Anglican, Catholic bishops travel, pray, work together

ROME (CNS) -- Acknowledging that many of the bishops present live in situations of poverty and strife, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion told Catholic and Anglican bishops that they had a responsibility to work together to preach the Gospel and to bring hope and healing to the world.

"We must look outward. We cannot continue, as the church, to be those who are obsessed with what is going on amongst us," said Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury during his homily Jan. 25 at an Anglican Eucharist celebrated in the Catholic Church of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome.

Coming directly from a private meeting with Pope Francis, the archbishop began the liturgy by thanking the pope for allowing him to celebrate the Anglican service in a Catholic church.

The archbishop was speaking directly to pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops from 27 nations who were in Rome for the first half of "Growing Together," a weeklong summit for ecumenical discussion and pilgrimage. The bishops were in Rome Jan. 22-25 and then were scheduled to travel to Canterbury, England, Jan. 26-29.

During a prayer service that evening, Archbishop Welby and Pope Francis formally commissioned the pairs of bishops for joint initiatives in their homelands.

The summit was organized by the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, a body established in 2001 to promote common prayer and joint projects to demonstrate concretely how the theological agreements the churches have made also have practical implications in witnessing together to the Christian faith.

The pairs of bishops included Hong Kong Anglican Bishop Matthias Tze-Wo Der and Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan, whose dioceses have cooperated in running schools and providing social services for years.

Often finishing each other's sentences, the two told Catholic News Service that they also have begun a tradition of sharing a Passover seder during Lent -- with 100 Anglicans and 100 Catholics -- an annual retreat for priests of both churches and an annual retreat for Catholic and Anglican young adults focused on care for creation.

"The work that the Roman Catholics and Anglicans have done in Hong Kong is much appreciated by the general population as well as the government," Bishop Der said.

Episcopalian Bishop John Bauerschmidt of Tennessee and Romanian Catholic Bishop John M. Botean of the Eparchy of St. George in Canton, Ohio, co-chairs of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation USA, also were making the pilgrimage.

The U.S. dialogue recently completed its discussions on the theme of reconciliation and, Bishop Botean said, they hope their respective churches will approve the document, which includes a reconciliation liturgy that looks at relations among Christians, with other religions, with the Earth and among people of different races and political leanings.

With the commissioning by the pope and the archbishop, Bishop Botean said, "I think we are both going to feel empowered to go to our respective groups and say, 'We're being asked to put something into action and practice.'"

Bishop Bauerschmidt said, "We want people to be able to pray together. You know, not only us, but people in our churches all over the United States," especially given the many divides people are experiencing today.

Catholic Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid, Sudan, was missing his Anglican partner in Rome. The fighting between different military leaders in the country, which began last April, means "the country is in disarray, without government," he said. "I couldn't travel with my confrere because he could not renew his passport. There is no office to renew a passport."

South Sudan was represented at the summit by Anglican Archbishop Samuel Peni of Western Equatoria and Catholic Bishop Alex Sakor Eyobo of Yei.

Archbishop Peni said the ecumenical pilgrimage to South Sudan last year by Pope Francis, Archbishop Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotland had a "big impact" on Christian leaders and the whole population.

The ecumenical cooperation that began long before South Sudan won its independence in 2011 "kind of disappeared" when civil war began in 2013, the archbishop said.

"I think it was like an identity crisis," he said. "People wanted to find an identity in this new nation" and, unfortunately, part of that was affirming ethnic and religious differences.

"The visit of the ecumenical leaders brought people back together," he said. "The messages have been received," and there are new signs of hope.

The 27 pairs of bishops also included two women: Bishop Marinez Bassotto of the Amazon, primate of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, and Bishop Sally Sue Hernández García of Mexico.

Bishop Bassotto told CNS she believes her presence at the summit was "prophetic," especially for the Catholic bishops who are not used to working with women bishops. But in her diocese, she said, "we have many, many projects together regarding defending, protecting and promoting the indigenous and territorial rights in the Amazon region."

Her Catholic counterpart, Bishop Teodoro Mendes Tavares of Ponta de Pedras, said, "I work in a region in the Amazon where women are very proactive, they have a special role and very active role, particularly leading communities, so I believe the presence here of Bishop Marinez is very meaningful; it helps foster more connections toward what we do together, our mission together."

The summit, he said, is focused on valuing the fact that Catholics and Anglicans "are brothers and sisters in Christ because of baptism. This is fundamental. We are equal in dignity."

And, the bishop said, because they are brothers and sisters, "we are called to journey together, to grow together."