Carey Responds to Papal Letter on Women's Ordination
Episcopal News Service. June 15, 1994 [94116J]
In a statement responding to Pope John Paul II's letter against the ordination of women to the priesthood, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey said that the "arguments it advances have been fully considered during discussion within the Church of England and within other Christian churches, and were not found to be convincing." Carey stated that central to the theological debate "within the Anglican Communion has been the doctrine of the Incarnation, that in Christ Jesus God assumes our humanity. It is the full humanity of Christ, rather than his maleness, which the priesthood is called to represent." Carey said the pastoral letter asserted that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women," but he disputed this point, claiming that it denies "the Church's continuing responsibility to discern the mind of Christ in relation to matters of faith, doctrine and order." Carey concluded however that "as far as the Anglican Communion is concerned, we continue to feel goodwill towards the Roman Catholic Church and remain fully committed to dialogue with that Church... about those matters on which we continue to differ."