Pope and Anglican leader appeal for peace in South
Sudan
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with the Archbishop
of Canterbury, Justin Welby, together with the new director of Rome’s
Anglican Centre, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi. Following their half
hour encounter in the Apostolic Palace, the two Anglican archbishops and their
wives joined the pope for lunch in his Santa Marta residence to continue the
conversation.
On Thursday, the Anglican leader presided at Vespers at
Rome’s Caravita church for the installation of Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi as his official
representative to the Holy See. The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul
Gallagher, who previously served as nuncio in Burundi, preached the homily,
stressing that ecumenical engagement is a moral imperative for all Christians.
Philippa Hitchen caught up with Archbishop Welby at the end
of his brief visit to Rome to find out more about his meeting with the pope and
their plans for a joint visit to war-torn South Sudan…
The Anglican archbishop says his meetings with the pope were
“full of meaning, but also full of joy, a good deal of laughter, very relaxed
but very thoughtful”. In particularly, he says, they talked about mutual
concerns on conflict, human trafficking, and the need for Church unity in a
fractured world.
Progress in Anglican-Catholic dialogue
He notes that, like his predecessors during their visits to
Rome, he wears the episcopal ring that Pope Paul VI gave to Archbishop Michael
Ramsey in 1966. He says there has been enormous progress towards unity since
then and both ARCIC and IARCCUM “continue the theological and missional
dialogues very, very effectively”. Alongside that, there is ecumenism of
action, and of prayer, something which has grown out of the theological work,
he says, but is also pushing it forward.
Separation in the Eucharist
Speaking about the lack of unity in the Eucharist,
Archbishop Welby says he is reminded of that each day in Lambeth Palace,
celebrating with Catholic and non-Catholic members of the youth community of St
Anselm. It is painful, he says, but in another sense, it is “a healthy
pain that compels us to work harder” for unity.
Appeal to South Sudan's leaders
Asked about a joint visit to South Sudan, the Anglican
leader says “a visit like that has to be done at a moment when it can make an
enormous difference” and “tip the balance towards peace”. He says that he and
the Holy Father call on the political leaders “to turn away from violence and
think of the people in South Sudan”. He recalls a recent visit to refugee
settlements in northern Uganda housing 260.000 people, a small fraction of
those who’ve fled the violence. We are “waiting and praying” for a change of
heart from the political leaders, he says.
Don't be paralised by disagreements
Asked about divisions within the Anglican world, in
particular over homosexuality, Archbishop Welby says “you can’t be paralised by
disagreements”, which all Churches are currently facing. In a communion as
diverse as the Anglican world, he adds, there are bound to be disagreements
“but we have to see the call of Christ to be united in the service of the
poor…..and not let anything distract us from the proclamation of the Good
News”.
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