The Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis met in Rome this week where they issued a fresh call for Christian unity.
The call coincided with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held every year at the top of January.
The two Church leaders also commissioned Catholic and Anglican bishop pairs to be co-workers within the ministry of reconciliation and to be a witness to Christian unity.
This week the bishop pairs attended the ‘Growing Together’ programme encouraging closer co-operation between the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions.
Over the weekend they may travel to Canterbury and visit Christian sites together.
The Archbishop told the bishops, “May your ministry alongside each other as Catholics and Anglicans be for the world a foretaste of the reconciling of all Christians.”
Pope Francis said, “Brothers and sisters, fourteen centuries ago, Pope Gregory the Great commissioned Saint Augustine, the primary Archbishop of Canterbury, and his companions, to set out from Rome to evangelise the enjoyment of the Gospel to the peoples of England.
“Today, with gratitude to God for our sharing within the Gospel, we send you forth, beloved co-workers for the dominion of God, in order that wherever you perform your ministry, you might together bear witness to the hope that doesn’t deceive and the unity for which our Saviour prayed.”
