Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission meeting ends

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR PROMOTING
CHRISTIAN UNITY: DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH AND THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION (ARCIC III)

The Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission has completed the first meeting
of its new phase (ARCIC III) at the Monastery of Bose in northern Italy (May 17-27, 2011). The
Commission, chaired by the Most Reverend David Moxon (Anglican Archbishop of the New
Zealand Dioceses) and the Most Reverend Bernard Longley (Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Birmingham) comprises eighteen theologians from a wide range of backgrounds across the
world. In response to the Programme set forth by Pope Benedict and Archbishop Rowan
Williams in their 2006 Common Declaration, discussions have focussed on the interrelated
issues: the Church as Communion, local and universal, and how in communion the local and
universal Church come to discern right ethical teaching. The Programme also required the
Commission to re-examine how the “commitment to the common goal of the restoration of
complete communion in faith and sacramental life” is to be understood and pursued today, and
to present the work of ARCIC II in its entirety with appropriate commentaries to assist its
reception.
In addressing these issues, the Commission has devoted time to introducing its new members
to the history and achievements of ARCIC, and has benefited from the shared experience of
those who were members of previous phases. Members have worked both in plenary sessions
and in small groups, developing plans to address the tasks that derive from its mandate.
Over the coming years, the Commission will examine how the abiding goal of the dialogues
is currently perceived and understood, and how that goal will inform the entire dialogue process.
In considering the method that ARCIC III will use, the Commission was particularly helped
by the approach of ‘receptive ecumenism’3, which seeks to make ecumenical progress by
learning from our partner, rather than simply asking our partner to learn from us. Receptive
ecumenism is more about self-examination and inner conversion than convincing the other;
Anglicans and Roman Catholics can help each other grow in faith, life and witness to Christ if
they are open to being transformed by God’s grace mediated through each other. ARCIC is
committed to modelling the receptive ecumenism it advocates. It intends to find ways to consult
with the members of its churches at many levels as its work matures.
ARCIC III will present all the documents of ARCIC II, together with elucidations based
upon responses already received, for reception by the relevant authorities of both communions,
and for study at all levels of the churches’ life.
ARCIC III has decided that it will address the two principal topics together in a single
document. It has drawn up a plan for its work that views the Church above all in the light of its
rootedness in Christ through the Paschal Mystery. This focus on Jesus Christ, human and divine,
gives the Commission a creative way to view the relationship between the local and universal
in communion. The Commission will seek to develop a theological understanding of the human
person, human society, and the new life of grace in Christ. This will provide a basis from which
to explore how right ethical teaching is determined at universal and local levels. ARCIC will
base this study firmly in scripture, tradition and reason, and draw on the previous work of the
Commission. It will analyze some particular questions to elucidate how our two Communions
approach moral decision making, and how areas of tension for Anglicans and Roman Catholics
might be resolved by learning from the other. ARCIC III does this conscious of the fact that what
unites us is greater than what divides us.
The work of the Commission members has been enriched by sharing in the liturgical and
spiritual life of the sisters and brothers of the Monastery of Bose, whose ecumenical mission and
constant prayer have provided a supportive context for ARCIC. They were encouraged by visits
from the bishop of the local diocese and by the bishop responsible for ecumenism for the
northern Italian dioceses. The Commission will now organize papers and continue its work along
the lines it has proposed, in preparation for its next meeting in 2012.

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Listen to the remarks of Monsignor Mark Langham, who is responsible for Catholic/Anglican dialogue at the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, about the results of the gathering…