c. 1996 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY _ Pope John Paul II and Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, said Tuesday (Dec. 3) they would seek to forge improved ties between Catholics and Anglicans aimed at eventually creating full communion between the two churches.

But at the end of the first of two formal meetings during Carey’s three-day visit to Rome, both leaders acknowledged that fundamental divisions remain on theological, social and moral issues that are not likely to diminish anytime soon.”We cannot undo overnight doctrinal differences and the bitterness that have resulted from the legacy of history,”Carey said to the pope in reference to the Church of England’s separation 450 years ago from Rome over political and theological disputes.

The pope appeared to agree. He said that while the two churches had in recent years achieved”significant milestones … the task before us is to strengthen that bond, until we reach the full unity that is Christ’s will for us.” Carey, the leader of more than 70 million Anglicans worldwide, including Episcopalians in the United States, arrived in Rome on Tuesday for a three-day visit, which will include two sessions with the pope, the leader of 960 million Roman Catholics worldwide. It is the second time the two have formally met as heads of their churches. The first meeting, in 1992, was also at the Vatican.

In addition to his papal audiences, Carey is to meet with seminarians, conduct services and pray at the Tomb of St. Peter’s. He is also scheduled to meet with several Vatican officials, including Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, and celebrate Vespers.

But the focus will be on Carey’s meetings with John Paul, who has recognized that Vatican insistence that papal primacy _ the doctrine that the pope is the supreme leader of all Christians _ has been an impediment toward improved ties with Anglicans and other Protestant denominations. However, John Paul has refused to cede any ground on this highly sensitive issue.

Last year, in an encyclical, the pope said he was prepared to discuss the primacy issue and was”open to a new situation”but did not elaborate.

On Monday, the day before Carey’s arrival in Rome, the pontiff said that for”non-Catholic Christianity, the Roman Pope is a permanent, obvious challenge towards a concrete unity.”But he reiterated that upholding the principle of primacy, in which the pope is the final arbiter of moral and theological questions, is”the duty of the church and must be its recognizable sign before the world.” Anglicans have moved further away from the Catholic Church during this pontificate on a range of issues. For example, Anglicans approve of artificial contraception, which Rome opposes. In 1992, Anglicans began ordaining women as priests, which the pope called a”grave obstacle”to Anglican-Catholic reconciliation. Last year, a panel of the Church of England recommended that the phrase”living in sin”be abandoned, and that unmarried couples, including homosexuals, deserve the same rights within the church as married couples. The Vatican views homosexuality as an”objective disorder”and condemns all sexual activity outside of marriage.

Hours before his papal audience Tuesday, Carey marked the beginning of Advent by preaching at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rome, where he referred to World AIDS Day, which was held Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent.”Advent reminds us of the foolishness in apportioning blame since we are reminded that all of us are caught up in the world’s sin, evil and lostness,”he said.”What AIDS victims require from us is not condemnation but compassion; not accusation but affirmation; not mockery but mercy.”

MJP END HEILBRONNER