminar is open to anyone interested in ecumenism and theology in the church today.

As in previous years, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity L‘Osservatore Romano published a series of articles prepared by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity on the ecumenical relations of the Holy See. The texts, which are published in Italian, offer an update on the ecumenical situation and on initiatives undertaken in 2023.

“Called to be Jesus Partners“. The bishops taking part in Anglican and Catholic “Growing Together” ecumenical summit, went on pilgrimage to Canterbury this weekend.

They attended Sunday Eucharist at Canterbury Cathedral with the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Stephen Chow Saau–yan (Bishop of Hong Kong) shared a message of hope.

Watch the video highlights from a weekend of discussion and friendship.

The bishops of the ‘Growing Together’ ecumenical summit have travelled from Rome to Canterbury for the second phase of their programme. The summit coincided with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and run from January 22–29.

Meeting in Anglican and Catholic bishop pairs, it has been a week seasoned with themes of friendship, conversation and journeying together.

The bishops have explored the importance of listening and learning from one another, celebrating what they have in common and how faith traditions can work together as partners in the gospel.

This sense of partnership was celebrated most significantly on January 25, when Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury commissioned the bishops in joint mission, during Vespers, at the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the church of Saint Paul Outside The Walls.

From Rome to Canterbury! Co–Chairs of IARCCUM and the ‘Growing Together‘ summit, Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid, talk about what it means for Catholic and Anglican bishops to meet together for conversation and pilgrimage in Canterbury this weekend.

San Gregorio al Celio in Rome is the church from where Pope Gregory the Great sent St Augustine to England in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Yesterday, the ‘Growing Together‘ summit travelled from Rome to Canterbury. Co–Chair of IARCCUM, is the Archbishop Donald Bolen, the Catholic Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan. Standing on the steps of San Gregorio, he shared his reflections on the significance of this meeting of Catholic and Anglican bishops.

This week’s “Growing Together” summit has seen pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops gather for a series of ecumenical discussions and visits to holy sites in Rome, that have significance to the common roots shared by both traditions.

Today, before the summit moves to Canterbury for the second phase of the programme, the bishops gathered to pray at the Church of San Gregorio al Celio during their last day in Rome. It was a fitting location, as San Gregorio al Celio is the church from where St Augustine was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the service, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, along with Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid (Co–Chairs of IARCCUM) stood at the Chair of Gregory the Great.

This week’s “Growing Together” summit has seen pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops gather for a series of ecumenical discussions and visits to holy sites in Rome, that have significance to the common roots shared by both traditions.

Today, before the summit moves to Canterbury for the second phase of the programme, the bishops gathered to pray at the Church of San Gregorio al Celio during their last day in Rome. It was a fitting location, as San Gregorio al Celio is the church from where St Augustine was sent to England by Pope Gregory the Great in 597, to be the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the service, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, along with Archbishop Donald Bolen and Bishop David Hamid (Co–Chairs of IARCCUM) stood at the Chair of Gregory the Great.

Divided Christians will draw closer to one another only by loving God and loving their neighbours, serving one another and not pointing fingers in blame for past faults, Pope Francis said.

Closing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity with an evening prayer service Jan. 25 at Rome‘s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Francis was joined by Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and, at the end of the service, the two commissioned pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from 27 countries to “bear witness together to the hope that does not deceive and to the unity for which our Savior prayed.”

Members of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, who were meeting in Rome, also participated along with representatives of Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican communities in Italy.

In his homily, Francis reflected on the theme for the 2024 celebration of the week of prayer: “You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbour as yourself” from Luke 10:27.

The passage comes from a Gospel story in which a scholar of the law asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After Jesus affirms the need to love God and one‘s neighbour, the scholar asks, “And who is my neighbour?”

Watch highlights from the final full day in Rome of the “Growing Together” ecumenical summit as Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Anglican and Catholic bishops from across the world joined together for Vespers in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether

Today, Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, commissioned pairs of Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops from across the world at Vespers (Evening Prayer) at the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome. Marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the ecumenical congregation drawn from various Christian traditions, prayed for the unity of the Church.

The bishop pairs are currently attending ‘Growing Together,’ a weeklong programme of ecumenical dialogue and pilgrimage, taking place in Rome and Canterbury. It is organised by the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), supported by the Anglican Communion Office and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

The Pope and the Archbishop commissioned the bishops to engage in joint mission and witness and to promote reception of the agreements already reached in theological dialogues between the two traditions. The location of the commissioning is significant, as it marks the place where the apostle Paul was buried after his martyrdom in Rome.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, preached today at Anglican Eucharist held at San Bartolomeo all’Isola on Tiber Island (Sanctuary of the New Martyrs), a ninth–century Basilica in Rome.

The Anglican Eucharist at 11:45 was attended by Catholic and Anglican bishops from across the globe who are currently in Rome for the ecumenical summit Growing Together, organised by IARCCUM, the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission.

Later in the day, the Archbishop of Canterbury is due to take part in Vespers at 17:30, at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, where Pope Francis and the Archbishop will commission the bishops for their joint witness and mission.

This morning’s Eucharist at San Bartolomeo was one of the pilgrimages the bishops taking part in “Growing Together” have made this week. In 2000, the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all’Isola was dedicated by Pope John Paul ll to the memory of new martyrs of the 20th Century.

Come, Holy Spirit, and set our hearts on fire with the flames of your love. Amen.

It is wonderful to see this meeting of IARCCUM (the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission), this gathering of God‘s people from around the world. Many in places of immense suffering and difficulty, persecuted, hunted, and yet here you are.

I come to you today, and I wonder what you were thinking about in the readings when often our thoughts may wander a little bit, I was thinking, in this place, I am the least among you. For I come with the responsibilities of living amongst the troubles that Anglicanism has suffered the last few years, and being conscious that to you I must be as one who serves.

I come as the least. And so, what I will say today, is in that Benedictine tradition, in the rule of Saint Benedict, that when there are things to be decided, that the abbot, so called, should listen, to all, to the least, to the newest, to the youngest. And I come, as with all of us, a sinner, conscious of the judgment I will face.

Today, Anglican & Catholic bishops at the ecumenical summit ‘Growing Together‘ have talked about the vital role of synodality in the church. How the people of God journey together, listen to one another & discern how God is speaking. They have discussed themes of justice, peace & reconciliation as they explore their joint mission and witness in the world.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether #Synodality

Watch highlights from the Anglican Choral Evensong at St Peter‘s Basilica in Rome. The service was part of ‘Growing Together‘, an ecumenical summit between Anglican and Catholic bishops. The summit is meeting during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

#Anglican #Catholic #IARCCUM #GrowingTogether