Pope Benedict is expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Monday in only the second official meeting between the two religious leaders, a Vatican source said on Sunday.
Pope Benedict is expected to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Monday in only the second official meeting between the two religious leaders, a Vatican source said on Sunday.
That is one meeting and conversation I wish would be put on video. And, it is an occasion that demands our prayers.
Query: was this meeting made public before now?
Perhaps each might conditionally baptize, conditionally confirm, and conditionally ordain the other. Nothing to lose by that, much to gain.
Perhaps they might concelebrate and share in the Eucharist. Christianity is nowhere more divided than at the Lord’s Table.
Dialog and prayer on a peer-to-peer level would OK, too.
For sure, we pray that Christ will be especially present in their meeting, and that they will listen for God’s direction.
This comes as a total surprise. Possible explanations:
a) The story is false.
b) Rowan Williams needs expert advice on a point of Dostoievskian analysis.
c) Rowan Williams has discovered, none too soon, that he needs to learn to swim.
I don’t know which of the three alternatives to believe, but I’m certain that Dostoievsky is hoping it isn’t option (b).
#3, peer to peer? What are you saying? When it comes to Dostoievskian analysis, that Ratzinger fellow is nowhere. Nowhere. No, I’m thinking there’s a fourth alternative: after his Regensburg fiasco, poor old JR is getting a bit of expert advice on how to keep our Islamic brethren amused. And I think it was really nice of Rowan to fit the poor old pontiff into what must be a really tight schedule, in these hard times. Would that Blessed Schori had been so generous with her time!
+++Rowan must not have the demands on his time that ++Katharine does.
Some context is helpful. The Times of London is reporting that the Pope is likely to re-habilitate reformer Martin Luther at his summer teaching school at Castelgandolfo, and that groundwork is being laid for a meeting with Muslim leaders that may take place there also, pursuant to attempts at putting things right with them after the Regensburg address.
Let’s see. Benedict XVI, whose presence KJS willfully or otherwise did not even enter when he came to NY (her ‘see city’!), could by the time of Lambeth have 1) spoken with +Rowan Williams, whose appointing Prime Minister, then an Anglican, has since become a Roman Catholic, 2) introduced the project of un-making Luther as a heretic and recognizing his efforts at reforming the Catholic Church, and 3) entered a process aimed at dialoguing (sp?) with Muslim leaders, at least some of whom no doubt +Williams was abetting in his proposal that aspects of Shari’a law be recognized in Britain – Muslims now faced by the conversion to Catholicism and public baptism of one of their own, who edits Italy’s main newspaper.
Could it be that Benedict XVI is the one whose light shines brightest for catholic and evangelical Christianity?
Dear Pope Benedict: Thank you for the moral support you have given orthodox Anglicans, notably in your letter to the 2003 Plano conference. When you meet privately with Abp. Williams, please have a deadly earnest conversation with him about the folly of his continued dalliance with an increasingly apostate ECUSA.
Please forgive this request. You shouldn’t have to be cleaning up after the Anglican circus. But Abp. Williams won’t listen to us. He might listen to you.
Respectfully,
Irenaeus
More [url=http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1783]here[/url] from the ABC’s website:
Irenaeus, I’m with you. The best possible outcome of this meeting is for some cogent advice on “inclusiveness” to be given from a notorious non-ditherer (the Pope) and received and accepted by a notorious ditherer (the ABC). Would that it should be so.
Lord, have your way with this meeting,
[size=1][color=red][url=http://resurrectioncommunitypersonal.blogspot.com/]The Rabbit[/url][/color][color=gray].[/color][/size]
#8: Thank you for your letter. But since the start of 2007 I have been unable to collect my thoughts on matters of theology because of the forthcoming book on Dostoievsky which, I know, is closest to both our hearts. I have been on and on to Amazon, but all they can tell me is that the book is “not yet available”. With all the many and various calls on his time, I can understand why poor Archbishop Rowan has not had time to finish his book! You Anglicans are such busy people! And indeed, alas, it was great sorrow to me that your dear Katherine Jefferts Schori was likewise unable to turn up to that little proposed get-together in New York. But, well, actually you are right. It was rather tacky. You Anglicans have such good taste. (And thank God you don’t sing our bloody awful hymns!)
I have to confess, that although I have written the occasional speech and encyclical, I look and re-read my words, and they are dead on the page. They lack that vital, Dostoievskian spark! How are we to combat the dictatorship of relativism without it?
I hope, dear #8, that you will join me in my fervent prayers that soon we can all be released from our writers’ block and respond once more to Our Lord’s call, enlightened as we all must be, by those incomparable pearls which (to my pontifical chagrin) have been disclosed to Michael Holquist, Professor Emeritus of Comparative and Slavic Literature, Yale University, but not to
Your affectionate servant in Domino,
Joseph Ratzinger
Pray! Then pray some more that the Pope will encourage the ABC to repudiate heresy and apostasy in the Anglican Communion and the ABC will be open to the Pope’s words.
How extraordinary – surely he has a diocesan weekend that he should be at.
driver8,
You got me laughing. A diocesan weekend on a Monday. Is that sacred time or ordinary time for Anglicans? Or clergy golf day?
Would that I were a little fly on the wall…
If I were Pope, I would certainly point out to ++Rowan that he might want to seriously rethink this business about the ordination of women. But, of course, with a snarky attitude like that, I could never be Pope in the first place.
Surely everyone commenting here hopes that this meeting will result in nothing but good.
Aquila [#13]: I believe Pope Benedict understands that when you’re counseling friendly neighbors who are in grave trouble, you exercise judgment about what issues to put at the top of your advice list.
Note that when Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger) wrote to the 2003 Plano conference, he did not address his letter only to the Forward in Faith contingent.
#12 “A diocesan weekend” is the canonically prescribed name for any event that permits one to avoid an embarrassing encounter with the leader of the largest church in the world.
Appropriate usage is as follows, “Thank goodness, I have a “diocesan weekend” in Utah…”
First, they will talk about beer. They may talk about Islam. They may also talk about the US election and why the pope didn’t go to dinner with the President. Perhaps Rowan will ask how the Pope’s American tour was. They might both reminisce about Michael Ramsey.
But what is most important is beer.
#17: Thanks for your helpful constribution, John, but I believe they will talk about Jeremiah Wright and how sadly misunderstood the poor guy is.
[blockquote]But what is most important is beer. [/blockquote]
I’m in total agreement. As our shared ‘saint’ Friar Tuck said:
“Let us give praise to our maker, and glory to His bounty by learning about… beer.”
# 3 said:
“…Dialog and prayer on a peer-to-peer level would OK, too….”
Peer to Peer? Ha!
Merrilyonhigh
This meeting will be good for the world Christian movement and its evangelistic obligation to the world, for the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church’s ongoing relationship, therefore it will not be good for TEC and its agenda.
As an Orthodox Christian I’m not generally big on the whole universal jurisdiction thing that our Roman brothers and sisters have come to subscribe to. That said, this would appear to be a good place for the Pope to step up to the plate with a large bat in hand. No Orthodox primate would remain silent if any of our churches or bishops strayed even remotely near where much of the AC has gone. A very firm lecture delivered with Christian Love and Charity is definitely in order.
Christ is risen!
John
(off-topic) AO, Indeed He is Risen!
Nice to see you posting – your blog seemed to have gone dark.
John Wilkins [#17]: Your first paragraph may, alas, be correct.
It certainly describes the sort of conversation you tend to get at a courtesy call involving senior American leaders.
I trust that we at least won’t get this:
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/p/D/bush_pope.jpg
Re #18. Given that Rowan and the Pope have been mangled by the media themselves, you’re probably right.