In his first sermon as pope, Benedict XVI has said that he intends to work tirelessly for Christian unity, suggesting that ‘concrete gestures’ are needed. He also sent greetings to the representatives of other ‘Churches and ecclesial communities’
He said that he…
assumes as his primary commitment that of working tirelessly towards the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all Christ’s followers. This is his ambition, this is his compelling duty. He is aware that to do so, expressions of good feelings are not enough. Concrete gestures are required to penetrate souls and move consciences, encouraging everyone to that interior conversion which is the basis for all progress on the road of ecumenism.
Theological dialogue is necessary. A profound examination of the historical reasons behind past choices is also indispensable. But even more urgent is that ‘purification of memory,’ which was so often evoked by John Paul II, and which alone can dispose souls to welcome the full truth of Christ. It is before Him, supreme Judge of all living things, that each of us must stand, in the awareness that one day we must explain to Him what we did and what we did not do for the great good that is the full and visible unity of all His disciples.
The current Successor of Peter feels himself to be personally implicated in this question and is disposed to do all in his power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism. In the wake of his predecessors, he is fully determined to cultivate any initiative that may seem appropriate to promote contact and agreement with representatives from the various Churches and ecclesial communities. Indeed, on this occasion too, he sends them his most cordial greetings in Christ, the one Lord of all.
The full sermon (in English translation from the spoken Latin) is available ‘below the fold’…
10 CommentsOfficial Anglican reaction to the election of Pope Benedict XVI
England: Archbishop of Canterbury
We wish Pope Benedict XVI every blessing in the immense responsibilities he is about to assume on behalf of Roman Catholics round the world.
His election is also of great significance to Christians everywhere. I look forward to meeting him and working together to build on the legacy of his predecessor, as we seek to promote shared understanding between our churches in the service of the Gospel and the goal of Christian unity.
He is a theologian of great stature, who has written some profound reflections on the nature of God and the church. His choice of the name Benedict suggests that he wants to connect his vision of the Church to the monastic spirit of service and contemplation.
He will be in much in our prayers in the days and weeks ahead.
USA: Presiding Bishop (Most Revd Frank Griswold)
Along with many others, both within and beyond the Roman Catholic Church, I offer my prayers for Pope Benedict XVI as he takes up the august responsibility of his office. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide him in his words and his actions and that he may become a focus of unity and a minister of reconciliation in a church and a world in which faithfulness and truth wear many faces.
Scotland: senior bishop (Rt Rev Idris Jones, Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway)
On behalf of the Scottish Episcopal Church, I offer the warmest of welcomes to the new Pope – Pope Benedict XVI. We send the assurance of our prayers for him as he leads his Church forward. Our hope will be that under his leadership the church will continue to work for the poor and underprivileged in the world, and that the cause of unity among all Christians will be encouraged, as well as co-operation with those of other faiths.
Ireland: Archbishop of Armagh (Rt Revd Robin Eames)
As Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland I extend to Archbishop Sean Brady, the clergy and people of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, the prayerful good wishes of the Church of Ireland on the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI.
I pray that God will bless and guide him as he takes up his new privileges and heavy responsibilities at this time.
Other reaction from the Church of Ireland
Archbishop of Dublin
Chair of the Christian Unity Committee of the Church of Ireland
Canada: Primate (Most Revd Andrew Hutchinson)
I welcome the election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as new Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Our two churches have a long history of ecumenical co-operation for the proclamation of the Gospel and the development of humanity. I look forward to continuing our work together and for opportunities to conduct dialogue at every level of the church.
The new Pope has chosen the name Benedict, which derives from the Latin word for “blessed”. We offer our prayers and best wishes to our sisters and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church. I invite all Anglicans to join me in celebrating this election. May all of us be truly blessed by his pontificate.
Australia: Primate (Most Revd Peter Carnley, Archbishop of Perth and Anglican co-chair of ARCIC)
The presence of such a distinguished theologian will help sharpen the dialogue between Anglicans and the Roman Catholic Church. We certainly hope that the ecumenical progress achieved over the last quarter century may be further developed and brought to fruition with the help of the new Pope’s incisive mind.
Meanwhile, we all rejoice with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters that the conclave came to such a speedy decision and we pray earnestly for Cardinal Ratzinger as he prepares for his important new work.
1 CommentToday’s news is all about the preparations for the Conclave which begins at 4.30pm Italian time today (2.30pm GMT). If the cardinals decide to hold a vote this evening then it is possible that white smoke will be seen over the Sistine Chapel later today. News stories include
Update
Fulcrum has published an article by Oliver O’Donovan on Pope John-Paul II
The election process to fill the vacancy in Rome begins today. The Conclave will meet for mass and the doors will be locked and they will be left alone to their deliberations.
Geza Vermes writes in the Telegraph, Let’s hope Vatican politics do not hinder the Holy Spirit in which he hopes for a more liberal, thoughtful Roman Catholic Church, less wedded to dogma and closer to Vermes’s view of Jesus of Nazareth:
To judge both the legacy of John Paul II and the problems facing the new papacy, there should be one sure criterion – the teaching of Jesus. Is conservative Catholicism based on the gospel?
It would be presumptuous for an outsider to offer advice to the conclave, but may he be allowed a dream? In this dream, the new Pope is urged by God to revitalise Catholicism from within by concentrating on the authentic gospel of Jesus, on the message conveyed by him to his disciples, and not on the doctrine about Jesus developed by St Paul and two millennia of Christianity. This is a simple and moving message, which Jesus formulated in his own language for his simple Galilean audience, about God, the heavenly Father, the dignity of all human beings as children of God, a life turned into worship by total trust, an overwhelming sense of urgency to do one’s duty without delaying tactics, a sanctification of the here and now, and, yes, the love of God through the love of one’s neighbour.
If made prominent, and not concealed under verbiage about sex, rituals, mass canonisation of saints and Mary worship, the authentic gospel would concentrate on the true essence of religion, an existential relationship between man and man, and man and God.
4 CommentsReconstructed with the tools of 21st-century historical and biblical scholarship, and perceived by 21st-century minds in 21st-century circumstances, it would appeal to thinking people all over the world, who have left the Church in droves, and feed a genuine ecumenical spirit among religious groups outside Catholicism.
Sunday Times
John Cornwell Fight for the soul of the church
Bryan Appleyard The world bids farewell
Independent on Sunday
Peter Popham Show of devotion sways cardinals’ choice
Lucy Lethbridge Rome clears up after the millions who came to take part in a piece of history
Sunday Telegraph
David Willey (of the BBC) Behind the elaborate protocol, a naked power struggle begins
Kevin Myers Two, four, six, eight: time to transubstantiate
Observer
David Aaronovitch A papal morality tale for a moral age
Peter Beaumont Now the search begins
Economist
Well, can’t link to it, but GetReligion has this:
Let’s elect a British pope
Guardian
John Hooper The final farewell
Stephen Bates Close encounters of a diplomatic kind
The Times
Richard Owen Faithful demand instant sainthood
Ruth Gledhill Commentary: the cult of John Paul will ensure his sainthood
Telegraph
Jonathan Petre Make him a saint the people cry as, watched by the world, Pope John Paul II is laid to rest
Independent
Peter Popham Sea of mourners bid farewell with tears and cheers
BBC
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan WIlliams talked, on the Today Programme yesterday to Edward Stourton of the Pope John Paul II. Real Audio required. Listen here
Update
Bishop John Flack’s diary for the week
other related material
Guardian
Stephen Bates 2bn to watch service and Pope’s will reveals he thought of resigning
From 5 April, and not linked here previously, Stephen Moss on Keeping the faith
Telegraph
Bruce Johnston and Jonathan Petre Burial will be marked by solemnity and splendour and Pope’s will tells how he considered resigning
Tom Utley Weddings, funerals and elections need ritual to give them dignity
The Times
Ruth Gledhill Now retirement at 80 seems even less likely
BBC
Alex Kirby John Paul II and the Anglicans
Today’s Church Times has the following:
Leader A pontificate in the true line
Bill Bowder The world remembers a ‘lived sermon’
Bill Bowder and Alexander McGregor John Paul II to be buried after a million file past
Jonathan Boardman ‘A family affair without fuss’
There is also a full obituary by Rupert Shortt and a Diary column from Rome by Jonathan Boardman, but these are only available at present to paid subscribers. Links will be added here when they become public.
0 CommentsTelegraph
Jonathan Petre and Bruce Johnston British attitudes to Roman Catholics have mellowed
Jonathan Petre and Bruce Johnston Cardinals will shun media ahead of election conclave
Patrick Bishop Safety fears as pilgrims swell population of Rome to three times its normal size
Guardian
Stephen Bates UK cardinal may hold key to papal election
John Hooper Row over plan to downgrade UK embassy
John Hooper Flood of pilgrims swamps Rome
Independent
Peter Popham Presidents kneel and pray before the Pope
The Times
Queue to end all queues
Richard Owen People of Rome urged to open doors for faithful
It’s getting more difficult for journalists to find something interesting to say as the funeral preparations continue. Read Media descend on Rome for Pope’s funeral from the Guardian to see how reporters are coping. As before, a small selection from the British newspapers and the BBC only:
Guardian
Jonathan Jones Admire the stage instead
Stephen Bates Expert believes dignity is preserved
Independent
Peter Popham As the mourners queue, Cardinals begin secret deliberations to choose a new Pope
The Times
Richard Owen and Ruth Gledhill A subtle campaign of handshakes, hints and huddles
Telegraph
Ferdinand Mount He was a great pope. . . but he deserted the search for truth
Jonathan Petre and Bruce Johnston Cardinals disagree over vow of silence
BBC
Saving souls in cyberspace
Head-to-head: Challenges for new Pope
and there is a video clip (Real Player required) featuring Emily Buchanan discussing Choosing Pope John Paul II’s successor
Update
Photos of Rowan Williams and other Anglicans at yesterday’s Westminster Cathedral service can be found here
Press release from Lambeth Palace: Archbishop of Canterbury to attend Pope’s funeral
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has accepted an official invitation to attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome on Friday. He will be the first serving Archbishop of Canterbury to attend a Pope’s funeral.
An invitation was received through the Papal Nuncio; Dr Williams said he was ‘pleased and honoured’ to accept.
Dr Williams has confirmed that he will be wearing the ring presented to his predecessor, Archbishop Michael Ramsey, by Pope Paul VI.
Dr Williams will travel to Rome on Thursday; he will be accompanied by the Revd Andrew Norman, Archbishop’s Secretary for International and Ecumenical Affairs and by Mr Jeremy Harris, Archbishop’s Secretary for Public Affairs.
The Archbishop will return to the UK on Friday evening.
British Newspapers
Telegraph
Jonathan Petre and Bruce Johnson Rumours sweep Vatican of plot to hide Friday death and Royalty and world’s political elite join river of pilgrims for the final farewell
Christopher Howse Cherie Blair strikes note of formality with lace mantilla
Guardian
another leader The limits of autocracy
Stephen Bates Vatican grottoes to be final resting place of John Paul II
Mark Almond The strange death of Protestant England
Martin Kettle It’s as if the Reformation had never happened
The Times
Andrew Pierce and Ruth Gledhill Prince chose to postpone the wedding after VIPs pulled out to go to Rome
Mary Ann Sieghart The Pope was not pro-life
another leader Time and place
Independent
Peter Popham It was like an antechamber to the afterlife, as if directed by Fellini
Guardian
John Hooper and Stephen Bates Battle begins for soul of church
Stephen Bates A last message of love and hope
Guardian leader Radical authoritarian
Peter and Margaret Hebblethwaite, and Peter Stanford Obituary
more Guardian coverage
The Times
Ruth Gledhill The steps an incoming Pope must take to modernise the Catholic Church and Millions mourn man who changed papacy forever
Times leader Faith and hope
More Times coverage
Telegraph
Jonathan Petre Conquering apathy is biggest challenge
Damian Thompson World has come to expect a charismatic religious leader for a 21st-century Church
Charles Moore An inspiring journey out of the heart of darkness
Telegraph leader John Paul II breathed life back into a divided Church
Independent
Peter Popham In the Roman sun, the cult of John Paul II is born
Paul Vallely He was both thoroughly modern and deeply feudal. Which will prevail?
Clifford Longley After the drama, the Church must return to the real world
Obituary
The Archbishop of Canterbury: a further press release has just been issued: Archbishop: Pope’s last days a ‘lived sermon’.
A video clip in which the BBC’s Robert Pigott interviews Rowan Williams can be viewed from this page (scroll down).
The BBC Sunday radio programme for Sunday 3 April was devoted entirely to the Pope, and includes an interview with George Carey.
Other BBC coverage can be found from here.
Official Vatican documents appear here.
The Tablet has a special papal website here.
The National Catholic Reporter has much useful material, start here.
0 CommentsArchbishop of Canterbury
Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
British Prime Minister
British Newspapers
Guardian Clifford Longley The best and worst of times
Guardian Stephen Bates The pope who showed the church to the world
Observer Christina Odone The man in white who changed the world
Observer editorial The man who loved humanity
Observer Peter Stanford Who will now lead one billion souls?
Independent on Sunday AN Wilson The defenders of the faiths
Independent on Sunday Catherine Pepinster He was simply the world’s most charismatic Christian
Sunday Telegraph Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor ‘John Paul II will leave us all orphans. I shall miss him’
Sunday Telegraph Clifford Longley How does the Catholic Church follow John Paul? It doesn’t
Sunday Telegraph Christopher Howse The visionary who changed history through sheer force of moral will
Sunday Telegraph editorial The meaning of suffering
The Times William Rees-Mogg A truly great holder of this highest of religious offices
The Times editorial Man and mission
Sunday Times Mary Kenny John Paul’s final gift: to share his last hours with the world
Sunday Times Leading article: A hard act to follow
Sunday Times John Cornwell Death of a titan
Sunday Times Christopher Morgan ‘Bishop of Gatwick and the panzer cardinal’ prepare for nine days of mourning – and the horsetrading of votes
17 CommentsThere are some hard facts about this from the 2001 Census, published by the Office of National Statistics here:
Census 2001 – Ethnicity and religion in England and Wales
This was reported on last October by the Guardian under the headline Census shows Muslims’ plight.
Last week, the same data was reported on in the Telegraph including a nice graphical display.
But then The Times tried to follow up. Andrew Brown has the rest of the story here.
The Times also had a clever (?) graphic.
This week two surveys were published which also shed light on how well informed about religion some of us are. One was conducted by YouGov for Sky Box Office in advance of their TV premiere of The Passion of Christ:
Birthplace of Jesus A Mystery to Many Press Association
O Little Town of … where? Guardian
Jesus born in Bethlehem is news for many Telegraph
The second survey was conducted by GfK for the Wall Street Journal Europe and was reported by Ekklesia under the headline People believe more in God than religion suggests survey . For a more detailed report read this GfK page.
0 CommentsThe Archbishop of Canterbury has sent a pastoral letter about the well-being of the Communion and the future of its common discipleship to all Anglican Primates. In connection with the current controversy he wrote “Any words that could make it easier for someone to attack or abuse a homosexual person are words of which we must repent.”
The Sunday Times saw a copy of the letter before its official publication and, picking up on this last point, published this article this morning:
Williams tells clergy: stop gay bashing
Similar stories have subsequently been carried by the BBC and The Scotsman and many other online newspapers around the world.
Churches warned over ‘gay slurs’ (BBC)
Archbishop’s Bid to Heal Rift over Homosexuality (Scotsman)
Monday morning update
Two articles from this morning’s papers:
Williams’ call for Anglican unity falls on deaf ears (Guardian)
Williams calls for healing in gay rift (Telegraph)
The Archbishop’s letter is also available here and here.
33 CommentsWomen Bishops in the Church of England? (GS 1557, the Rochester report) is released today. You can download all 785 kB and 302 pages of it here. There’s also a four-page (and 230 kB) Reader’s Guide
Addition the official Church of England press release about this report can be found here.
0 CommentsACNS carries a statement from the meeting of Anglican bishops in Africa.
The bishops welcome the Windsor Report, but they explicitly do not express any regret for the actions of some of then in ministering to congregations in other dioceses:
However, we reject the moral equivalence drawn between those who have initiated the crisis and those of us in the Global South who have responded to cries for help from beleaguered friends. To call on us to “express regret” and reassert our commitment to the Communion is offensive in light of our earlier statements. If the Episcopal Church USA had not willfully “torn the fabric of our communion at its deepest level” our actions would not have been necessary.
The statement concludes:
0 CommentsWe are committed to the future life of the Anglican Communion, one that is rooted in truth and charity, and faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This week sees a meeting of African Anglican bishops in Nigeria.
The BBC provides a preview of the meeting.
The Scotsman has a PA report under the headline African Anglicans May Breakaway in Gay Row
From Nigeria, Lagos’s Daily Champion also has a preview, Africa’s Anglican Bishops’ Meeting Starts ‘Morrow…
Due principally to the threat from homosexual-ism among their Western brethren, Anglican bishops in Africa seeking to eke out a separate identity for themselves, converge on Lagos tomorrow for a continental conference on burning issues in the church.
Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, is quoted as saying:
“We send our men to theological school abroad but we have discovered that there are a lot of unwholesome things that happen,”
Akinola, who was flanked by the church’s primates in Uganda, South Africa, Kenya and some Southern African countries disclosed that the African bishops will fashion out ways by setting up a theological educational centre to help train her clerics.
“We will come up with the road map for the development of African Theological Centres of Excellence that are accessible and affordable with comprehensive and realistic curricula,” he remarked.
The Daily Champion report also says:
Only recently Rev. Akinola demanded an unreserved apology from the 50 bishops in the church who attended Robinson’s ordination.
However, Robinson’s ordination was a fall-out of the 2002 Lamberth conference in the USA which formally approved of gay ordination.
though perhaps this is the sort of inaccuracy which any journalist might fall into.
3 CommentsToday’s paper edition of Church Times has about ten pages devoted to the Windsor Report. Just three of the many articles are on the free part of the paper’s website.
There’s an overview news article Windsor report proposes new Covenant for Anglicans, a report Furious Akinola slams report about one person who is not happy, and More or less our last chance, says Eames, an interview with the chair of the Commission.
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