Pope
Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury held their third formal
meeting this morning in the Vatican with the two leaders calling for
joint action based on the needs of the world.
Archbishop
Justin Welby used his address today to praise the impact the Pope had
made on the Anglican Communion, particularly his service to the poor,
combatting human trafficking and in speaking out on climate change.
“Your letters and encyclicals have spoken far beyond Rome and her church, in a manner which is universal,” he said.
The private one-to-one meeting with Francis took place in the papal state rooms and was followed by another gathering with a group of Anglican leaders from across the world. Sixteen “Primates” are in Rome with Archbishop Welby and this morning prayed with him at the tomb of St Peter.
In his address, the Pope told
the Archbishop and the primates: “Now is the time in which the Lord
challenges us, in a particular way, to go out from ourselves and our own
environs, in order to bring his merciful love to a world thirsting for
peace.”
The
presence of the Anglican leaders in Rome is significant given the
Anglican Communion is on the brink of schism over disagreements on
homosexuality. Among the primates travelling to the Eternal City was
Bishop Michael Curry, the leader of Anglicans in the United States; his
church is currently under sanctions due to it’s recognition of same-sex
marriages.
Francis
described the presence of the primates as a “beautiful sign of
fraternity”, saying their prayers at the tomb of St Peter this morning
showed Christians should “never grow tired of asking the Lord together
and insistently for the gift of unity”.
The
Pope drew attention to the fact his meeting with Welby took place 50
years on from the historic meeting between two of their predecessors,
Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.
In
that encounter Paul VI gave his episcopal ring to Archbishop Ramsey, a
moment that has been held up as a symbolic step towards unity between
the Churches. In an echo of that gesture, Archbishop Welby last night
gave Francis his pectoral cross made out of nails from the roof of
Coventry Cathedral, bombed during the Second World War. It is a symbol
of the international reconciliation movement started in the city.
Francis
said the historic meeting had borne much fruit, including the work of
the official Anglican-Catholic dialogue (Arcic) and the establishment of
the Anglican Centre in Rome, both of which are celebrating their 50th
anniversary.
Nevertheless,
the major obstacle facing further unity in the Church is the question
of women’s ordination, something which the Anglicans have pushed forward
with but the Catholic Church is resolutely opposed to.
Archbishop Welby said today
that the disunity between the Churches “damage every aspect of our lives
in Christ” and means the “world is less able to see that Jesus comes
from the Father”.
But, he
stressed: “Despite those things that divide, we may be publicly
determined to press forward where we may, together with all other
Christians.”