U.S. Anglican-Catholic meeting discusses immigration and new provision

Washington D.C.: November 04, 2009, (PCTV Newsdesk)

The Vatican’s recent provision forAnglicans who want to become Catholic, immigration issues and PopeJohn Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor were the topics at ajoint Anglican-Catholic theological meeting last week in Washington,D.C.

The Anglican-Roman Catholic TheologicalConsultation in the United States (ARC-USA) held its meeting at theWashington Retreat House on Oct. 26 and 27.

Episcopal Bishop of Southern OhioThomas Breidenthal and Catholic Bishop of Alexandria, LouisianaRonald P. Herzog co-chaired the meeting.

The meeting, the sixty-sixth of theconsultation, marked the third round of dialogue on the theme“Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Common Ground andDivergences.”

Responding to the Vatican’s October20 announcement of personal ordinariates for former Anglicans whowish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, membersof the consultation welcomed the Church’s acknowledgment of a“substantial overlap” in the faith and the legitimacy of manyAnglican traditions. According to an ARC-USA press release, membersthought this acknowledgment was the fruit of over 40 years ofofficial dialogue.

Because of the lack of publisheddetails on the new ordinariates, members thought it was premature tocomment in detail but anticipated receiving the document for theirnext meeting.

Members of the consultation wereencouraged by Anglican and Catholic leaders’ “firm statements”that official dialogue between the two churches will continue.

On immigration reform Fr. ThomasRausch, S.J., of Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles presentedthe Catholic viewpoint. He focused on the 2003 document by the U.S.and Mexican Bishops’ Conferences, “Strangers No Longer: Togetheron the Journey of Hope.”

Bishop Breidenthal presented his paper,“Immigration Reform: An Anglican Approach.”

Consultation members saw substantialconvergence in the discussion.

Pope John Paul II’s 1993 encyclicalVeritatis Splendor, which outlined fundamental elements of Catholicmoral teaching, was summarized by Fr. Charles Caccavale of theSeminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York. Heemphasized that it presents the moral life as deeply connected to thelife of faith and to eternal life, ARC-USA reports.

Prof. Timothy Sedgwick of VirginiaTheological Seminary discussed the document from an Anglicanperspective, noting one area requiring further exploration is theencyclical’s understanding of “intrinsically evil acts.”

During the meeting members prayed theCatholic and Anglican Liturgy of the Hours together and celebratedthe Eucharist in both traditions, with members participating to theextent allowed by their respective churches. They toured the JohnPaul II Cultural Center and held a dinner in honor of the EpiscopalChurch’s ecumenical officer Bishop Christopher Epting, who will beretiring in December after nine years of service.

The next meeting is scheduled forMarch, 2010 in Delray Beach, Florida.

News source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17578