FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2010 No: 6009 Church of England Newspaper

Pope Benedict says controversial offer to traditionalist Anglicans was not a hostile act

POPE BENEDICT XVI has defended his decision to invite traditionalist Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church, telling the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) last month that this unity in faith was the “ultimate aim” of ecumenism.

The invitation has sparked concern, however, from Queen Elizabeth II, who according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph sent the Lord Chamberlain to meet with the Archbishop of Westminster to discuss the Apostolic Constitution.

In his Jan 15 meeting with the CDF, Benedict stated the Church should pursue unity with Anglicans but on Rome’s terms. Unity is “first and foremost unity of faith, upheld by the sacred tradition of which Peter’s
Successor is the primary custodian and defender,” he said.

“The Bishop of Rome,” he explained, “must constantly proclaim” that “Jesus is Lord,” for the pontiff’s “potestas docendi” requires “obedience to the faith, so that the Truth that is Christ may continue to shine forth in all its grandeur, ... and that there may be a single flock gathered around a single Shepherd”.

He thanked the CDF for its work towards “the full integration of groups and individuals of former Anglican faithful into the life of the Catholic Church, in accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution ‘Anglicanorum coetibus’. The faithful adherence of these groups to the truth received from Christ and
presented in the Magisterium of the Church is in no way contrary to the ecumenical movement,” he said, “rather, it reveals the ultimate aim thereof, which is the realisation of the full and visible communion of the disciples of the Lord.”

On Jan 17 the head of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) Archbishop John Hepworth also thanked the CDF, saying it would undertake a “process of discernment” towards reunion.

This process can “neither be hurried nor lightly undertaken,” he said, adding that the bishops of the TAC would give their formal answer after Easter.

However, a Jan 30 report in the Sunday Telegraph stated the Queen sent the senior official of the Royal Household to the Archbishop of Westminster to explain the Apostolic Constitution. Archbishop Nichols is said to have assured the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Peel, in their November meeting that the invitation had been extended in response to requests from TAC and traditionalist Anglicans for a place within the Roman Catholic Church and was not a hostile or aggressive act towards the Church of England.

The meeting gave Archbishop Nichols the “opportunity to correct some of the misunderstandings about the Apostolic Constitution created by misreporting in the media,” a spokesman said. Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace declined comment on the meeting.