Pope, Anglican leader acknowledge 'serious obstacles' on path

[Warwick Green]

Yup. I would agree that there are major obstacles.

Roman Catholic Pope Benedict and Anglican leader Rowan Williams acknowledged there were "serious obstacles" to closer ties between their churches, a blunt reference to Vatican disapproval of gay bishops, women priests and blessings of same-sex unions in the Anglican church.

Benedict and the Archbishop of Canterbury, talking privately in the papal library and then praying together in a chapel, came together yesterday to celebrate 40 years of dialogue aimed at uniting the churches split apart in 1534 by King Henry VIII's anger over the Vatican's refusal to annul his marriage.

But their frank assessment of where relations stand now underscored the challenges.

The two men in a joint statement expressed gratitude for the efforts at unity and pledged to pursue the path of continuing dialogue.

"At the same time, our long journey together makes it necessary to acknowledge publicly the challenge represented by new developments which, beside being divisive for Anglicans, present serious obstacles to our ecumenical progress," Benedict and Williams said.

In his speech to the pope, Williams said that "disputes about how we apply the Gospel to the challenges thrown up by modern society can often obscure or even threaten the achievements of dialogue."

Williams, who came with his wife and young son, said he was wearing the Episcopal ring Pope Paul VI had given one of the archbishop's predecessors, Michael Ramsey, in 1966, when dialogue was launched after centuries of estrangement.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news...1a-09b7de3a7a1f