New commission to follow ARCIC

IN THE Cathedral Church of Christ at Canterbury the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury have met on the Eve of Pentecost to offer thanks to God for the progress that has been made in the work of reconciliation between our Communions.
Together with leaders of other Christian Churches and Communities we have listened to the Word of God; together we have recalled our one baptism and renewed the promises then made; together we have acknowledged the witness given by those whose faith has led them to surrender the precious gift of life itself in the service of others, both in the past and in modern times.
The bond of our common baptism into Christ led our predecessors to inaugurate a serious dialogue between our Churches, a dialogue founded on the Gospels and the ancient common traditions. a dialogue which has as its goal the unity for Which Christ prayed to his Father "so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me".
In 1966 our predecessors Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey made a Common Declaration announcing their intention to inaugurate a serious dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion which would "include not only theological matters such as Scripture, tradition and liturgy, but also matters of practical difficulty felt on either side" (Common Declaration par. 6).
After this dialogue had already produced three statements on Eucharist, ministry and ordination and authority in the Church, Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Donald Coggan, in their Common Declaration in 1977, took the occasion to encourage the comptetion of the dialogue on these three important questions so that the commission's conclusions might be evaluated by the respective authorities through procedures appropriate to each Communion.
The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission has now completed the task assigned to it with the publication of its Final Report and, as our two Communions proceed with the necessary evaluation, we join in thanking the members of the commission for their dedication, scholarship and integrity in a long and demanding task undertaken for love of Christ and the unity of his Church.
The completion of this commission's work bids us look. to thc next stage of our common
pilgrimage in faith and hope towards the unity for which we long. We are agreed that it is now time to set up a new international commission.
Its task will be to continue the work already begun; to examine, especially in the light of our respective judgments on the Final Report, the outstanding doctrinal differences which still separate us, with a view towards their eventual resolution; to study all that hinders the mutual recognition of the ministries of our Comrnunions; and to recommend what practical steps will be necessary when, on the
basis of our unity in faith, we are able to proceed to the restoration of full communion.
While this necessary work of theological clarification continues, it must be accompanied by the zealous work and fervent prayer of Roman Catholics and Anglicans throughout the world as they seek to grow in mutual understanding, fraternal love and common witness to the Gospel. Once more, then, we call on the bishops, clergy and faithful people of both our Communions in every country, diocese and parish in which our faithful live side by side.
We urge them all to pray lb, this work and to adopt ever possible means of furthering t through their collaboration ,n deepening their allegiance to Christ and in witnessing to Om before the world. Only by uch collaboration and prayer cad the memory of past enmitiis be healed.
Our aim is not limitedto the union of our two Comaunions alone, to the exclusioriaf other Christians, but rather atends to the fulfilment of God; will for the visible unity of all us people. Both in our present cktlogue and in those engaged i4 by other Christians among thrnselves and with us, we rectInise in the agreements we areable to reach, as well us in the dificulties which we encounter a renewed challenge to abndon ourselves completely to fie truth of the Gospel.
Hence we happy to make this declaratan today in the welcome praence of so many fellow Christans whose Churches and Comnanities are already partners wh us in prayer and work for ic unity of all.
With thm we wish to serve the cause ti peace, of human freedoir and human dignity so that 6,A inay indeed be glorified ill all 1.1.; creatures. With them we °Net ) the name of God all men both those who have ill him and those who are stilEcarching for him.
nis holy place reminds us of th, vision of Pope Gregory in socling St Augustine as an aoostle to England, full of zeal for le preaching of the Gospel and he shepherding of the flock. On this I Ae of Pentecost. we turn :igain in prayer to Jesus the Good Silepherd, who promised to ask the Father to give us another
(.1% ()cate to be \cith us for ever,
Ihe Spirit of truth (el, John 14:16) to lead us to the full unity to \\ Inch he calls us. Confident in the po■cer )1 this same 1 lolv Spirit, \%e commit ourselves tiie to the task of \Norkinu or iiiiit 1.11'M faith, rene \Ned hope tnd er deeper love.