One might wonder if it’s foolish optimism that has gathered 10 Anglicans and seven Catholics of the Anglican-Catholic dialogue commission in northern Italy today, to begin the third session of the decades-long dialogue between the two groups.<\/p>\n
The obstacles separating Anglicans and Catholics are steeper than they’ve been in years, with Anglicans forging ahead on the ordination of women and homosexuals, despite the dismay of some within the Communion. Catholics, meanwhile, have been accused of “fishing in Anglican ponds,” since Benedict XVI established a new ecclesial structure for Anglicans to enter Catholic communion en masse.<\/p>\n
But, nestled within the ecumenical monastic community of Bose, Italy, the 17 ecumenically minded men and women are, according to the Catholic co-chair of the the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), devoted to an ultimate aim that “must remain the same.”<\/p>\n