Churches back plan to unite under Pope

London Times Ruth Gledhill February 19, 2007

Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.

The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.

In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.

The statement, leaked to The Times, is being considered by the Vatican, where Catholic bishops are preparing a formal response.

It comes as the archbishops who lead the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion meet in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in an attempt to avoid schism over gay ordination and other liberal doctrines that have taken hold in parts of the Western Church.

. . . more

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5 thoughts on “Churches back plan to unite under Pope”

  1. Could this be the beginning of the end of the “Anglican church”? I pray so! Let the Episcopalian’s be the unitarians they really are, and let the Christians retreat to Rome if need be….

  2. You are praying for “the end of a church”? That’s both interesting and tragic.

    How can anyone be suprised by this? What I don’t get is why the Romans are the ones who offer to help a group who obviously needs it. Is it about money, power, or pride?

  3. Bob,

    It is not “tragic” to pray for the end of a unitarian heresy. The Episcopalian “church” is no longer the Church, in that it has crossed over away from traditional Christianity into modernism with the Gospel superimposed over it in an attempt to lend it some legitimacy. I speak as a former Episcopalian.

    Also, why the cynical take on Rome’s intentions? I don’t believe it to be “money, power, or pride” but simple Charity. Fact is, no Orthodox Church is in a position to lend real help to the Christian remnant in the Anglican communion who are in need of rescue…

  4. Since it was from the Bishop of Rome that the Anglican’s under the duress of Henry VIII orginally split, it should be the Bishop of Rome with whom they reunite. The question is will they really be better off? Even disregarding the fact that they will still be in schism–with such drasticaly different ecclesial cultures it will be quite difficult to achieve real union. Will there be an Eastern Rite, a Roman rite and an Anglican Rite, will the married priests be treated any better than the married Eastern Rite priests are, etc? I get a headache just thinking about it.

    In the Orthodox Church there is a Western Rite based on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and if the Holy Spirit moved the Anglican hierachy toward us, a way would be found to receive them and support them.

    The Anglican communion was established to serve the lusts of a king. Is it surprising that it should fall apart? It never had a stong theological foundation for being separate from Rome

  5. I speak as a former Episcopalian as well. I was born into it, cradle; Whatever you want to call it. I see your point about praying for the end of Heresy. Me cynical about Rome? You bet. All this nonsense was set in motion when the Bishops of Rome (Popes) started lusting after more and more political power. Unhappy with being recognized as “first among equals” the Bishops of Rome began to demand that we recognize them as the leaders of the whole Church. They even created brand new doctrines to support their claim. For Anglicans, who formed to satisfy the lusts of a King – to rejoin Romans now would be a matter of more money, power and pride.

    You are correct to point out that the Orthodox Church is in no position to help, nor do I detect any interest on their part in helping Anglicans return to the true faith.

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