ARCHBISHOP John Bathersby of Brisbane said hopes for unity between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches were “nothing new”, but reports of an imminent merger were premature.
He was responding to news reports that made it appear as if the two Churches had a new plan for immediate unity.
The reports were based on a leaked document of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) titled, “Growing Together in Unity and Mission: Building on 40 Years of Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue”.
Archbishop Bathersby, who co-chairs IARCCUM with Anglican Bishop David Beetge of Highveld, South Africa, said in a joint statement the leaking of the report was “unfortunate” and its “contents had been prematurely reported in a way which misrepresents its intentions and sensationalises its conclusions”.
Archbishop Bathersby said in Brisbane on February 20 he was optimistic about the future of the talks.
He said if the two Churches talked together then great things could come out of that.
“We’ve reached a stage where in our document we indicate all that we agree about and also indicate all those difficult areas we disagree about.
“I think further talking could bring about a resolution to some of those issues.”
He said the idea was to seek closer communion between the two Churches so they may be a sign to the rest of the world of the love of Jesus Christ.
Archbishop Bathersby said some Anglicans would be happy to have a universal Primate as the leader of the Christian Church but an equal number would be somewhat suspicious of that and would not want it at any price.
After that came the ordination of women within the Anglican Church and there were a number of moral issues to talk about.
He said the talks had come a long way in 40 years and “if we put our heart and soul and open our hearts to each other, then I do really and truly believe that with prayer and with discussion and dialogue that great things can happen”.
