BRISBANE'S Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby is leading a radical push to merge the world's Anglican and Catholic churches.
As joint chair of an international commission of both churches, Archbishop Bathersby helped produce a 42-page statement on how Anglicans and Catholics could re-unite, possibly under the leadership of the Pope.
Senior bishops in both churches have already backed the statement, which is now being considered by the Vatican ahead of a formal response.
It has also been sent to a gathering of Anglican Archbishops in Tanzania.
Speaking in Brisbane yesterday, Archbishop Bathersby said he was optimistic the statement would help the churches move towards "full visible unity".
"It's not only longed for from the Catholic side, it's longed for from the Anglican side too," Archbishop Bathersby said.
"We recognise that the separation which exists between us interferes with our mission."
Despite differences over issues such as divorce and contraception, Archbishop Bathersby said there were no insurmountable hurdles to a merger of the churches.
He said some of the most difficult issues were Anglican support for the ordination of women and its recent decision to ordain a practising homosexual in the US, which is also causing a rift among Anglicans.
But, he said, the two churches had already established good working relationships in many parts of the world. The unity statement, yet to be formally released, spells out areas of agreement and disagreement.
Called Growing Together in Unity and Mission, it also proposes practical steps to bring the churches closer together.
There are about a billion Catholics in the world and about 78 million Anglicans.
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Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce