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Churches Agree That Pope Has Overall Authority

Electronic Telegraph-UK News
May 13, 1999 Oliver Poole

THE Pope was recognised as the overall authority in the Christian world by an Anglican and Roman Catholic commission yesterday which described him as a "gift to be received by all the Churches".

Disagreement about the extent of the Pope's authority was one of the main causes of the English Reformation inthe 16th century, and has been aconstant stumbling block to the twoChurches reuniting. However, yesterday's statement, released at Lambeth Palace - which is not binding - accepted that if a new united Christian Church was created it would be the 'Bishop of Rome who would exercise a universal primacy.

Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, admitted that the text would be controversial but called for a debate in both the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches on its findings. He said: "In a world torn apart by violence and division, Christians need urgently to be able to speak with a common voice, confident of the authority of the gospel of peace."

The 43-page document, The Gift of Authority, has been produced by the 18-member Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, after five years of debate. The commission concluded that the Bishop of Rome had a "specific ministry concerning the discernment of truth" and accepted that only the Pope had the moral authority to unite the various Christian denominations.

However, it did not go as far as to confirm the Pope's infallibility. Instead, it said: "This form of authoritative teaching has no stronger guarantee from the Holy Spirit than have the solemn definitions of ecumenical councils." The document does not specifically address the issues that divide the two Churches, such as the place of the Virgin Mary and women's ministry.

In the new united Church decisions would be made by consensus through councils, not based solely on the opinion of one man. The document remained ambiguous about what would happen when no agreement could be reached. The document will be discussed when the Primates of the Anglican Communion meet the Presidents of the Catholic Bishops' Conference for the first time in Toronto next May.

The proposals are expected to shock many Anglicans, particularly on the evangelical wing of the Church, which remains wary of an extension of the Bishop of Rome's authority.

Mark Birchall, a member of the Church of England Evangelical council, said: "It speaks as if the Bishop of Rome has always been on the side of the angels while it is well known that for several centuries past the Bishop of Rome was certainly not."

Catholic traditionalists have also expressed concern about the new emphasis on the authority exercised by the entire Church at the expense of the Pope's sole infallibility. However, the authors of the document called on people to study the work in entirety before judging it. The Rt Rev Mark Santer, the Bishop of Birmingham and co-chairman of the body, said: "This is a serious piece of theological work and to understand our conclusions you have to follow how we got there. One faith was given by Christ and his apostles and what we are trying to do is rediscover that one common faith."

The Rt Rev Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and the other co-chairman, added: "The primacy of the Pope is a gift to be shared."