Welby, Pope and Gafcon Primate in Three Ring Ecclesiastical Circus Over Gathering of Anglican Archbishops in Rome

Pope Francis hinted at a new ‘understanding’ of the papacy during a meeting with Anglican leaders, a discerning reporter with LifeSiteNews observed.

“The Pontiff’s speech to the Anglicans held a revolutionary possibility: namely, a decision by Francis to use the papacy itself as an ecumenical bargaining tool, in a manner which could appear to undermine the authority wielded by the Pope.”

According to Michael Haynes, Snr. Vatican Correspondent, Pope Francis hosted leaders from the Anglican Communion at the Vatican, and while speaking about the “controversial” role of the papacy, the Pontiff raised the possibility of a new “understanding” that could result from ecumenical relations and the Synod on Synodality.

This must have been sweet music to Welby’s ears as the gathering of his primates’ represented only about 30 percent of the Anglican Communion. While the 32 primates looked impressive in a photo op, the deeper truth is that the dozen or so primates not present represented the largest provinces in the Anglican Communion with the greatest worshipping numbers.

The visiting primates held a series of meetings, made visits to Catholic shrines across the city, met with Pope Francis and Cardinal Mario Grech — the general secretary of the Synod of Bishops. Their high-level gathering was advertised to lead to unity amongst the various Anglican bodies throughout the world, although, as noted below, such “unity” is a serious point of contention given the dissent in the Anglican body over same-sex blessings.

Addressing the assembled Primates, Francis thanked the Archbishop of Canterbury for his continued collaboration with the Pope and his “fraternal cooperation on behalf of the Gospel.”

“The Lord calls each of us to be a builder of unity and, even if we are not yet one, our imperfect communion must not prevent us from walking together,” stated Francis, echoing themes he has used in the not infrequent ecumenical gatherings he attends alongside Welby.

Francis also gave an honorable mention to the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which has — he stated — “made great efforts to overcome various obstacles that stand in the way of unity.”

Of these ARCIC talks a former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey said that in the nearly 50 years he had been involved in formal ecumenism he had witnessed amazing political events happen: “we have seen the Cold War end between West and East, the Berlin Wall removed, Apartheid destroyed in South Africa, deepening harmony in Northern Ireland — and, ingloriously, no substantial acts taken to bring Christian unity about.”

To add fuel to the fire, Rome’s understanding of ‘Christian unity’ since Vatican II is wrong and dangerous to souls, according to traditionally minded Catholics.

On the Anglican side of the ledger, things are not much better.

The Anglican Communion is rent asunder ‘by schisms and heresies distressed’; the Church’s one foundation might be Jesus Christ, but his Body is shredded by denominational acrimony, so much so that two Anglican branches — Gafcon and the Global South primates have sworn they will not do business with Welby until and unless he repents.

That point was made very clear when the Most Rev. Dr. Laurent Mbanda, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, responded to the 17-point communique put out by the primates and shredded it with this response; “The truth is that most of those who refused to attend are leaders of Gafcon and the Global South, and our absence was not accidental, but intentional.”

He said the current divisions within the Anglican Communion are neither minimal nor new. These divisions have arisen from more than 25 years of “repeated departures from the authority of God’s Word” that, despite the persistent warnings given by the majority of Anglican Primates, have continued unabated.

One wonders if the Pope knew this, and if so, why did he say what he said, or did the Roma Curia and other ecclesiastical minders keep this information from him.

Perhaps Pope Francis like Archbishop Welby like to keep their heads in the sand ignoring the waves that are beating over their respective barques, hoping the Lord will step in and calm the waves inviting them to walk on water and into his everlasting embrace.

That is not going to happen.

As the Archbishop of Rwanda put it; “We know how dear the unity of the church is to the heart of our Lord. For it is he who prays to his Father that we might be one, even as he and the Father are one (John 17:21). At the same time, we also recognize that such unity is not simply a matter of institutional belonging or cultivating attitudes of “mutual respect.” The unity of the Father and the Son consists in a harmony of will and mind, of mission and message (John 8:16-18, 10:37-38, 12:49-50, 17:25-26). Jesus came speaking the word of his Father and he wanted us to be sanctified in the truth of that word (John 17:17). It is only as we agree on the truth and authority of Scripture, therefore, that we can be one as Jesus prayed.”

Perfectly stated.

The chairman then ripped into Welby with this line; “It is unfortunate when the orthodox remnant within the Anglican Communion is portrayed as the source of disunity.”

Pope Francis’s attack on traditionalist Catholics is reminiscent of the same thing. It must stick in the craw of conservative Catholics to see the current pope sitting down with a woman Church of England bishop, that a previous pope would not have been seen dead with.

Archbishop Mbanda cites the late Liverpool Bishop J.C. Ryle who said, “If people separate themselves from teaching which is positively false and unscriptural, they ought to be praised rather than reproved. In such cases separation is a virtue rather than a sin…He is the schismatic who causes the schism…Unity which is obtained by the sacrifice of truth is worth nothing. It is not unity that pleases God.”

The list of differences between Rome and Canterbury do not require replaying here; they are well known. One thing we do know is that they are not going away any time soon and they won’t be glossed over in the name of a faux unity.

For Anglicans who stand fully on the Word of God there can be no compromise on sin, sexual or otherwise. There will be no “embracing our disagreements without fear.” There should be plenty of fear where the embrace of sin is concerned and the wrath of God is the right and righteous response of God to sin. Put positively, wrath, in perfect harmony with all of his divine attributes, is God’s holy action of retributive justice towards persons whose actions deserve eternal condemnation. Try thinking about that as you fall asleep.

God is not in the compromise business. He demands repentance.

As chairman Mbanda stated it so well; “The proposals made by the Anglican Primates at the Rome meeting, which consist of minor revisions to the description of the Anglican Communion and modifications to its existing structures, will do nothing to mend the torn fabric of our Communion. Nothing apart from a return to the Lord through deep repentance and renunciation of false teaching by erring provinces will suffice. To quote the Kigali Statement once more, “without repentance this tear cannot be mended.”

PROMINENT CATHOLICS URGE BISHOPS CARDINALSTO DECLARE FRANCIS HAS LOST PAPAL OFFICE — THEY CALL FOR HIS RESIGNATION
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/prominent-catholics-urge-bishops-cardinals-to-declare-francis-has-lost-the-papal-office-if-he-refuses-to-resign/?utm_source=popular

SCANDALS HAUNT POPE FRANCIS: https://unherd.com/2024/04/the-scandals-haunting-pope-francis/

END

Welby, Pope and Gafcon Primate in Three Ring Ecclesiastical Circus Over Gathering of Anglican Archbishops in Rome

COMMENTARY

By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
May 8, 2024

Parsing the nice-speak of Anglican primates and a pope at a recent gathering in Rome, one might be forgiven for thinking that Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby might be working from the same playbook.

Sadly, it is not the Bible.