The Pope allowed
the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) to unveil its much
awaited work, Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ, in Seattle’s RC Cathedral
on May 16. A second rather belated unveiling took place in Westminster Abbey
on May 19.
ARCIC’s main
finding, it claims, is that the Roman doctrine of Mary is “consonant with the
teaching of Scripture” and tradition, and is no longer a stumbling block to the
union of the two churches. Or, as Pope Ratzinger would prefer us to say the
agreement opens the way for a return to the fold of the Church by the Anglican
‘ecclesial community’.
Stumblingblocks
The stumbling
block to reconciliation between the churches have been the worship offered to
Mary and the papal dogmas of the Immaculate Conception (1854) and Bodily
Assumption (1950).
ARCIC has sought
to carry out a dialogue ‘founded on the Gospels and on the ancient common
traditions’.
The gulf between
the two sides has been bridged, we are told, by the Anglican learning to look
at the papal dogmas through the eyes of Romans 8:28-30. There is no sign of
any movement on the side of Rome, merely a surrender of objections by the
Anglicans, who have been persuaded that though the Roman dogmas may not
actually be found in Scripture, they are not contradictory to Scripture. So
the two sides have agreed, “that the practice of asking Mary and the saints to
pray for us is not communion-dividing”.
Rome is still not entirely happy with the Anglican’s position because it
claims to be based on Scripture not the authority of the Pope.
Roman Catholics
for their part are told that they may need to exercise more care in their
devotions.
Reactions to
the statement
RC Bishops
McMahon, a member of the Commission, said, rather condescendingly, “The
Anglican members of Commission were helped in their understanding of Mary’s
role in our salvation by looking at the modern doctrines through the eyes of St
Paul, using his language of Call, Conversion, Justification and
Glorification”. He added, for good measure: “We believe that Mary, as the
Queen of Heaven, has a continuing salvific (‘saving’) function in the Church.”
The Rev Rod
Thomas, of the Evangelical, Anglican ‘Reform’ group, has accused ARCIC of
trying to “shoehorn” the dogmas into Scripture and dismissed the document as
“fudge”.
On the other
hand, the Rev Joel Edwards of the Evangelical Alliance said on Thought for the
Day: “The extensive study recognises that despite the huge differences between
the two churches there is potential progress in aligning their views on Mary
and her right to intercede on our behalf”.
The co-chairmen
of ARCIC are Anglican Archbishop Carnley of Perth, Australia, who is a gross
liberal, and the RC Archbishop Brunett of Seattle.
Officially the
statement has no authority except that of its authors and must now be studied
by both churches. Nevertheless Rome is delighted and believes that this is a
major ecumenical advance.
Immaculate
Conception
As regards the
dogmas of immaculate conception the two parties agree: “In view of her vocation
to be the mother of the Holy One (Luke 1:35), we can affirm together that
Christ’s redeeming work reached back in Mary to the depths of her being, and to
her earliest beginnings. This is not contrary to the teaching of Scripture,
and can only be understood in the light of Scripture. Roman Catholics can
recognise in this what is affirmed by the dogma – namely ‘preserved from all
stain of original sin’ and ‘from the first moment of her conception’.”
Bodily
assumption
As regards the
bodily assumption the two parties agree: “we can affirm together the
teaching that God has taken the Blessed Virgin Mary in the fullness of her
person into his glory as consonant with Scripture and that it can, indeed, only
be understood in the light of Scripture. Roman Catholics can recognize that
this teaching about Mary is contained in the dogma”
Invocation of
Mary
As regards the
invocation of Mary the two parties say: “Affirming together
unambiguously Christ’s unique mediation, which bears fruit in the life of the
Church, we do not consider the practice of asking Mary and the saints to pray
for us as communion dividing … we believe that there is no continuing theological
reason for ecclesial division on these matters.”
