Archbishop of Canterbury, in Rome for meeting with Pope, mounts a fighting defense
November 19, 2009
Two days before he is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the Archbishop of Canterbury made a spirited defense of the Anglican decision to ordain women as priests, and minimized the differences between the Anglican communion and the Catholic Church, in a talk at the Gregorian University in Rome.
Dr. Rowan Williams said that the Anglican communion, with its sharp internal differences on issues such as homosexuality, could offer a model for other Christian churches, by showing that unity is possible despite such doctrinal disagreements. He argued that Christians are bound together by ties that are stronger than their disputes, and suggested that Christian unity could be achieved by, in effect, agreeing to disagree, in order to "maintain a degree of undoubtedly impaired communion."
The Anglican leader applied that principle explicit to relations between Canterbury and Rome, saying that much progress had been made in the past 40 years to defining a common sense of what constitutes the Christian Church. "When so much agreement has been established in first-order matters about the identity and mission of the Church, is it justifiable to treat other issues as equally vital for its health and integrity?" he asked.
The scheduled November 21 meeting between Archbishop Williams and Pope Benedict has been a focal point of attention, in light of the Pope's apostolic constitution inviting Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church. In his speech at the pontifical university, the Archbishop of Canterbury downplayed the importance of the Pope's move, saying that "it is an imaginative pastoral response to the needs of some; but it does not break any fresh ecclesiological ground."
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Further information:
- Struggling Anglican leader in Rome for papal talks (AP)
- Archbishop of Canterbury claims differences between Anglicans and Roman Catholics are not that great (Daily Telegraph)
- Rowan Williams urges Rome to rethink position on female bishops (Guardian)
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Posted by: -
Nov. 20, 2009 1:38 AM ET USA
It seems to me that with this attitude Dr. Williams is distancing himself further and further away from unity. He still does not seem to have any idea of the concept of the Church. To say that with "its sharp internal differences" that it could offer a model for other Christian "communions" not churches is a ridiculous statement. What kind of model is it that accepts these kind of differences.
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Posted by: -
Nov. 19, 2009 9:54 PM ET USA
What a shane for Rowan Williams trying to dirty the waters. He knows full well we do not and will not be involved with female priests or bishops...why is he making a effort to dirty the waters? What is his reasoning?
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Nov. 19, 2009 7:22 PM ET USA
What can one expect from a leader of a sect founded on the issue of divorce, and achieved thru' the murder of countless priests, nuns, and monks, and the forceful takeover of Church lands and facilities? The same sect that sees no problem with women acting in the person of Christ? Or that allows homosexual marriage and active homosexual clergy, in direct opposition to Sacred Scripture? Answer: nothing more than we have just heard. When reason returns to Canterbury, perhaps union will, too.
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Posted by: jeremiahjj -
Nov. 19, 2009 7:16 PM ET USA
It's clear the archbishop doesn't understand (or accept) the Catholic doctrine of in persona christi during Mass. Perhaps if he did, he would understand how a female presbyter could not, at the moment of consecration, take on the personhood of the Son of God and offer the unbloody sacrifice to the Father. Oh, well...
