English archbishop foresees policy allowing Anglicans to receive Communion
August 01, 2014
An English archbishop has suggested that the Catholic Church might allow Anglicans to receive the Eucharist.
Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, the co-chairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), told the Church of Ireland Gazette that he could foresee the possibility of wider sharing of Communion. Emphasizing that he was expressing a personal opinion, Archbishop Longley said that the inability of Catholics and Anglicans to share in Communion causes a “pain” that ecumenical work strives to resolve.
The archbishop called attention to the 1992 Ecumenical Directory, which says that Anglicans may receive Communion under certain extraordinary circumstances. That policy, he said, represented “a very significant step away from the impossibility to the limited possibility.” He said that he could imagine a broader possibility for sharing the Eucharist, based on “a deeper understanding of communion and a deeper sharing between our churches.”
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Posted by: williiam ronner -
Aug. 02, 2014 2:49 PM ET USA
Well, Canon 915 states that those engaging in manifest grave sin must be rejected from receiving Holy Communion. Since we must attend Mass every Sunday or risk a mortal sin if we don't, must Catholics live by a different set of rules than Anglicans? We must follow Catholic rules for marriage, but not Anglicans? We must go to confession to cleanse our souls before receiving, but Anglicans cannot receive this sacrament unless they convert. 2nd thought-if Pelosi can receive, why not everyone else
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Posted by: Defender -
Aug. 01, 2014 5:58 PM ET USA
Really? Henry VIII doesn't matter, women and gay bishops don't matter, etc, but given the "pain" Anglican bishops have caused by their separation from Rome, compounded by recent events, we are hindering being ecumenical? What hutzpah (and he's not even evangelical!)!
