Pope, first female Archbishop of Canterbury meet, pray together
· Toronto Sun
Pope Leo and the new Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally met for the first time on Monday at the Vatican. The two leaders of the long-estranged Catholic Church and Church of England exchanged gifts, prayed together and pledged to keep working past differences “no matter how intractable they may appear.”
It was a day of firsts. The first American Holy Father and leader of 1.4 billion Catholics welcomed Mullally, the first woman to lead the 85-million-member Church of England at the Apostolic Palace.
Visit h-doctor.club for more information.
Different faiths, working together
During the visit, the Pope stressed the importance of Catholics and Protestants coming together.
“If the world is to take our preaching to heart,” he said, “we must, therefore, be constant in our prayers and efforts to remove any stumbling blocks that hinder the proclamation of the Gospel.”
Citing Pope Francis’ address to the Anglican Communion in 2024, he said it “would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation to make Christ known.”
“For my part,” the Pope added, “I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.”
In her formal remarks to the Holy Father, Mullally thanked him for his welcome, and for his forceful denunciation of war which sparked anger from U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
“The world needed this message at this time – thank you,” the archbishop said. “It reminded us that despite our sufferings, people long for life in all its fullness, and countless people are working each day for this vision of the common good.”
“We receive from one another gifts we cannot generate alone: depth in prayer, courage in witness, perseverance in suffering, and faithfulness in service,” she added.
Long, complicated history
The Church of England was founded in 1534 by King Henry VIII after Pope Clement refused to give the king an annulment of his marriage to Catharine of Aragon. The two churches strongly opposed each other for centuries, but in recent times have reached out to each other.
King Charles III, supreme head of the Church of England, made a state visit to the Vatican last October. His Majesty also prayed with the Holy Father, marking the first time a British monarch had done so since Henry broke away from Rome.