Catholic-Anglican Statement on Virgin Mary Is Near
VATICAN CITY, MAY 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- A delegation of Anglicans and
Catholics plans to convene in Seattle, Washington, to release a joint
statement on the place of Mary in the doctrine and life of the Church.
The document, entitled "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ," the result of
the
work of the Anglo-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC),
represents the first major agreed-on statement by a formal
international
dialogue between the two world communions on this aspect of Christian
faith
and devotion.
The document will be released May 16. The news, announced by the
Anglican
Communion, was confirmed by Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Bishop Farrell said of the document: "We have much hope, as it allows
us to
discover all the things we have in common on Mary, including with the
Anglican reformers of the 16th and 17th centuries, who were regarded as
'anti-Marian,' but in fact, were not."
"Moreover, the document addresses the problems of Catholic dogma," he
told
ZENIT. "We believe the document will be interesting not only for the
Catholic-Anglican dialogue but also for dialogue with all the
communities
that arose from the Reformation."
The writing of the document concluded last February in Seattle. It
draws
together the fruits of five years of work by the ARCIC, a dialogue
officially sponsored by the Anglican Consultative Council and by the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
As the work of ARCIC, the text is not an authoritative declaration by
the
Catholic Church or the Anglican Communion. With its publication, the
statement will be offered for study and evaluation by Catholics and
Anglicans. The book has been published by Continuum/Morehouse
Publishing
USA/UK.
The May 16 event will be hosted by Seattle Archbishop Alexander
Brunett,
Catholic co-chair of ARCIC. He will be joined by his Anglican co-chair,
Archbishop Peter Carnley, primate of the Anglican Church of Australia,
for
the statement release.
On May 19 at noon, the book will be launched at a gathering in
Westminster
Abbey in London.