Pontiff and Browning Meet, Exchange Gifts
Episcopal News Service. January 22, 1987 [87015]
ROME (DPS, Jan. 22) -- A private meeting between the chief pastor of the Episcopal Church and Pope John Paul II became the focal point of two days of cordial talks on church unity and peace and justice work between Roman Catholics and Anglicans.
Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning and the Pope spent more than 30 minutes in private conversation Jan. 12 in the papal study before they exchanged greetings in a service of worship and gifts in an audience that included all of Browning's party.
In the private talks, the two shared their concerns for issues of peace -- with Browning hailing the Pope's initiative in organizing the interfaith services of prayer last fall in Assisi in which Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie and other Anglican primates participated -- and touched on the bilateral talks between the Communions.
Later, in the audience that took place in the same study, the Presiding Bishop noted the Assisi gathering for prayer and the recent Papal New Year's message on Peace and asserted the wish of Episcopalians and other Anglicans to pray and work for peace with Roman Catholics and people of other faiths "to reduce the energy and resources that men and women devote to preparation for armed conflict, for the retention of privilege and power and the oppression of races, minorities and others. We wish to pray and work to increase the energies devoted to preparation for a secure peace, to a sharing of power and resources and to mutual understanding and appreciation for the diversity given by God in the creation."
Browning noted the need for the Churches to make "peace among themselves in obedience to the prayer of our Lord," in commenting on the Anglican/Roman Catholic dialogues, and expressed the hope that the Churches are "called to a renewed expectation of what God's grace will do with us...we know our calling is to bring the light of the Gospel to the dark places of the earth, where hope is extinguished and sometimes anger and despair are the alternatives."
In his warm reply, the Pope emphasized many of the same concerns, saying of the Assisi gathering, "the unity in prayer that day was not only a marvelous spiritual experience for those of us who were there, but was also a sign to the world of the growing solidarity between us, a solidarity which is rooted in our baptism into Christ" and adding "I know Bishop Browning, that like those of us who gathered at Assisi you share a great uneasiness about the conflicts and the violence which beset our world. I pray that in the years to come our voices will always speak as one about social justice, the search for peace, and the dignity and right to life of every human being."
He spoke of his cordial relationship with Runcie, with whom he has met in Canterbury and Africa as well as Assisi, and said "We thank God for the progress that has so far been made along the path to unity of faith between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. May that progress continue, and may our prayer today be a sign of the real though imperfect communion that exists between us and of our desire to deepen it."
The audience ended with a service of prayer and the exchange of gifts between the prelates. Browning gave the Pope a medallion "designed as a symbol of our love and our commitment to unity," which bears the seal of the Episcopal Church on one side and a commemoration of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral on the other. He received a pectoral cross from the Pope.
The papal study is a long room, sunny and light, with pastel frescoes on the walls and ceiling and lined with wood and glass bookcases. He received the party in his traditional white cassock and zuchetta and greeted each member of the party personally both upon arriving and leaving.
The Rome visit was the third in a five-nation, 30-day tour with which the Presiding Bishop has opened the second year of his primatial ministry. The visitors began in Istanbul and were in Jerusalem for a week before spending Jan. 10-14 in Rome. Accompanying the Presiding Bishop and his wife, Patti, are the Rev. William Norgren, ecumenical officer; the Rev, Charles Cesaretti, deputy for Anglican Relations; and the Rt. Rev. A. Donald Davies, suffragan bishop of the American Convocation of Churches in Europe.
The meeting with John Paul II was preceded by a lay by one with members of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and, earlier the same day, with the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace. Although the talks in both cases were private, the impact and symbolism of the Assisi service was clear through both. One senior official noted later that the activity, itself, of dialogue and seeking Christian unity gives hope to people and cited Assisi as an example of the power of prayer to sustain and advance that hope.
The two-hour conversations at the secretariat were presided over by Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, president of the unit, and included Fr. Pierre Duprey, P.A. secretary, and Fr. Kevin McDonald of the Anglican relations office. After the papal visit, Willebrands hosted a luncheon for the visitors where the parties were joined by Cardinal William Baum, the senior American in the Curia.
In the Commission meeting, the visitors were hosted by its president, Cardinal Roger Etchegray; its secretary, Bishop Jorge Mehia, and its undersecretary. The commission focus is largely on research and theological study issues rather than programs, and some hope emerged for exchange and cooperation with the Anglican Peace and Justice network, which is chaired by Cesaretti.
Beyond the formal sessions, the talks continued at the Willebrands luncheon, at a reception hosted by Browning which was attended by Etchegray and by a dinner the Brownings also gave which included Mehia and Duprey in the guest list.
The Episcopal Church party left Rome convinced that they had been received with genuine interest and warmth. They came away buoyed with the conviction that new avenues of personal exchange and possible cooperation have been established, many of which will be explored later in the month at meetings with Anglican and Church of England authorities.