Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury sought to
bypass doctrinal disagreements over female ordination by not including a
single woman among a group of Catholic and Anglican bishops being sent
out to work on joint mission projects together.
Both leaders admitted in a joint declaration that the
obstacles to unity over women and gays are currently insurmountable
although stressed they would continue “undeterred” with plans to bring
their churches close together.
The exclusion of women during a vespers service in Rome
this evening comes despite the fact that Canadian Bishop Linda Nicholls
is a member of the official Catholic-Anglican dialogue body and that
female bishops were first ordained in the Anglican Communion back in
1989.
In a joint declaration, Francis and Archbishop Welby said
that there are “serious obstacles” to full unity between Catholics and
Anglicans which they argued have their roots in how authority is
exercised in the Church.
While the Anglicans have ordained women as priests for
many years the Catholic Church has ruled out the possibility with John
Paul II saying it could not happen and that the matter should not be
discussed.
And along with female ordination the decision by American
Anglicans recognise same-sex marriage and gay ministers is at odds with
Rome’s position and has in turn brought the Anglican communion to the
brink of schism.
“We ourselves do not yet see solutions to the obstacles
before us,” the Pope and the archbishop said in a statement released
this evening.
Nevertheless, the leaders pushed forward plans for a
deeper collaboration on non-contentions issues of social justice with
Catholic and Anglican bishops from India to Brazil being commissioned to
work together trying to bring peace and care for the environment.
They were “mandated” during a liturgy at San Gregorio
Magnio al Celio - the church where St Augustine of Canterbury was sent
by Pope Gregory to evangelise England - which was sung by the Sistine
Chapel and Canterbury Cathedral choirs.
During the vespers the Pope and the archbishop also made a
symbolic exchange of gifts: the Pope presented the top part of Pope St
Gregory's crosier while Welby gave Francis his pectoral cross, made out
of nails from the roof of Coventry Cathedral bombed during the Second
World War - a symbol of the international reconciliation movement
started in Coventry.
In his homily the Pope said Anglicans and Catholics needed
to tap into the “fire” of the original ecumenical movement which had
torn “down the fences that isolated us” while Archbishop Welby, who
celebrated the service with a women priest, Rev Julia Pickles, his
interim chaplain, by his side, said when Christians fight among
themselves the Church descends into a “gladiatorial circus.”
The pairs of bishops come from across the
globe such as Malawi, Ireland, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea and in the
case of New Zealand include a cardinal with John Dew to work with the
Bishop of Auckland, Ross Bay. From England the Bishop of Plymouth, Mark
O’Toole will join forces with his Anglican counterpart in the west
country, the Bishop of Truro, Tim Thornton.
“The world must see us witnessing to this common faith in Jesus by acting together,” the Pope and Archbishop Welby said.
Tomorrow the pair will meet one-to-one which marks their
third formal meeting in Rome and this time the archbishop will be
accompanied by sixteen primates of the Anglican Communion.
The archbishop’s visit also marks the 50th anniversary
since the official dialogue between Catholics and Anglicans was set up
after the Second Vatican Council and while the churches agree on the
vast majority of doctrinal issues, women’s ordination remains the major
sticking point for Rome.
Catholic reformers, on the other hand, hope that a growing
closeness to the Anglicans might help open up the ordination of women
in their own church.
Kate McElwee, the co-executive director of the Women's
Ordination Conference, said: “During this time of unity, I pray that our
shared Gospel value of justice deepens to equally include ordained
ministers of all genders and traditions.”