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Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Discuss Differences over Ordination of Women

Episcopal News Service. May 29, 1992 [92119]

Following the tradition of his last four predecessors, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey met in Rome with Pope John Paul II and discussed the future of dialogue between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

While covering a broad range of subjects, the meeting was dominated by the thorny issue of ordination of women to the priesthood. Carey called it the "toughest part" of the conversation.

In their first meeting since Carey was elected archbishop of Canterbury a year ago, the pope reminded Carey that the Vatican still considers the ordination of women priests a "grave obstacle" to the eventual unity of the two churches, and Carey expressed his conviction that ordination of women is a "proper development" in the life of the church.

In a sermon at All Saints Episcopal Church in Rome the day before his May 25 meeting with the pope, Carey said that he was "aware that the ordination of women to the priesthood presents a problem to the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. It does so for many Anglicans as well."

Carey added, "But I have to recognize that in many parts of the Anglican Communion the ordination of women has not destroyed the church but, they believe, has given it new life." He said that such obstacles "will not defeat us if the end of our pilgrimage towards unity is Christ."

In a statement released by the Vatican, the pope and Carey "stressed their commitment to the search for fuller communion" and their intention to continue a theological dialogue begun 25 years ago.

Vatican response chills dialogue

That dialogue has been strained recently by what is widely characterized as the Vatican's lukewarm response to the official report of the first Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, which stressed theological differences rather than agreement. The pope told Carey, however, that the report "should not be interpreted as putting a brake on the dialogue" but rather a "stimulus to the resolution of outstanding differences."

Carey had publicly criticized the Vatican response as "disappointing" and said that the implied requirement that partners in dialogue must conform to theological formulations would make further progress "hazardous."

On the eve of his visit, Carey also said that "the search for truth requires humility. The moment one communion insists on embodying it, we deny it to another."

A week before the visit, Carey stirred controversy with remarks criticizing the Roman Catholic Church's position opposing all forms of artificial birth control, suggesting that the Vatican had effectively prevented any discussion of population control at the June United Nations-sponsored Earth Summit in Brazil. In an interview with London's Daily Telegraph, Carey contended that the Vatican position contributes to global poverty and environmental destruction. Carey later said the subject was not part of his conversation with the pope.

While Carey is generally believed to be pessimistic about future relations with the Vatican under this pope, he tried to sound upbeat after the meeting. While the two churches may "disagree on a number of important matters," he said, "we are at a stage in friendship where it is possible to say tough things to one another."