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Pope rides to
Rowan's rescue
The Pope is leading an unprecedented drive by the Roman
Catholic Church to prevent the fragmentation of the worldwide Anglican
Communion ahead of the once-a-decade gathering of its 800 bishops, which begins
today, The Independent has learnt.
In his first public comments on the Lambeth Conference, Pope
Benedict XVI has warned Anglican leaders that they must find a
"mature" and faithful way of avoiding "schism". On top of
this the Pope has:
Sent three cardinals to the conference in Canterbury,
including one of his top aides from the Vatican, to act as personal
intermediaries between the two churches;
Let it be known that he does not support the defection of
conservative Anglicans to the Roman Catholic Church;
Given behind-the-scenes support to the Archbishop of
Canterbury's attempts to hold together the conservative and liberal wings of
the Anglican Church, including at face-to-face meetings in Rome.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, faces a
near-impossible task as he prepares to preside over the conference, at which
bishops from around the world are gathering today for prayer and reflection.
The Archbishop is hoping to keep the conference focused on substantial issues facing
the church and the world, but it is overshadowed by disputes over women bishops
and homosexuality.
The latter issue looms large after Gene Robinson, the Bishop
of New Hampshire and the church's first openly gay bishop, timed a
well-publicised visit to the UK to coincide with the conference, to which he
was not invited. Church of England figures are privately dismayed that the
bishop is highlighting divisions over homosexual clergy and that the media seem
determined to derail the conference by granting him disproportionate publicity.
"He's one of 800 [bishops]," one said.
Although the Vatican was concerned by last week's General
Synod vote formally paving the way for women bishops, the church leaderships in
London and Rome are keen to help Dr Williams hold the Anglican Church together.
The Vatican has helped Anglican leaders with the preparation of key documents
in the run-up to Lambeth.
Roman Catholic insiders say there are two motives behind the
Pope's concerns. A decision has been taken within the Roman Catholic hierarchy
that it is in its interests for the Anglican Church to maintain unity. Despite
speculation about a group of conservative bishops breaking away to the Roman
church, senior Catholics say such a move would be "premature", and
that they are not encouraging defections. The other reason is that the Pope has
developed a strong personal relationship with Dr Williams. "They get on,
they are both theologians," a source said last night.
The Pope, who arrived in Australia on Sunday for the World
Youth Day gathering of young Catholics and others, publicly expressed support
for Dr Williams while remaining careful not to "intervene". The Pope
added that the Church needed to avoid "further schism and fractures".
"We cannot, we must not intervene in their discussions
and their responsibilities we respect," he said. "The words and the
message of Christ are what offer the real contribution to Lambeth and only in
being faithful to the message and only in being faithful to God's words can we
find a mature way, a creative way, a faithful way to find a road
together."
In a demonstration of the strength of relations between the
two churches, Pope Benedict has sent Cardinal Ivan Dias, the head of the
Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, and the man who
appoints all the bishops in Africa and Asia, to Lambeth from Rome.
He has also sent the theological heavyweight Cardinal Walter
Casper, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who
is said to be the "key man" in forging ever-closer relations between
the churches and between the Pope and the Archbishop.
Also attending will be Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the
head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, who has spent the past two
days with the Pope in Australia. This is the first time that three cardinals
will attend a Lambeth Conference.
Some Roman Catholics fear that unless divisions over issues
including homosexuality can be healed, they will act as a forerunner to a
similar battle in Rome. The Roman Church's apparent unity masks long-running
splits over birth control, priesthood celibacy and the interpretation of
Scripture in the modern world.
Catherine Pepinster, the editor of the British Catholic
weekly newspaper The Tablet, said: "The Vatican clearly has a high regard
for Rowan Williams, as a theologian and as a person. It also has a warm regard
for the Anglican Church... The last thing that Rome wants is a lack of unity in
the Anglican Communion, however difficult it finds ecumenical relations with
that Communion itself on a number of controversial issues, including women's
ministry and homosexuality."
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