Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham said that the 1993 Ecumenism Directory made certain relaxations in the rules for the sharing of Eucharist.

"Given that that represents a change, and a very significant shift away from the impossibility to the limited possibility, then I could imagine and foresee one of the fruits of our ecumenical engagement as moving towards a deeper understanding of communion and a deeper sharing, a deeper communion between our churches which perhaps would lead to reconsideration of some of the circumstances," he said.

Archbishop Longley is the Catholic co-chair of the Third Anglican/Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC III).

He was speaking to an Anglican publication following a joint session of the National Advisers' Committee on Ecumenism of the Irish (Roman Catholic) Episcopal Conference and representatives of the Church of Ireland (Anglican) Commission for Christian Unity and Dialogue.

Asked if he felt healing on the issue would indeed come, the archbishop said, "I know that that will be the case", and described the "pain" of division at the Eucharist as "a spur" towards resolving the issue.

However, he also pointed to how, over the past several decades, "further challenges — obstacles, if you like — in the way of that have been placed before us and they also have their part to play in what holds us back from sharing the Eucharist together".

Affirming that a further relaxation in the Vatican's regulations "could happen", the archbishop added, however, that he "wouldn't like to predict the rate or the pace of change towards that".

Source:

Anglican Communion News Service

Image: MSN News

The new liturgical rite includes material from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer — the 1662 text which became the main point of reference for prayer in the Anglican Church — and from the Roman Rite followed by the Catholic Church.

It also contains prayers written by Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer, who was burnt at the stake in 1556 during Queen Mary's brief attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in England.

Continue reading

When I travel, I always get asked by parents how they can get their adult children back to church. It's an epidemic. We know this.

And we can talk about catechesis and community and leadership and orthodoxy and the sacraments and the fullness of truth. We can complain about politics and how we need more preaching from the pulpit. But here is the core problem. Here is the practical reason why people are not convinced of the Catholic faith anymore:

We Catholics don't look or act any different than non-catholics. It's that simple.

The question we must answer is "if Catholicism offers a better way, why don't Catholics' lives seem any better?"

If we believe our faith and action in this life has eternal consequences, why don't we act like it? If the God of our universe, the Creator of everything, is truly present in the Eucharist, why don't our actions show this?

If our relationship with God is truly the most important relationship, why don't our daily schedules reflect that? If our marriages and families are our greatest blessings, why do we sacrifice them for our careers?

If God has a plan for us, why do we make so many plans without him? And why are we not on our knees every morning thanking, praising and giving over to him every moment of our entire day?

If Catholicism is true, why isn't everything we do ordered around this Truth? Continue reading

Sources

• Matthew Warner in National Catholic Register
• Image: Patheos

Matthew Warner is a lover of God, his wife, his kids, his life, cookies, hot-buttered bread, snoozin' & awkward (as well as not awkward) silence.

Many have already commented on the man, his life and his works and I have read reflections and tributes online that tell the story of a man who commanded enormous respect. But at the church service I learnt quite a bit more.

Although much of his work contains a religious element, I had no idea how deeply he held the Catholic faith.

His real name is Hone Papita, which is a translation of John Baptiste, and he was named after Jean Baptiste Pompallier. This is, of course, the Bishop Pompallier who was basically the first Catholic missionary to set foot in New Zealand and became the first Catholic Bishop of Auckland.

His presence in Northland from 1838 onwards meant that several of the Maori villages of the far north took on the Catholic faith. Mitimiti was one of those villages. I had intended to visit the village when we were on holiday in the Hokianga simply because I knew of it from Ralph's work but what I know now is that the village is also full of religious symbolism. The graveyard is called Hione or Zion and the church is Hato Hemi or St James. These stand alongside a traditional marae and perhaps give an insight into the way that Ralph perceived the world.

Certainly the Roman Catholic service conducted for Ralph was highly ritualised and full of symbolism itself. Most of us present were not Catholic but the religious proceedings were clearly requested by Ralph before he passed away.

During the eulogies he was described more than once as being his own man and being a man of integrity who used his talents to fight issues of racism, inequality and threats to the environment.

Quite possibly, the church has played its part in cementing his convictions about doing the right thing. Continue reading

Sources

• Tahu Potiki in The Press
• Image: Commonwealth Study Conferences Australia

Article and photo reproduced with permission.

Tahu Potiki is a columnist for The Christchurch Press.