From the Lambeth Conference Canterbury: July 25th, 2008

From www.forwardinfaith.com

FiF International News
Lambeth Conference - 7
Jul 26, 2008

Lambeth Report
Canterbury: Friday, July 25th

Today’s theme is ecumenism, under the heading:
“Serving Together – The Bishop and the Churches”

At this afternoon’s press conference, the Most Revd Paul Sayah, the Maronite Archbishop of Haifa (who is a member of the delegation of the Holy See but said he was speaking in his own name) noted the “warmth” of the relationships between the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbp. Sayah outlined the history of the dialogue between these churches since the historic meeting between Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI in 1966. He noted that the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commissions (ARCIC) had given rise to a number of agreements on the basis of Scripture and “our common ancient traditions”. The dialogue was not without difficulties, he said, it showed that it is still possible for the two communions to grow together.

But how might this work be put to practical use? A second phase in the relationship began at the initiative of Archbp. Carey and Cardinal Cassidy in 2000, with the creation of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) as a means of seeing how the fruits of the ARCIC dialogues could be used “so as to witness jointly to the unity and mission of the Church”.

Prayer is “vital” for the ecumenical task, Archbp. Sayah concluded, since unity is a gift from above. He stated that “we are very eager to see this Conference succeed”, and expressed the hope that the two communions will address ecclesial and ethical issues together, “that the world may believe”.

Asked how long it would be before the ordination of women and gay rights became major issues in the (Roman) Catholic Church, Archbp. Sayah said that the issues are already there, in different ways in different countries. The Church was not shying away from these issues, but is discussing them “calmly”, and developing mechanisms to deal with them.

Another query had to do with Anglicans who would like to become a “rite” within the (Roman) Catholic Church. The archbishop noted that the Maronites were the only Eastern Rite that did not have an Orthodox counterpart, since all of them had entered into communion with the Holy See. He said that his church’s operating principle is that “the Anglican and Roman communions “are partners in dialogue, we respect each other greatly”, but that it must likewise “respect each and every person who inquires” as “an issue of conscience”.

Asked about Cardinal Diaz’s remark about “spiritual Altzheimer’s”, Archbp. Sayah said that while the culture thinks the past is something we can do without, for the church it is not an embarrassment, but “the charismatic memory of the church”, out of which we grow.

The Archbishop

Archbishop Rowan Williams began the second of his three scheduled presentations to the press by reviewing the process of the Conference.

After the initial days of the retreat, the Archbishop said, the conference had begun to grapple with business. He noted that the Windsor Continuation Group had held its first hearing, at which “anyone and everyone” could “lay out their feelings and their thoughts” on Wednesday last. It will reflect on that input, and bring the fruits of its reflection to its next hearing. Meanwhile, copious material is coming in from the indaba groups, four-fifths of which, he estimated, were working as had been hoped after some simplifications of the process.

The London march, Archbp. Williams observed, was a “watershed”, “part of a rather remarkable occasion” on which the Church said something “clear and straightforward” to the government, and heard something “clear and straightforward” back.

Next week the Conference will turn to more contentious issues, the Archbishop noted, and in consequence engage in “more intensive work”.

Turning to ecumenical relationships, Archbp. Williams noted the progress made by IARCCUM, and by the Anglican-Orthodox Doctrinal Commission – which presented a “lively” self-select session, he said, in which Anglican argued with Anglican, and Orthodox with Orthodox.

Eight Lutheran bishops, eight Orthodox bishops, 4 Oriental Orthodox bishops, eight Roman Catholic bishops, and eighteen representatives of non-episcopal churches were participating in the Conference, the Archbishop reported.

The overall message he was hearing from the ecumenical participants, he said, was that “your issues are everyone’s issues”, and that we need to be part of each others’ discussions.

Faith and Order Commission

Archbishop Williams was asked about proposals to create a `faith and order commission’ for the Communion. He responded that he had observed a strong feeling within the Conference that there is a need for another “clearinghouse” structure to sort out the kinds of issues which presently confront the Communion.

In response to another question, the Archbishop noted that a delegation of young people from the Leicester conference had challenged him to make specific two specific promises: to meet with a group people within the year, and to take up the issue of including young people’s representatives on the (Church of England) Archbishops’ Council. He had done so, noting that for some years about a hundred young people had been invited to Lambeth Palace for an annual youth day.

Observing that the Anglican Communion is not a church and that the Lambeth Conference has no authority, one reporter queried what value the Windsor Continuation process might have. The Archbishop responded, as he had said before, “I’m looking for consent, not coercion” – for something to which everyone can consent as a basis for recognizing one another and managing our relationships. He noted, however, that “some may consent, and others won’t”, and that that would have “implications”. But he queried the reporter’s assertion that the Anglican Communion is not a church: it is not the (Roman) Catholic Church, he said, but neither is it the Lutheran World Federation.

While declining to talk about what he hoped would the Conference’s reflection document would say, Archbp. Williams expressed the hope that the bishops would leave Lambeth with “a sense that it is worth working at staying together”, that the unity and cooperation of the Communion is “not a small thing, and its loss is not to be taken lightly”.

Tomorrow’s theme will be “Safeguarding Creation – The Bishop and the Environment”.