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IARCCUM bishops gathered with the Canterbury Cathedral clergy following the Sunday service during the IARCCUM Summit
Rome & Canterbury: Bishop Bauerschmidt on the IARCCUM summit (18 Mar 2024)

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)

News & Opinion from the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogues

The Churches must seize this moment of ecumenical opportunity
1 June 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4458
On April 10 and 11, Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby, and Rev. John Chalmers (Church of Scotland) led a retreat for the political and religious leaders of South Sudan

Is it time for a game changer in relations between the Churches? There are already signs of the times pointing to a better way forward. The joint mission of the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to South Sudan was a powerful symbol of what church leaders can achieve when they work together. The visit of the Archbishop of York to Pope Francis in Rome was another indication that ecumenism still has plenty of potential. Archbishop Stephen Cottrell said afterwards that one of the biggest mistakes that Christians have made is to talk, write and confer about church unity “rather than seeing it as something that we must do.” He is right, though talking and writing have their place. And conferring.

Malines Conversations Group meets in Malta
29 May 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4453
Participants in the Malines Conversations Group meeting in St Paul's Bay, Malta

The Malines Conversations Group, an unofficial theological dialogue of Catholic and Anglican theologians, met in St Paul’s Bay, Malta, from 20 to 26 May 2023. This was the ninth meeting of the group, named in honour of the original Malines Conversations of the 1920s. These early informal conversations, held between a small group of British Anglicans and European Catholics, were made possible by the bonds of friendship between the members of the group. In that spirit, despite some disruption caused by COVID-19, the current Malines Conversations Group has been gathering annually, always in early spring, alternately in Anglican and Roman Catholic venues.

Archbishop of York visits Pope Francis
24 May 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4449
Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, met with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace in Rome

Archbishop Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York in the Church of England, is leading a delegation on a visit to Rome from May 20-24. As part of their journey, they have visited the Basilicas of St Peters and St Paul Outside the Walls, where they spent time praying in the crypts. Prayer at the tombs of the apostles is a traditional focus of pilgrimage to Rome.

On Sunday, the delegation attended All Saints Anglican Church, an English parish in the heart of Rome where the Archbishop preached. He also preached at the Anglican Centre in Rome on Tuesday. Other visits will be to the Community of Sant’Egidio, a lay Roman Catholic association dedicated to social service; the Benedictine monastery of San Gregorio al Celio, in Rome, from which Pope St Gregory sent St Augustine to Canterbury; and the Venerable English College, a seminary training English and Welsh Roman Catholic priests.

The highlight of their trip was a private audience with Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace. Archbishop Cottrell said that his audience with Pope Francis, at which he was accompanied by his chaplain, the Revd Dr Jenny Wright, and his wife, Rebecca, had “further consolidated the strong bonds of friendship between our two World Communions. We are now looking forward, for further cooperation between the Dicasteries of the Vatican and the Anglican Centre in Rome.” Archbishop Ian Ernest, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See, accompanied them on their visit. The delegation was also accompanied by Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and Revd Martin Browne OSB, the Dicastery official responsible for relations with Anglicans.

Coronation ceremony marks turning point in Catholic-Anglican relations
6 May 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4435
Britain’s King Charles III greets well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace in London a day before his coronation takes place at Westminster Abbey

When King Charles III and his wife, Queen Consort Camila, are crowned on Saturday, the event will mark a historic juncture in Catholic-Anglican relations, as it will be the first time a Catholic bishop has participated in the ceremony in four centuries.

In a May 5 statement, the Archdiocese of Westminster in the UK, overseen by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, called Saturday’s coronation “an historic occasion for the nation, and also for the Catholic community.”

“For the first time in over 400 years, a Catholic Archbishop will take part in a Coronation in this country,” the statement said, referring to the fact that Nichols has not only been invited to attend the ceremony, but he will also give a blessing.

Other Catholic representatives at the coronation will be Vatican Secretary of State Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the newly-appointed apostolic nuncio to Great Britain, Spanish Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía, as well as Archbishop Mark O’Toole of Cardiff, Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin.

Pope Francis gifts relics from the True Cross to King Charles III
19 April 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4427
The Cross of Wales includes a relic of the True Cross, gifted to King Charles III by Pope Francis. The Cross will be used during the Coronation on May 6

The Cross of Wales, a new processional cross presented by King Charles III as a centenary gift to the Church in Wales, will lead the Coronation procession at Westminster Abbey on 6 May.

In a significant ecumenical gesture, the Cross of Wales incorporates a relic of the True Cross, the personal gift of Pope Francis to the King to mark the Coronation. The relics, set into the silver cross, are two small wooden splinters from the cross on which Christ was crucified.

Words from the last sermon of St David are chased on the back of the Cross in Welsh: “Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain”, which translates as: “Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.” The Cross was blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, on April 19. It will be officially received by the Church in Wales at a service to follow the Coronation and its use going forward will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic Churches in Wales.

Anna Rowlands seconded to Synod Secretariat and Dicastery for Integral Human Development
21 March 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4419
Anna Rowlands, professor of Catholic social thought and practice at Durham University in Durham, England, speaks at a news conference at the Vatican to present the document for the continental phase of the Synod of Bishops on synodality

A leading Durham University theologian is to help shape the Catholic Church for years to come. Professor Anna Rowlands has been selected for a secondment that will see her spend two years working with the General Secretariat of the Synod, and the Dicastery (Department) for Integral Human Development of the Holy See (Vatican). Her role includes working closely with the team managing the global Synod process established by Pope Francis.

Lambeth Palace responds to GSFA statement
20 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4390
Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace responds to the recent statement by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA).

A Lambeth Palace spokesperson has said:

“At last week’s meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) in Ghana, there was widespread support for working together patiently and constructively to review the Instruments of Communion, so that our differences and disagreements can be held together in unity and fellowship. The Archbishop is in regular contact with his fellow Primates and looks forward to discussing this and other matters with them over the coming period.”

ACC-18 visits former British slave castle in Ghana with the Archbishop of Canterbury
15 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4413
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, takes time out from a tour of Cape Coast Castle with members of ACC-18 for a moment of personal prayer and reflection in a former slave dungeon

Members of the global Anglican Consultative Council took time out from their week-long 18th plenary meeting (ACC-18) in Accra today to visit a 17th-century castle on Ghana’s Cape Coast. At the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, many enslaved Africans were held at Cape Coast Castle before being transported to the Americas on British slave ships. After touring the castle and visiting the basement dungeons, known as slave holes, and the cells for condemned prisoners, members of the ACC took part in a Service of Reflection and Reconciliation at the adjacent Christ Church Anglican Cathedral.

They were joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, President of the ACC; the Archbishop of Ghana and Primate of West Africa, the host province of ACC-18, Cyril Ben-Smith; and the Archbishop of the West Indies and Bishop of Jamaica, Howard Gregory, attending ACC-18 in his role as Chair of the Commission on Theological Education in the Anglican Communion.

ACC-18 welcomes exploration of “structure and decision-making” in the Anglican Communion
14 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4411
Bishop Graham Tomlin addresses members of the Anglican Consultative Council in Accra, Ghana

A proposal for a piece of work to “explore theological questions regarding structure and decision-making [in the Anglican Communion] to help address our differences” has been welcomed by members of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC).

Today (Tuesday 14 February), at their week-long meeting in Accra, Ghana, members of the ACC, gathered for their 18th plenary meeting (ACC-18), affirmed “the importance of seeking to walk together to the highest degree possible, and learning from our ecumenical conversations how to accommodate differentiation patiently and respectfully.”

The words were in a resolution proposed by IASCUFO – the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order. ACC members asked for proposals from IASCUFO “that may impact the ACC constitution” to be brought for full discussion to the next meeting of the ACC, which is expected to be hosted by the Church of Ireland in three years’ time. In the meantime, IASCUFO is asked to proceed with the work and report its progress to the Instruments of Communion.

ACC discusses ‘good differentiation’ amid divisions in Anglican Communion on human sexuality
14 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4408
The Episcopal Church’s delegation to the 18th Anglican Consultative Council — Maryland Bishop Eugene Sutton, Annette Buchanan, a lay leader from the Diocese of New Jersey, and the Rev. Ranjit Mathews, the Diocese of Connecticut’s canon for mission, advocacy, racial justice and reconciliation — poses with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Accra, Ghana

The Episcopal Church’s representatives to the Anglican Consultative Council participated Feb. 14 in a discussion on the challenges of maintaining – and, in some ways, restoring – unity among the worldwide Anglican Communion’s 42 provinces at a time of stark divisions over human sexuality and marriage equality.

About 110 representatives from 39 of those provinces are in Accra, Ghana, this week for the 18th meeting of ACC, one of the Anglican Communion’s four Instruments of Communion and the only to include laity. The other three are the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, the Primates’ Meeting and the archbishop of Canterbury, an office known as the “focus of unity.”

Archbishop of Canterbury addresses concern over global Anglican structures
12 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4406
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, delivers his presidential address to members of the Anglican Consultative Council during their 18th plenary meeting in Accra, Ghana

In a post-colonial world, the Church must find ways of demonstrating unity without one powerful group imposing its values on another, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said today.

In a presidential address to the 18th plenary meeting of the global Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-18), gathered in Accra, Ghana, Archbishop Justin said that “no one group should order the life and culture of another. Such control is often neo-colonial abuse.”

Arms trade is a ‘plague,’ pope says on flight back from Juba
5 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4379
Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby, right, stands by Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Church of Scotland, and Pope Francis as he speaks to journalists aboard the flight from Juba, South Sudan, to Rome

Pope Francis asked the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland to join him for his usual post-trip news conference on their flight back to Rome from Juba, South Sudan, Feb. 5.

At the end of six days in African countries bloodied by war and conflict, Pope Francis said that “the biggest plague” afflicting the world today is the weapons trade.

Tribalism with its ancient rivalries is a problem, he told reporters Feb. 5, “but it is also true that the violence is provoked” by the ready supply of weapons and that making it easier for people to kill each other just to make money “is diabolical — I have no other word for it.”

Praying with South Sudan’s Christians, leaders urge new steps towards unity
4 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4376
Pope Francis, Archbishop Welby and Moderator Greenshields pray the Aaronic blessing on the assembly at the Ecumenical Prayer Vigil in Juba, the centre-piece of their unique Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan

As part of their historic ecumenical pilgrimage to South Sudan, Pope Francis, Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, led an ecumenical prayer for peace Feb. 4 in Juba. After scolding South Sudan’s political leaders and consoling some of its poorest victims, Pope Francis, Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, rallied their faithful to prayer and action.

My heart breaks at violence in South Sudan, says Archbishop of Canterbury
4 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4374
Archbishop Justin Welby preaching at All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Juba, South Sudan

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said “my heart breaks with sorrow for South Sudan” amidst ongoing violence and sectarian conflict in the country. Preaching at All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Juba this morning, the Archbishop urged those who have committed “secret crimes and evil deeds” to ask for God’s mercy and transformation and prayed they would know the “infinite love of Christ”. The Archbishop is currently on a historic three-day Pilgrimage for Peace to South Sudan with Pope Francis and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

Pope appeals to South Sudan’s leaders to halt the bloodshed
3 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4368
Archbishop Justin Welby, Pope Francis, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and Rev. Iain Greenshields during the meeting with South Sudanese authorities in Juba

Pope Francis tells the leaders of divided South Sudan that future generations will either venerate their names or cancel their memory, based on what they do now, and he issues an appeal “to leave the time of war behind and let a time of peace dawn.”

Lasting peace is within “reach” in South Sudan
3 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4372
Archbishop Justin Welby, Pope Francis, President Salva Kiir Mayardit, and Rev. Iain Greenshields during the meeting with South Sudanese authorities in Juba

The President and the Vice Presidents of South Sudan have it within their “reach” to extend justice and compassion to all the people of the world’s youngest nation, the Moderator of the General Assembly has said. Addressing President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his Vice Presidents in Juba this afternoon, Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields told them that the world “needs churches and leaders who are generous of heart, liberal of love, and profligate with God’s grace.” The Moderator made the remarks at an official ceremony held at the “Palais de la Nation” alongside Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Dr Greenshields said the world needs leaders who care about values, the conditions in which people live and act out their faith and work amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised. “These things make for peace,” he added.

The Five Marks of Mission: Today and Tomorrow – ACC prepares for 18th plenary
2 February 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4370
The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) will convene for its 18th plenary from 12 to 19 February

The 18th plenary meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council will take place in Accra, Ghana, from 12 to 19 February. The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of four “Instruments of Communion or “Instruments of Unity” of the global Anglican Communion of 42 autonomous and interdependent-yet-interdependent Churches present in more than 165 countries. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, is President of the ACC and will join other members of the ACC in Accra for this month’s meeting.

Update on ecumenical relations of the Holy See
31 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4366
L'Osservatore Romano

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 2022.

Pope Francis, Anglican, Presbyterian leaders ask for prayers before trip
30 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4364
Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican

Before beginning their ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, Pope Francis and the leaders of the Anglican Communion and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland asked Christians around the globe to accompany them with prayers. Pope Francis is scheduled to fly first to Congo for a visit Jan. 31-Feb. 3 before meeting up in Juba, South Sudan, with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Church of Scotland. About 60% of South Sudan’s population is Christian, and the leaders’ three denominations are the largest in the country.

Pope urges prayers for ‘pilgrimage of peace’ to South Sudan & DRC
29 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4358
Catholics attend Mass in St. Charles parish in Kinshasa ahead of the Pope's visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pope Francis invites Christians to pray for his upcoming Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, saying the African nations have suffered greatly from lengthy conflicts. Pope Francis sets off on Tuesday as a “pilgrim of peace” to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan on 31 January – 5 February.

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