Universal primate plan 'overstated'

IT'S nowhere near time for Henry VIII to start rolling in his grave, but Anglicans bowing to the authority of the pope has been acknowledged as a theoretical possibility.

IT'S nowhere near time for Henry VIII to start rolling in his grave, but Anglicans bowing to the authority of the pope has been acknowledged as a theoretical possibility.

Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane John Bathersby was yesterday hosing down any prospect of a reversal of the Reformation, following the overnight leak from the body charged with bringing the two biggest Christian denominations closer.

Dr Bathersby said a report in The Times overstated some of the proposals in the document drafted by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission.

"This is not an authoritative declaration by the Roman Catholic Church or by the Anglican Communion," said Dr Bathersby, who is co-chairman of the the commission.

And Sydney's Cardinal George Pell poured more cold water on the suggestion.

"This is something that's not likely to happen," Dr Pell said through a spokesman.

Dr Bathersby said what was offered was a statement that was intended to foster discussion and reflection.

"It's a call for action, based upon an honest appraisal of what has been achieved in our dialogue," he said. "Despite our present imperfect communion there is, we feel, enough common ground to take seriously how we work together."

The commission was set up in 2001 to promote the relationship between the two largest Christian denominations.

Dr Bathersby said the sort of suggestions that were likely to bein the commission's report, tobe released later this year, included Anglican congregations praying for the pope, and Catholics praying for the archbishop of Canterbury.

They included a plan that members could attend each other's services, and that Anglican bishops could be included in the regular pilgrimages to Rome made by their Catholic brothers.

On a parochial level, when Catholics appointed a new bishop, the archbishop could write a letter introducing the new man to his Anglican counterpart.

The measures were aimed at fostering closeness rather than any great leaps towards union.

Dr Bathersby said he believed the document was being considered as part of the meeting of the Anglican primates in Dar Es Salaam, a gathering of the church's leaders from around the world which is about to conclude its six-day conference.

He believed they were also considering the relationship between the Anglican and Orthodox churches. "None of the material about the primacy of the pope is new," Dr Bathersby said. "There have been documented discussions about that made over the past 35 years."

He said if there was to be a universal primate recognised by both churches, the pope would be an obvious choice, but "before that could possibly happen, it would need an enormous amount of discussion, and I imagine there would be a large number of Anglicans who would not want that possibility".