Pope assures Anglicans he is praying for Lambeth Conference

(July 22, 2008) Pope Benedict XVI has assured Anglicans meeting for their once-a-decade worldwide conference that he and other Catholics are praying for them. In a message to Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican's secretary of State, said the Pope was "mindful that a primary objective of the meeting was the spiritual renewal that comes from prayer and contemplation." The letter noted the internal divisions that trouble the Anglican Communion, and said some of those issues "pose a further and grave challenge to the hope for full and visible unity that has been the long-standing goal of our joint ecumenical endeavour."
In his message, Cardinal Bertone said Pope Benedict was pleased that a Catholic delegation led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, would be at the Lambeth Conference. "It is a sign of the fact, that we are indeed pilgrims together, toward the goal of unity that the Lord desires for his disciples,” the message said. The letter, dated June 27, was released in Canterbury July 21, as the conference started its regular working sessions, which run through Aug. 3. Bishops must consider the ordination of openly gay clerics, the blessing of gay unions and the ordination of women bishops in some Anglican provinces. A quarter of the world's Anglican bishops, angered by the ordination of openly gay US Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire have boycotted the Lambeth Conference.