Over and Out

(Today I have been to mass for the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady at Holy Trinity, Micklegate, York and the preacher referred to her as 'Mother of Unity'. Following refreshments we held a brisk AGM for Forward in Faith, York. We were aware of the meeting of the archbishop and the pope taking place in Rome and below Damian Thompson of the Telegraph tells us how it went i.e. official communique plus his own slant on proceedings.)

Dr Rowan Williams gets 20 minutes

with the Pope. They both know it's

all over.

The leader of a billion Roman Catholics meets the leader of 80 million Anglicans at a moment of historic crisis between the two Communions and they send all of TWENTY MINUTES together. Here is the official communiqué from the Vatican:

This morning His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received in private audience His Grace Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

In the course of the cordial discussions attention turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges.

The discussions also focused on recent events affecting relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, reiterating the shared will to continue and to consolidate the ecumenical relationship between Catholics and Anglicans, and recalling how, over coming days, the commission entrusted with preparing the third phase of international theological dialogue between the parties (ARCIC) is due to meet.

So, let’s get this straight. You have to deduct from the 20 minutes the time spent discussing “the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges”. That might take, what, five minutes? More likely eight, I’m guessing.

So that gives the Prime of All England about 12 minutes’ “face time” with the Supreme Pontiff to discuss the ecumenical earthquake of the Personal Ordinariates – but, in fact, it looks as if they devoted much of it to ARCIC, the official dialogue between the Communions which I thought had been wound down years ago. There’s going to be a “third phase” of this waffle? To discuss what? Tips on where to buy the tastiest organic biscuits to serve after Sunday morning services?

Pope Benedict has given up on the Church of England, in the nicest possible way. As even Dr Williams admits, he’s not interested in “poaching” Anglicans, but in making special arrangements for those who are quite determined to leave. And +Rowan, by rubbing the Vatican’s nose in the women priests issue earlier this week, showed that he has given up on the Catholics – again, in the nicest possible way.

Last year, Cardinal Kaspar warned the Lambeth Conference that it had to decide whether it was Catholic or Protestant. Now we know the answer. Though some of us always did.