Author An agreed statement of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III)
Publisher SPCK £14.99 2018
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281078943
The image of ‘walking together on the way’ to full communion has been used by both Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin Welby to describe the discussions which have taken place under the aegis of ARCIC. There is a clear recognition by both sides that we are pilgrims together on the journey despite the differences that keep us apart. Together we can help each other flourish and grow, and to some extent bear one another’s burdens, and we can learn from one another through honest and open dialogue. The earlier phases produced ARCIC I: agreed statements on Eucharistic Doctrine, Ministry and Ordination and Authority in the Church; and ARCIC II, agreed statements on Salvation and the Church, Church as Communion, Life in Christ, The Gift of Authority, and Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ. All these and the current documents are available on-line at
www.anglicancommunion.org/ecumenism/ecumenical-dialogues/roman-catholic/arcic.aspx
The key issues in Walking Together on the Way revolve around the three concepts of universality, regionality and locality. The Catholic Church sees universality as prior and key to the Church’s unity across the globe since universality is catholicity (Greek: kata holos – according to the whole). On the other hand, the Anglican Communion, with its basis in historic colonialism, allows for distinct regional differences in culture and practice, and within its synodical government encourages local participation, including the laity who are involved at all levels of government. The Catholic Church, whilst parochially structured, does not allow for lay participation in any decision-making process. This is recognised in the report as a shortcoming as is the stress on universality at the expense of the regional or local.
These are not just issues of practice and structures of governance but more importantly of primacy and authority. The Anglican Communion looks to the Archbishop of Canterbury as primus inter pares (first among equals) with the communion being held together by the bonds of affection – somewhat tenuously in the current climate, it has to be said. Regional differences are accepted and valued, and at the local level this is also true. The Catholic Church regards the Bishop of Rome as the supreme head as St. Peter’s successor, and his word is definitive, universally. Thus while we might be able to come to a common view on the best way to organise and structure the church, namely the place of the laity and synodical government, we cannot agree on the basic principles of primacy and authority.
It seems to me that ARCIC overall is an interesting and valuable exercise in seeing how close we can get without actually touching. For those whose specialist subject is ecclesiology it is of particular interest, but the discussions can only go so far and no further. There are huge stumbling blocks on both sides – on our side there is the ordination of women, and the vexed subject of human sexuality – which has led to perhaps irremediable damage and division within the Anglican Communion itself. On the Catholic side there is the problem of the invalidity of Anglican orders, which can only be solved by the reversal of Papal infallibility – and that must surely be a step too far.
MARION GRAY
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