Martini visit boosts ecumenism

BY MURRAY WHITE ECUMENICAL RELATIONS
between the Catholic and Anglican Churches received a boost this week, with the announcement that Cardinal Carlo Martini of Milan will visit Britain as a personal guest of the Archbishop of Canterbury later this month.
News of the visit by Cardinal Martini to Canterbury came as the Second Anglican-Roman Catholic Inter national Commission (ARCIC II) published a key joint document on morals. The document, Life in Christ, said that the two communions share the same fundamental moral values, although there was still strong disagreement on practical moral issues such as remarriage after divorce and contraception.
There was broad welcome for the Cardinal's visit, which ecumenical observers said was "timely" given recent tensions between the Churches, particularly over the Church of England decision to allow women priests.
Cardinal Martini, the Jesuit President of the Italian Bishops' Conference and tipped by some to be a future papal candidate, will stay with Dr Carey for the bulk of his three-day visit on 23-25 July. The cardinal will preach at Canterbury Cathedral and give a paper at an Anglican religious education seminar. He will also celebrate Mass at Westminster Cathedral and visit the Nuncio Archbishop Luigi Barbarito.
The Ecumenical Adviser to Cardinal Basil Hume, Fr Michael Seed, said: "In the light of this week's ARCIC document, this visit can only enhance the ecumenical process between our two communions at this sensitive time."
Speaking in London at the launch of the new document by ARCIC II, of which he is co-chairman along with Anglican Bishop Mark Sanrer, Bishop MurphyO'Connor said: "The ordination of women has made the work of ARCIC more difficult. How we overcome that, I don't sec clearly."
The ARCIC document calls for the setting up of joint national and local bodies to speak on behalf of both Churches, on issues where there is agreement, such as war and peace, euthanasia and justice. The document said: "Working together has convinced us that the disagreements on moral matters, which at present exist between us, need not constitute an insuperable barrier to progress towards fuller communion."
Canon Stephen Platten, ecumenical secretary to Dr Carey, argued that this meant that the existence of certain moral differences are not in themselves "sufficient reasons for our Churches to exist separately".
Bishop Murphy-O'Connor said that continuing ARCIC dialogue would focus on continuing disagreements over authority.