He said the relationship was "akin to an extended family."

Dew and Bishop Ross Bay, the Anglican bishop of Auckland have been representing New Zealand at meeting with Pope Francis, and Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Bay said "The relationship we have is both liturgical and pastoral and extends to the work we do in civil society."

"We share our joys, sorrows and concerns for both our respective communities and wider society."

"This gathering is another historical and significant step in the relationship both at home in New Zealand and globally," he said.

Pairs of bishops from 19 different regions where Anglicans and Catholics live side by side in significant numbers were at the meeting.

They gathered on 30 September in Canterbury. On October 3 they moved to the Vatican.

The purpose of the meeting was to discover new ways for Roman Catholics and Anglicans to give greater witness to their common faith, and particularly how they can collaborate in mission to the world.

Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby commissioned the 36 bishops to take part in united mission in their local areas.

The commissioning and sending took place during Vespers led jointly by Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby, at the Church of Saint Gregory on the Caelian Hill in Rome.

This is the church from where Pope Gregory sent Augustine to evangelise the Anglo-Saxon people.

The service was one of the highlights of an ecumenical summit organised by Iarccum to mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966.

That meeting was the first such public meeting between a Pope and an Archbishop of Canterbury since the Reformation.

Subsequently, Pope John Paul II with Archbishop Robert Runcie, and later with Archbishop George Carey.

Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Rowan Williams prayed together in the Church of Saint Gregory.
Source

• Supplied
• anglicannews.org
• Image: Supplied

Cardinal John will first go to Canterbury, in England where he will join the IARCCUM Pilgrims; 36 Anglican and Catholic bishops, representing 19 different regions.

The bishops will begin the first leg of their meeting on 30th September in Canterbury.

They will be staying at the Lodge in Canterbury Cathedral, will take part in the liturgical life of the Cathedral.

And they will make a pilgrim visit to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket, where Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Robert Runcie prayed together.

On October 3 the bishops move on to Rome and will be staying near the Vatican.

They will make a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles, Ss Peter and Paul.

They will then participate in the vespers celebrated by Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby at San Gregorio al Celio on 5th October, to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.

At these vespers it is anticipated that the bishops will be mandated by Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby, in their ecumenical mission.

On the same day the bishops will attend an academic symposium at the Gregorian University.

"50 years of walking together in faith" is a symposium to be held Wednesday, 5 October 2016 at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

This symposium will be an opportunity to explore in detail some of the achievements of 50 years of dialogue between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

IARCCUM is a commission established by the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church as an official joint commission.

IARCCUM exists in parallel with the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, the theological commission known as ARCIC.

ARCIC is the Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission established by Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI in 1967.

Source

• iarccum.org
• Image: iarccum.org

Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, who is Catholic co-chair of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) stressed he was expressing a "personal view".

In an interview with the Church of Ireland Gazette, he said that although the two churches now work closely together on a daily basis, it was a source of "pain" that they still could not share communion.

But he pointed to a Vatican document published in 1993 as well as a paper produced by bishops in the British Isles which already allows non-Roman Catholics to receive sacraments in very special circumstances, including if they are in danger of death.

The archbishop was asked whether he thought, given there had already been a limited relation, there could be room for further changes.

He responded: "My personal view is, you are right to draw attention to the changes which we have already seen on the basis of a deeper theological understanding of one another's churches."

"And on that basis the 1993 Ecumenical Directory made possible the reception of Holy Communion by the baptised who are not members of the Roman Catholic Church in a number of specified circumstances and with certain criteria.

"Given that that represents a change and a very significant shift away from the impossibility to the limited possibility then I could imagine and foresee one of the fruits of our ecumenical engagement as moving towards a deeper understanding of communion and a deeper sharing between our churches . . . which perhaps would lead to a reconsideration of some of the circumstances."

He added that it was impossible for him to predict the "speed of change", but that he hoped existing rules could be made use of.

The Anglican Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Rev Christopher Hill, noted that "Rome is considering updating the [1993]directory".

Archbishop Longley's remarks were warmly welcomed by leading figures in the Church of England who said it was time for closer ties.

Sources

• The Telegraph
• Image: Catholic Herald

In his view there is broad agreement on 80% of core doctrine, while the remaining 20% presents significant challenge.

Moxon was formerly the Anglican Bishop of Waikato.

He is currently the Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome.

Moxon said agreement has not yet been reached on the Gift of Authority document published in 1999 and the 'Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ' statement published in 2005.

He was speaking after the the fifth session of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission concluded last week.

The group, known as ARCIC III, met from April 28th to May 4th to discuss relations between local, regional and Universal Churches and how moral or ethical decisions are made within each tradition.

During an audience with the group on Thursday, Pope Francis said these discussions remind us that ecumenism is not a secondary element in the life of the Church and that the differences which divide us must never be seen as inevitable.

Following that audience, Philippa Hitchen interviewed the co-presidents of ARCIC III, Moxon and the Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham in the UK, Bernard Longley. Listen to interview

Commenting on Pope Francis' words about the ecumenism of the martyrs, Moxon said that in off-the-cuff remarks the Pope spoke of the Anglican and Catholic martyrs of Uganda who were murdered together in the 1880s.

Moxon also mentioned the martyrs of Papua New Guinea from different churches who were killed during the 2nd World War and where ecumenical solidarity is now extremely strong.

Source

• Vatican Radio
  Image: Vatican Radio

The Pope said this during a meeting with members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III) in Rome.

The Pope said ecumenism is not a "secondary element" in the life of the Church.

Referring to the current persecution of Christians around the world, the Pope said the signs of the times were calling all Christians to unity and common witness.

"There is a strong bond that already unites us which goes beyond all divisions," he told the ARCIC members.

Continue reading

Yet despite coming from opposite ends of the earth - both literally and metaphorically - Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury have some uncanny similarities.

The two leaders of Christianity's largest global communions were both considered outsiders when chosen for their roles, both took up their positions within a week of each other and both are renowned for their no-nonsense, down-to-earth style.

If their immediate predecessors, Benedict XVI and Lord Williams of Oystermouth, had a love of the early Church Fathers in common, with Lord Williams able to read Benedict's theology in the original German, Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby have decided to roll up their sleeves and put the Gospel into action.

During his two-day visit to Rome on Sunday and Monday, the archbishop's jam-packed itinerary certainly chimed with Pope Francis' call for pastors to be familiar with the "smell of the sheep".

This included going to a street shelter project run by the community of Sant'Egidio, meeting a victim of human trafficking and a trip to a refugee project at the Anglican church, St Paul's-Within-the-Walls. Continue reading.

Source: The Tablet

Image: The Times/EPA

The Catholic co-chairperson, Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, speaking before the meeting said,"I do understand those doubts, misgivings, and sometimes frustrations and disappointments particularly on the part of those people who have committed many years to dialogue and who at the outset thought the prospects of unity were much more realistic than they are now. New challenges, new obstacles have come in the way in the path of unity.

"At the same time that mustn't deflect us. And it hasn't deflected the Catholic Church from our commitment to search for a way towards the unity that we believe is the will of Christ for all the baptised."

The Anglican—Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is an organization created in 1969 which seeks to make ecumenical progress between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. The sponsors are the Anglican Consultative Council and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (formerly the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity).

ARCIC seeks to identify common ground between the two communions. In recent years internal changes in both churches has put strain on ecumenical relations.

Source

• The London Tablet
• Vatican Radio
• ENS
• Image: Anglican Communion News Service