Unity Faith and Order - Dialogues - Anglican Roman Catholic
Common Declaration of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie
May 29th 1982
- In the Cathedral Church of Christ at Canterbury the Pope and the
Archbishop of Canterbury have met on the eve of Pentecost to offer thanks
to God for the progress that has been made in the work of reconciliation
between our communions. Together with leaders of other Christian Churches
and Communities we have listened to the Word of God; together we have recalled
our one baptism and renewed the promises then made; together we have acknowledged
the witness given by those whose faith has led them to surrender the precious
gift of life itself in the service of others, both in the past and in modern
times.
- The bond of our common baptism into Christ led our predecessors to
inaugurate a serious dialogue between our Churches, a dialogue founded
on the Gospels and the ancient common traditions, a dialogue which has
as its goal the unity for which Christ prayed to his Father "so that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and has loved them even as thou
hast loved me" (Jn 17:23). In 1966, our predecessors Pope Paul VI
and Archbishop Michael Ramsey made a Common Declaration announcing their
intention to inaugurate a serious dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church
and the Anglican Communion which would "include not only theological
matters such as Scripture, Tradition and Liturgy, but also matters of practical
difficulty felt on either side" (Common Declaration, par. 6). After
this dialogue had already produced three statements on Eucharist, Ministry
and Ordination, and Authority in the Church, Pope Paul VI and Archbishop
Donald Coggan, in their Common Declaration in 1977, took the occasion to
encourage the completion of the dialogue on these three important questions
so that the Commission's conclusions might be evaluated by the respective
Authorities through procedures appropriate to each Communion. The Anglican-Roman
Catholic International Commission has now completed the task assigned to
it with the publication of its Final Report, and as our two Communions
proceed with the necessary evaluation, we join in thanking the members
of the Commission for their dedication, scholarship and integrity in a
long and demanding task undertaken for love of Christ and for the unity
of his Church.
- The completion of this Commission's work bids us look to the next
stage of our common pilgrimage in faith and hope towards the unity for
which we long. We are agreed that it is now time to set up a new international
Commission. Its task will be to continue the work already begun: to examine,
especially in the light of our respective judgments on the Final Report,
the outstanding doctrinal differences which still separate us, with a view
towards their eventual resolution; to study all that hinders the mutual
recognition of the ministries of our Communions; and to recommend what
practical steps will be necessary when, on the basis of our unity in faith,
we are able to proceed to the restoration of full communion. We are well
aware that this new Commission's task will not be easy, but we are encouraged
by our reliance on the grace of God and by all that we have seen of the
power of that grace in the ecumenical movement of our time.
- While this necessary work of theological clarification continues,
it must be accompanied by the zealous work and fervent prayer of Roman
Catholics and Anglicans throughout the world as they seek to grow in mutual
understanding, fraternal love and common witness to the Gospel. Once more,
then, we call on the bishops, clergy and faithful people of both our Communions
in every country, diocese and parish in which our faithful live side by
side. We urge them all to pray for this work and to adopt every possible
means of furthering it through their collaboration in deepening their allegiance
to Christ and in witnessing to him before the world. Only by such collaboration
and prayer can the memory of the past enmities be healed and our past antagonisms
overcome.
- Our aim is not limited to the union of our two Communions alone,
to the exclusion of other Christians, but rather extends to the fulfilment
of God's will for the visible unity of all his people. Both in our present
dialogue, and in those engaged in by other Christians among themselves
and with us, we recognize in the agreements we are able to reach, as well
as in the difficulties which we encounter, a renewed challenge to abandon
ourselves completely to the truth of the Gospel. Hence we are happy to
make this Declaration today in the welcome presence of so many fellow Christians
whose Churches and Communities are already partners with us in prayer and
work for the unity of all.
- With them we wish to serve the cause of peace, of human freedom and
human dignity, so that God may indeed be glorified in all his creatures.
With them we greet in the name of God all men of good will, both those
who believe in him and those who are still searching for him.
- This holy place reminds us of the vision of Pope Gregory in sending St Augustine as an apostle to England, full of zeal for the preaching of the Gospel and the shepherding of the flock. On this eve of Pentecost, we turn again in prayer to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who promised to ask the Father to give us another Advocate to be with us for ever, the Spirit of truth (cf. Jn 14:16), to lead us to the full unity to which he calls us. Confident in the power of this same Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves anew to the task of working for unity with firm faith, renewed hope and ever deeper love.
ROBERT CANTUAR
JOHN PAUL II
In Information Service 49 (1982, II/III), pp.46-47.