Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams held a “friendly and informal” meeting Monday in Rome, according to Anglican Communion News Service. “It was a friendly and informal meeting in which we discussed a number of ecumenical issues, some of the Pope’s impressions from his American visit and common issues in Christian Muslim dialogue,” ++ Williams said.

That last topic sounds interesting, especially in light of the archbishop’s comments earlier this year on giving Muslims’ Sharia law a place within Britain’s civil jurisprudence. Williams’ comments were criticized by many parties, including the Vatican’s senior official in charge of relations with Islam, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, according to Reuters.

Williams and Benedict also met in 2006, when they issued a “Common Declaration” recognizing 40 years of dialogue and cooperation between the Catholic Church and Anglicans.