THE P RTAL
May 2015
Page 7
The Anglican-Roman
Catholic International
Commission
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane meet His Grace
Archbishop Bernard Longley, Catholic Co-Chairman of ARCIC
Speaking in
Archbishop’s House, Birmingham, Archbishop Longley began by talking about The
Portal. “I think The Portal is an effective communicator within the Ordinariate and also within the family
of the Catholic Church. I am conscious that Pope Benedict has described the Ordinariate as a prophetic gesture
towards the cause of Christian unity. I’ve come to understand that better, in the context of ARCIC, through
knowing the stories of individuals who have made that journey of faith from the Church of England into the
Ordinariate. Their own experience mirrors the journey of Blessed John Henry Newman.
ARCIC dialogue
has changed
“We are now at the third phase of
ARCIC, whose brief is coloured by
the development of the Christian
Faith as it evolves within the
Catholic Church and the Anglican
Communion. The ARCIC dialogue
has changed over fifty years, both
in pace and expectation, but its
goal remains the same. From
the Catholic point of view, this
goal must be full visible unity no
matter how difficult or challenging
that seems. We still have that aim
because it expresses the will and
the prayer of our Lord that all may be one.
churches’ rules about sacramental
sharing. The Anglican Communion
welcomes people who are ‘in
good standing with their own
church’, but we’re mindful that no
Roman Catholic would be in good
standing with his own church if he
actually received communion. Our
Anglican colleagues are respectful
of that.
“People sometimes speak of the
inability to share the sacrament
fully with each other as a “neuralgia
point” in ecumenical dialogue. We
need to continue dialogue until
we are fully in communion with each other. Until
then we must respect each other and realise that the
“This third round of ARCIC dialo wVRf