Anglican Mainstream

By Ruth Gledhill, Religious intelligence

When it became clear, despite denials from some in Rome and London, that the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission was dead, a new body, the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission was set up.

Two years ago, its first report, Growing Together, came out. In the light of what has happened now, I've been re-reading the Church Society analysis, and it is fascinating. Is it fanciful to suggest that the Apostolic Constitution and Anglican Ordinariate were prefigured here in the IARCCUM report in some respects?

In their paper of the time, the Church Society wrote: “It appears that the report was leaked and Ruth Gledhill reported in The Times that Anglicans were preparing to accept the primacy of the pope. This is a typical piece of over-reporting since even amongst liberals there are still major problems with the papacy but the report does make grim reading. As a result of the news stories the full report has been released.

“The goal of the enterprise is reiterated as the ‘restoration of visible unity and full ecclesial communion’. This is a laudable goal, but it cannot stand on its own. The only way we could have such union and communion is on the basis of the mutual acceptance of the full authority of Holy Scripture and that the Church cannot ordain things contrary to Scripture (Article 20). Thus to achieve true unity Rome would have to abandon its errors and pretensions.”

When the text of the constitution was published this week, a usually reliable source told me that ARCIC had initially been seen as going somewhere. Even though, as the Church Society notes, texts repeatedly had to be reworked to satisfy Rome, things had reached the point where Rome was on the point of rescinding Apostolicae Curae, the 19th century Papal bull which declares Anglican orders to be 'absolutely null and utterly void.'

Then came 1992, and the decision by General Synod to ordain women priests. Although other provinces already had women priests, Rome was really interested only in the Church of England. This, as was stated at the time, was a landmark decision, in my personal view a right and proper one, but although it took a while for its consequences to work through, it spelled an end to ARCIC. Everything else that came afterwards merely confirmed that view from Rome.

The first indication that Rome was preparing to deal with parts rather than the whole of the Anglican Communion came in 2003 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as he then was, wrote a letter of support to the Plano, Texas, meeting of the American Anglican Council of largely evangelical orthodox Episcopalians.

It struck me as a little odd, even then, that he should be courting conservative evangelicals, not at all his natural brothers-in-Christ as any brief reading of Church Society material illustrates. The response this week of Gafcon to the Roman overture confirms that they will be having nothing to do with it and Gafcon in this episode have emerged as the champions of Anglican unity, if not overall Christian unity. Which one would Jesus want I wonder?

The future Pope, the priest who made clear in another document that he did not regard Protestant ecclesial communities as 'proper churches', could never have deluded himself that the Plano bunch would suddenly convert to Catholicism.

Could it be that what this absolutely brilliant tactician was doing was signalling what would happen, and what has now happened, if the Anglicans continued down their irredeemably schismatic path?

Many will no doubt disagree but I believe the IARCCUM document was an even bolder setting forth of a possible strategy along these lines. Written by bishops, as opposed to the theologians behind ARCIC, Church Society says: “On point after point the Reformation is sold out and the description of Anglican belief set out is unrecognisable to anyone who holds to the historic formularies of our Church.”

Church Society give some examples:
Para 19: Roman Catholics and Anglicans agree that the Eucharist is the effectual sign of koinonia, that the ministry of oversight (episcope) serves the koinonia, and that a ministry of primacy is a visible link and focus of koinonia. (nb. koinonia = fellowship)

It acknowledges that serious questions remain for Anglicans regarding the nature and jurisdictional consequences of universal primacy. And there is also the question of Mary. Interesting to note, by the way, that the miraculous healing experienced by Deacon Jack Sullivan which enabled former Anglican cleric John Henry Newman to proceed towards next year's beatification occurred on August 15, the feast of the Assumption of the BVM, an infallible doctrine that as part of the New Catechism all the new Anglican Ordinariate Catholics must espouse.

Growing Together, recognising that unity was not happening from the top, urged grassroots ecumenical initiatives such as joint baptism preparation, praying for each others’ bishops, joint training for lay ministries and shared outreach and mission.

Under the Ordinariate, especially if any of the departing clergy and congregations managed to work out local ecumenical partnerships and church sharing agreements, this will inevitably happen, even more so that it already is. As Church Society notes, and as I noted in my original report of this document, “Most of these things are not new. What is new is the attempt to formally encourage them as part of a process for reunion despite some fundamental differences.”

But key among the other suggestions was this: 'We urge Anglicans and Roman Catholics to explore together how the ministry of the Bishop of Rome might be offered and received in order to assist our Communions to grow towards full, ecclesial communion.'

And isn't the Apostolic Constitution a way of doing exactly that, albeit with a part instead of the whole? And why not? The Pope is getting on, and has made it clear from the start that unity is his passion. As his overtures to the Lefevbrists illustrate, it will probably be among his chief legacies. No man or priest in his position is going to hold out stubbornly for the whole when he can get the part that he regards as true. If the Bible is accurate, in any case, the remaining bits left behind will simply wither on the vine. At the moment I am reading Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. What a fascinating book. I especially loved her hilarious reports of Thomas Cranmer introducing his wife to Henry XVII's London. The only reason I've not finished yet is it is one of those books a reader cannot bear to finish.

Writing about this Apostolic Constitution, indeed writing many of the stories that are part of my 'beat' as Times religion correspondent, has been like being immersed in a world in its own way not far removed from Mantel's church and state.

One of the most enlightening passages so far is when Cromwell muses on the fading influence of the Howards, and their to understand that the real power lies no longer on the borders of Wales, England and Scotland, but in Venice, Florence, in the centres of finance and trade around the world.

“When you strip away all the false claims the only basis for primacy is historical, and if it is historical it is not better than the claims of the Bishop of Jerusalem or Istanbul. Indeed any Bishop could fulfil the task just as well. Therefore the call to recognise primacy is a call to accept all the errors of Rome,” the Church Society writes.

If the Church of England is to flourish, it needs to detach itself and move on from its old battles, the equivalent of the border battles of warring tribes, and understand where real power lies and how it works and stop destroying itself in futile struggles over gays, women priests, women bishops. Today, if I were Archbishop of Canterbury, planning to go to Rome next week to see the Pope, I would be asking, not 'What would Jesus do,' but 'What would Cromwell do.' Ruth Gledhill
Times Religion Correspondent

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