A day after he offered his strongest criticism yet of the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of the sexual abuse crisis, Pope Benedict XVI set out on Friday to mark a moment of ecumenical symbolism, praying together with the archbishop of Canterbury in a rare display of unity at Westminster Abbey, the spiritual heart of the Church of England.
The archbishop, Dr. Rowan Williams, is the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion that grew from the 16th century schism when Henry VIII broke with Rome. Britain’s Press Association news agency said a papal visit to the archbishop’s seat at Lambeth Palace and the subsequent prayer ceremony in the early evening at Westminster Abbey would mark the first time a pope has been to either venue.
A papal address at Westminster Abbey has been billed as the central speech of his visit.
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(NY Times) In London, Pope to Mark a Moment of Church Unity
A day after he offered his strongest criticism yet of the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of the sexual abuse crisis, Pope Benedict XVI set out on Friday to mark a moment of ecumenical symbolism, praying together with the archbishop of Canterbury in a rare display of unity at Westminster Abbey, the spiritual heart of the Church of England.
The archbishop, Dr. Rowan Williams, is the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion that grew from the 16th century schism when Henry VIII broke with Rome. Britain’s Press Association news agency said a papal visit to the archbishop’s seat at Lambeth Palace and the subsequent prayer ceremony in the early evening at Westminster Abbey would mark the first time a pope has been to either venue.
A papal address at Westminster Abbey has been billed as the central speech of his visit.
Read it all.