Rome and Canterbury on Christian Unity
Two weeks ago, the pope stepped into Westminster Abbey. Pope Benedict XVI joined the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, along with representatives from all other major Christian groups in Great Britain for a service of evening prayer. As Father Raymond J. de Souza put it , "sometimes words are inadequate to the moment, and this moment, carrying in itself nearly a thousand years of history, brought an abiding and expectant silence to Westminster Hall as Britain's political establishment waited for Pope Benedict XVI at the site where St. Thomas More and other martyrs were condemned to death for their Catholic faith." At such a gathering, how could ecumenism be ignored? In their addresses, both Benedict and Williams focused on Christian unity, revealing how each approaches questions surrounding the challenges of ecumenism in the 21st century. At the suggestion of a close friend and future Episcopal priest, Joshua Caler...