In response to the common declaration by Pope Paul VI and the
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Michael Ramsey in 1966, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC)
was established as the instrument of ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican
Communion and the Roman Catholic Church. The first phase of ARCIC’s work
was carried out until 1981 with the publication of the Final Report in 1982
covering the subjects of “Eucharistic Doctrine,” “Ministry and Ordination,” and
“Authority in the Church” (Vatican Website, “Relations with the Anglican
Communion”). In 1988, the Lambeth Conference made an official response to recognize
that the agreed statements of “Eucharistic Doctrine” and “Ministry and
Ordination” together with their elucidations as “consonant in substance with
the faith of Anglicans” ("Lambeth Conference Response to the Final Report
of the ARCIC I"). The Lambeth Conference also “welcomed” the statement of “Authority
in the Church” together with its elucidation as “a firm basis for the direction
and agenda of the continuing dialogue on authority” ("Lambeth Conference
Response to the Final Report of the ARCIC I"). As for the Catholic Church,
upon clarifications of the ARCIC on a number of observations made by the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith on the agreed statements of “Eucharistic Doctrine”
and “Ministry and Ordination,” the work of ARCIC I was approved by Pope John Paul
II in 1994 (“Cardinal Cassidy's Letter to the Co-Chairmen of ARCIC II”). In
parallel with the official recognition process of the work of ARCIC I, the
second phase of ARCIC’s work was carried out from 1983 to 2005, covering more
subjects including: “Salvation and the Church,” “Church as Communion,” “Life in
Christ: Morals, Communion and the Church,” “The Gift of Authority,” and “Mary:
Grace and Hope in Christ” (Anglican Communion Website, "Roman Catholic
Dialogue”). Specifically, the topic on “The Gift of Authority” was building on ARCIC
I’s work on “Authority in the Church” to offer “a further statement on how the
gift of authority, rightly exercised, enables the Church to continue in
obedience to the Holy Spirit, who keeps it faithful in the service of the
Gospel for the salvation of the world” (ARCIC, “The Gift of Authority” 6). The
ARCIC II reports have yet to be officially endorsed by the two authorities. The
ensuing paragraphs summarize the agreements and the points of divergence based
on the existing joint statements.
The
Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion believes in the Triune God: the individual
missions of the three persons in the salvation history as well as the divine
life being one of communion (koinonia).
In liturgical celebrations, the two parties “regularly make the same Trinitarian
profession of faith in the form of the Apostles’ Creed or the
Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 13). “The Church is a communion by participation in the
eternal communion of the Son with the Father in the Holy Spirit” (“IARCCUM Statement” 14). Both parties
affirm that the Church is “a communion in mission” (“IARCCUM Statement” 17). She is a
“sacrament of the merciful God” to “announce the fullness of the Kingdom” to
all mankind (“IARCCUM Statement”
17-18). The Scripture is considered to be the “uniquely inspired witness to
divine revelation” and it has “a unique role in keeping alive the Church’s
memory of the teaching and work of Christ” (“IARCCUM Statement” 29). Moreover,
both parties “agree that, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Tradition
of the Gospel is alive in the Church” and “the first four (ecumenical) councils
formulated fundamental and binding doctrines of Christian faith” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 32). However, the two parties “diverge with regard to the status
both of the councils held, and of the doctrines formulated, in the intervening
centuries up to today” (“IARCCUM Statement” 32).
As for
the sacraments of initiation, Anglicans and Catholics agree that they receive
one baptism instituted by Jesus and “recognize the baptism each confers” (“IARCCUM Statement” 38). Moreover, “the sacramental
process of Christian initiation also includes confirmation” (“IARCCUM Statement” 37) and the Eucharist.
Both parties affirm that the Eucharist is the memorial (anamnesis) of the crucified and risen Christ” and it is “a
sacrifice in the sacramental sense, provided that it is clear that this is not
a repetition of the historical sacrifice” (“IARCCUM Statement” 40). Moreover, Anglicans
and Catholics “believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist” (“IARCCUM Statement” 41), which “depends
not on an individual believer’s faith but on the power of the Holy Spirit, whom
the Church invokes in the liturgy” (“IARCCUM Statement” 42). As for the
adoration of the Eucharist which is encouraged in the Catholic Church, despite
that “it is also practiced in some Anglican churches, there are some Anglicans
who would find difficulty in these devotional practices because it is feared
that they obscure the true goal of the sacrament” (“IARCCUM Statement” 49).
Both parties agree that “the ordained ministry is part of
God’s design for his people” (“IARCCUM Statement” 51) and have “retained the
threefold ministry” of bishop, presbyter and deacon which existed since the
early Church (“IARCCUM Statement” 52). Ordination is by the laying on of hands
and is “unrepeatable within both communions” (“IARCCUM Statement” 53). The
priesthood of the ordained ministry is unique and derived from Christ the High
Priest. “Only bishops and episcopally ordained and authorized priests preside
at the Eucharist” (“IARCCUM Statement” 58). A major contention arises with the
growing number of Anglican member churches “ordain(ing) women to the
presbyterate and some also to the episcopate” (“IARCCUM Statement” 61). This is
considered a barrier to the recognition of the Anglican ministry by the
Catholic Church as it is an “unbroken tradition of the Church (of) not
ordaining women” (“IARCCUM Statement” 61). Indeed, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed
that priestly ordination on women is “a matter which pertains to the Church's
divine constitution itself” and “the Church has no authority whatsoever to
confer priestly ordination on women” (Ordinatio
Sacerdotalis 4). Full ecclesial communion is thus not yet realized. Because
of this, the Catholic Church “does not permit the Catholic faithful to receive
the Eucharist from, nor Catholic clergy to concelebrate with (the Anglican
clergy), whose ministry has not been officially recognized by the Catholic
Church” (“IARCCUM Statement” 47).
Anglicans and Roman Catholics “agree that the primary authority
for all Christians is Jesus Christ himself” (“IARCCUM Statement” 62). The
Church derives her authority from Christ. Bishops have a “special
responsibility for promoting truth and discerning error and for preserving and
promoting communion” (“IARCCUM Statement” 66). They are not only responsible
for their local churches but also “in collegial association with other bishops”
for governing the Church (“IARCCUM Statement” 70). The Catholic Church
recognizes the Pope (Bishop of Rome) as the “universal primate” who acts
according to Christ’s will “for maintaining (the Church) in unity and truth” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 71). On the other hand, many Anglicans have questions “about whether
the Petrine ministry as exercised by the Bishop of Rome exists within the Church
by divine right; about the nature of papal infallibility; and about the
jurisdiction ascribed to the Bishop of Rome as universal primate” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 75).
Both Anglicans and Catholics share “the same fundamental
moral values” and that man “is created in the image of God and recreated in
Christ” (“IARCCUM Statement” 77). For Catholics, the sacrament of penance is an
“obligation” in forgiving the mortal sin of a sinner and restoring his soul to
God’s image. As for Anglicans, despite that private confession before a priest
is a means of grace for “those with an unquiet and sorely troubled conscience,”
it is not obligatory and the principle is “all may, none must, some should” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 86). On the other hand, both parties recognize the sacramental
ministry of anointing of the sick (“IARCCUM Statement” 82). As for marriage,
both communions also recognize its sacramental dimension. For Catholics, the
marriage bond of two baptized persons is “sacramentally constituted” and “indissoluble”
because “it signifies the covenantal relationship of Christ with the Church;”
whereas “Anglicans have been willing to recognize divorce following the
breakdown of a marriage” (“IARCCUM Statement” 86). As far as major moral issues
are concerned, Catholics hold firmly the principles that human life starts from
the moment of conception and reject direct abortion of all sorts; artificial
contraception is morally unjustifiable; and homosexual activity is disordered
and intrinsically evil. On the other hand, some Anglicans allow exceptions to
the above on justified grounds (“IARCCUM Statement” 86), which in the Catholic
opinion, fall into moral relativism. For homosexual activity, it is
particularly worth mentioning that “strong tensions have surfaced within the Anglican
Communion” because “some Anglican diocesan and provincial synods have recently
advocated the recognition and blessing of certain committed same-sex
relationships,” which contradict “the traditional teaching on human sexuality
expressed in Resolution 1.10 of the 1998 Lambeth Conference” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 86). In fact, at the 2016 Primates Meeting, the Anglican Communion
declared that the “(r)ecent developments in The Episcopal Church (United
States) with respect to a change in their Canon on marriage (of same-sex
couples) represent a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by
the majority of (its) Provinces on the doctrine of marriage” (Anglican Communion
Website, "Instruments of Communion – Statement from 2016 Primates Meeting").
Finally,
concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary, Catholics
and Anglicans “express extensive agreement, based on the Scriptures and
the ancient common traditions, on the place of Mary in the economy of salvation
and the life of the Church” (“IARCCUM
Statement” 88). In particular, both parties “recognize the grace and unique
vocation of Mary, Mother of God Incarnate (Theotókos),
observe her festivals, and accord her honor in the communion of saints”, and
consider her to be “a model of holiness, obedience and faith for all Christians
and for the Church” (“IARCCUM Statement” 89). As for the two Catholic Marian
dogmas Immaculate Conception and Assumption which were proclaimed after the
Protestant Reformation, while Anglicans would be able to appreciate them by
reason in light of Mary’s role in the economy of salvation, “(i)t remains to be
seen how, in the context of a visibly united Church, these doctrines would be
affirmed in the confession of a common faith” (“IARCCUM Statement” 91).
Moreover, further dialogue is required on the devotional practices for Mary as
they remain unfamiliar to many Anglicans (“IARCCUM Statement” 91).
Works Cited
Anglican/Roman Catholic
International Commission (ARCIC). "The Gift of Authority." Vatican,
n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
"Cardinal Cassidy's Letter
to the Co-Chairmen of ARCIC II." Vatican, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
"Instruments of Communion –
Statement from 2016 Primates Meeting." Anglican
Communion Website. Anglican Communion Office, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
International Anglican-Roman
Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM). "Growing Together in Unity and Mission – Building
on 40 Years of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue." Vatican, n.d. Web. 27
Nov. 2016.
"Lambeth Conference Response
to the Final Report of the ARCIC I." Vatican, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Pope John Paul II. "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis." Vatican,
n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.
“Relations with the Anglican
Communion.” Vatican, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment