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Bishops attend the opening Eucharist of the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury Cathedral
Little evidence so far that Anglican leaders plan to join GAFCON in leaving Anglican Communion (23 Oct 2025)

An ecumenical prayer service was held today in the Sistine Chapel with Pope Leo XIV and Archbishop Stephen Cottrell (York, UK) on the occasion of the state visit of King Charles III
Fraternity and hope strengthen relations between Catholics and Anglicans (23 Oct 2025)

Pope Leo XIV with Britain's King Charles III in the St. Damasus Courtyard at the Vatican after a state visit and prayer in the Sistine Chapel
Pope Leo and King Charles make history with first-ever joint prayer service in Sistine Chapel (23 Oct 2025)

KIng Charles and Cardinal Vincent Nicholls with St Peter\'s Basilica in the background
King Charles and the Catholic ‘hand of history’ (19 Oct 2025)

Anglican bishops and ecumenical guests pose for their portrait at the 15th Lambeth Conference
GAFCON says its members will leave Anglican Communion to form rival network (17 Oct 2025)

News & Opinion from the Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogues

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.

3 Voices to give 1 message in South Sudan on “quite unique” trip in Church history
29 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4360
Archbishop Justin Welby meets with Rt Rev Iain Greenshields, newly elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

In South Sudan, “the Church speaks with one voice for peace,” says Presbyterian leader about the upcoming trip with Pope Francis. From February 3 to 5, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, the Right Reverend Dr. Iain Greenshields, will join Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on a “pilgrimage of peace” to South Sudan. The three Christian branches have worked together for several years to promote peace in the youngest state in the world, which continues to be troubled by conflict since its independence in 2011.

Hopes high Pope’s African visit will clear path to peace
27 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4357
A young woman carries a Cross during a march in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, to protest escalating violence in the country

Braving a volatile political and security situation, Pope Francis embarks on a long-anticipated journey of unity and reconciliation to two African countries wracked by bitter divisions, warring factions and humanitarian crises seldom on the radar of international power brokers.

The Pope will travel first to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Jan. 31 before proceeding to South Sudan from Feb. 3-5. In the latter country, he will be joined by the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, in what has been described as an ecumenical pilgrimage to facilitate a peace process that has been moving at a glacial pace following 10 years of a brutal civil war.

Brothers and Sisters on a Pilgrim Journey: Methodists and Anglicans and the Catholic Church
27 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4354
Delegates pray together during a Special Session of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church

The language of walking and pilgrimage has been used for many years regarding the deepening of ecumenical relationships. For example, when Pope Francis received the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in June 2014, he ended his address by saying, “we must walk together.” Two years later, in the [Common] Declaration issued by the Holy Father and the Archbishop at the Church of Saint Gregory, the two leaders said that fifty years of dialogue enabled their two communions to see themselves as “partners and companions on our pilgrim journey.” Also in 2016, the bishops of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) issued an appeal entitled, Walking Together: Common Service to the World and Witness to the Gospel, declaring that “Anglicans and Roman Catholics walk together by faith, guided and strengthened by our Lord who walks the pilgrim path with us.”

Hope, excitement, and expectations spread in South Sudan ahead of global Christian leaders’ visit
26 January 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4352
People pray during a nighttime vigil for peace in Nakubuse, a small village near Kuron in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State. The region has been plagued by cattle raiding and child abduction in recent years. The Catholic Church-sponsored Holy Trinity Peace Village, centered in Kuron, has worked for years to foster reconciliation and peace between the region's pastoralist communities

Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church; Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, UK; and Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland; will travel to the world’s youngest nation on 3- 5 February on a spiritual and peace mission.

Barely a week to the visit, Juba, the capital city has been exuberant, with billboards coming up and flowers being planted. Roads are being tarmacked and churches renovated in preparation for the rare and unique visit. T-shirts with images of the leaders have also appeared, as traders in the markets increased stocks of Christian items related to the visit, including tiny crucifixes and rosaries, according to sources in the capital.

Joint statement of IARCCUM on the death of Pope Benedict XVI
31 December 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4342
The IARCCUM logo shows two doves perched on the same bird bath; a place where they can both wash and drink together. They have flown in from other places and are together, because they have freely chosen to land together. They trust each other and know that they are in a place of refreshment for them both. Anglicans and Catholics share the same theology and practise of baptism, whose waters make us members of the Body of Christ; whose purpose refreshes us for mission in many places. The mosaic detail is from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy.

Pope Benedict XVI is rightly remembered not only as a gentle pastor but as a dedicated upholder of Catholic teaching. He was also committed to the ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian Churches, including the Church of England and the Churches of the Anglican Communion. When he visited Lambeth Palace in 2010 as part of his State Visit to the United Kingdom, he told a gathering of Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops, “I wish to join you in giving thanks for the deep friendship that has grown between us and for the remarkable progress that has been made in so many areas of dialogue during the forty years that have elapsed since the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) began its work. Let us entrust the fruits of that work to the Lord of the harvest, confident that he will bless our friendship with further significant growth”.

Pope Benedict XVI: a statement from the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
31 December 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4344
Pope Benedict XVI and the then-Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, hold a private meeting in the Pope's study at the Vatican

The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo, has issued a statement following the death of Benedict XVI, expressing his “great sadness” and assuring brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church of his prayers.

Bishop Anthony Poggo is currently returning to the UK from Tanzania after preaching the Christmas Day sermon Christ Church Cathedral in Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Speaking at the airport, he said:

“It is with great sadness that I learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury on the death of Pope Benedict XVI
31 December 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4347
Pope Benedict XVI

Today I join with the church throughout the world, and especially with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and all in the Catholic Church, in mourning the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

In Pope Benedict’s long life and ministry of service to Christ in His Church he saw many profound changes in the church and in the world. He lived through the Nazi regime in Germany and served briefly in the Second World War. As a younger theologian and priest he witnessed first-hand the discussions of the Second Vatican Council. As a professor and then as an Archbishop he lived in a divided Germany but saw too the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of his homeland.

St Chad ‘returns’ to Lichfield Cathedral
7 November 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4287
An artist’s impression of the new Shrine of St Chad at the Church of England's Lichfield Cathedral. The Archdiocese of Birmingham has given a portion of the relics of St Chad to establish the new shrine on the original site

A relic of St Chad is due to transferred from Birmingham to Lichfield cathedral tomorrow as a shrine of St Chad is reinstated in the location of the original medieval shrine.

St Chad, a monk and abbot, moved his see from Repton to Lichfield when he was made Bishop of Mercia in 669. He died just three years later in a plague. He became associated with healing, until his relics had to be moved during the Dissolution. They were eventually enshrined at St Chad’s new Catholic cathedral in Birmingham when it opened in 1841, in a new ark designed by Pugin.

Pope Francis prays for unity of church as he celebrates anniversary of Vatican II
11 October 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4261
Bishops gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for the opening session of the Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council was the universal Catholic Church’s response to God’s love and to Jesus’ command to feed his sheep, Pope Francis said, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the council’s opening.

The council reminded the church of what is “essential,” the pope said: “a church madly in love with its Lord and with all the men and women whom he loves,” one that “is rich in Jesus and poor in assets,” a church that “is free and freeing.”

Irish Benedictine to lead Vatican’s relations with Anglicans and Methodists
7 October 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4278
Fr Martin Browne, OSB

Pope Francis has appointed an Irish Benedictine to lead the Vatican’s dialogue with the Anglican Communion. The Irish Catholic reports Fr. Martin Browne OSB, a monk at Glenstal Abbey in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland will shortly take up the post in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.  He succeeds Fr. Anthony Currer as the official for Methodist and Anglican Relations.

‘Ecumenical winter’ must end, declares Archbishop Welby
8 September 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4257
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the WCC Assembly during the thematic plenary on Christian unity

At times of world crisis, the “habits of division” between Christians must end, the Archbishop of Canterbury said on Wednesday. He was addressing the 11th World Council of Churches (WCC) Assembly, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany (Comment, 2 September).

Archbishop Welby spoke of the Lambeth Conference meeting in Canterbury over the summer (News, 19 August), at which participants had expressed “huge differences” over matters such as human sexuality. “We found our way forward through, not by solving the issues but by living in the light of Christ, by saying we do not agree, by being honest without excluding one another.”

Archbishop of Canterbury: “In this time of world crisis, Christians are to be a community of peace”
7 September 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4255
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the WCC Assembly during the thematic plenary on Christian unity

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly on 7 September.

The archbishop spoke of how the theme of the WCC assembly—“Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”—resonates with the theme of the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops, held in August under the theme “God’s Church for God’s World.”

Archbishop of Canterbury addresses the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches
7 September 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4253
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby addressed the WCC Assembly during the thematic plenary on Christian unity

Archbishop Justin today addressed the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. The WCC Assembly is the highest governing body of the World Council of Churches, and normally meets every eight years. This year’s conference took place between 31st August – 8th September 2022. It is the only time when the entire fellowship of member churches come together in one place for prayer and celebration. The theme of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches is “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity”.

Pope Francis wants WCC assembly that strengthens bonds between churches
1 September 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4259
Cardinal Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity (Roman Catholic Church) delivers greetings from Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church to the WCC 11th Assembly during its first thematic plenary, focused on Care for Creation. The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches is held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 31 August to 8 September, under the theme ‘Christ’s Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity’

Pope Francis, sent greetings to the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly as it opened.

The Pope wished the representatives of the churches at the 31 August to 8 September assembly “a meaningful and fruitful meeting that deepens and strengthens the bonds of communion between the Churches and the ecumenical organizations present.”

The pontiff said in advance greetings that he has a “pastoral interest in the work of the Assembly.”

Pope Francis also noted that the Catholic Church has sent “delegated observers” to WCC assemblies since the WCC 3rd Assembly took place in New Delhi in 1961.

Living Church Foundation’s Christopher Wells to be Anglican Director of Unity, Faith & Order
7 August 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4240
The Secretary General-Designate of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo; the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby; and the Director-Designate of the Anglican Communion's Unity, Faith & Order department, Dr Christopher Wells

The Executive Director of the Living Church Foundation, Dr Christopher Wells, has been named as the next Director of Unity, Faith and Order for the Anglican Communion. Dr Wells will succeed the Venerable Dr William Adam, who was installed as Archdeacon of Canterbury last month.

As Director of Unity Faith and Order, Christopher Wells will lead and support the work of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO) – the international body that advises provinces, the Secretary General and the Instruments of Communion on ecumenical relations and doctrine. He will also serve as the lead staff member for Anglican Communion delegations to official international ecumenical dialogues.

Churches must overcome divisions to achieve common witness, cardinal tells Anglicans
5 August 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4242
Spouses’ strengthening sessions, 'Safe Spaces,' during the 2022 Lambeth Conference at Canterbury

The Vatican’s lead cardinal for promoting Christian unity has warned of an “ecumenical emergency” which undermines evangelisation, unless Churches can find a common purpose in the ecumenical movement.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, the prefect of the dicastery for promoting Christian unity, said in a message to the Anglican bishops attending the Lambeth Conference that a “common ecumenical witness to Jesus Christ in the present world is only possible when Christian churches overcome their divisions”.

He said that there were different visions of ecumenism, from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox perspectives, so “asking questions about the goal of the ecumenical movement, and consequently of a more precise understanding of Church unity cannot simply be done in an abstract way”. Instead, “this questioning is always directed and informed by prior ecclesial decisions of a confessional nature”.

“This means that the still largely lacking agreement on the goal of the ecumenical movement is rooted in a still largely lacking ecumenical agreement on the nature of the Church and its unity.” This means, he continued, that “there are basically as many ecumenical goals as there are confessional ecclesiologies”.

Lambeth 2022: Anglican Communion has shifted on sexuality, says Bishop Vann
4 August 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4251
A group of bishops at the Lambeth Conference. From left: the Area Bishop of York-Scarborough, the Rt Revd Kevin Robertson; the Bishop of Michigan, Dr Bonnie Perry; the Bishop of Missouri, the Rt Revd Deon K. Johnson; the Bishop of Monmouth, the Rt Revd Cherry Vann; the Rt Revd Mary Glasspool, an assistant bishop in the diocese of New York; and the Bishop of Maine, the Rt Revd Thomas J Brown

The headlines were always likely to be: “Archbishop validates Lambeth 1.10” — but that’s only part of the story, the Bishop of Monmouth, the Rt Revd Cherry Vann, said on Thursday, at the Lambeth Conference.

One of the joys of the Call on Human Dignity on Tuesday, she said, had been the recognition, for the first time, that countries across the world were in very different places over human sexuality. “Justin very clearly said that to bless civil partnerships and gay marriages, in most parts of the Anglican Communion, would mean the end of the Church, because there would be no credence or credibility whatsoever.

“Similarly, if in the West we were not to do that, exactly the same thing would apply. I think that, for the first time, that is being publicly acknowledged by someone of Justin’s standing.

Anglican Communion bishops’ portrait shows glimpse of unity during tense Lambeth Conference
29 July 2022 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4248
The Anglican Bishops and guests attending the Lambeth Conference pose for their group photograph during the 2022 Lambeth Conference at the University of Kent in Canterbury, United Kingdom

They marched up the hill wearing vestments of all styles and colors and speaking an array of languages from around the world. They laughed, sang and danced as they climbed the bleachers and lined up in rows, from shortest to tallest. And then, after some final adjustments and one fainting spell, the last one took her seat and there they were: the bishops of the Anglican Communion.

The portrait of all 650+ bishops in attendance is a tradition dating back to the first Lambeth Conference in 1867. That first portrait, showing a small group of white men in black suits, is unrecognizable from the one taken on July 29 on an athletic field at the University of Kent, under a blazing sun.

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