"The Gift of Authority: Authority in the Church III," the newest statement of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, was released May 12. The 63-point document "tackles the most controversial of theological issues separating Roman Catholics and Anglicans," said the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. George Carey.

The statement had its beginnings in 1996, when Archbishop Carey and Pope John Paul II signed a common declaration stressing the importance of agreement on the issues of authority. The declaration said, in part, "Without agreement in this area we shall not reach the full visible unity to which we are both committed."

The Rt. Rev. Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, (Roman Catholic) Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, and the Rt. Rev. Mark Santer, Bishop of Birmingham, both of the United Kingdom, co-chairs of the commission which wrote the document, said, "The statement will, we hope, prompt further theological reflection; its conclusions present a challenge to our two churches, not least in regard to the crucial issue of universal primacy. Authority is about how the church teaches, acts and reaches doctrinal decisions in faithfulness to the gospel, so real agreement about authority cannot be theoretical."

"The Gift of Authority" speaks to various types of authority and to issues within each type. It addresses issues of authority in the local church, as well as in the broader Christian community; authority of tradition and scripture in the role of the church; the exercise of authority in the church in communion, teaching, conciliation and collegiality; and authority in freedom of conscience.

Significant developments are outlined in the commission's 30-year history and the issues which still face Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

For Anglicans, the issues, in part, read "Anglicans have shown themselves to be willing to tolerate anomalies for the sake of maintaining communion. Yet this has led to the impairment of communion manifesting itself at the Eucharist, in the exercise of episcope and in the interchangeability of ministry. What consequences flow from this?"

For Roman Catholics, the issues, in part, read, "Has enough provision been made to ensure consultation between the Bishop of Rome and the local churches prior to the making of important decisions affecting either a local church or the whole Church? How is the variety of theological opinion taken into account when such decisions are made? In supporting the Bishop of Rome in his work of promoting communion among the churches, do the structures and procedures of the Roman Curia adequately respect the exercise of episcope at other levels?"

"The Gift of Authority" encourages Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops to find ways of cooperating and developing relationships of mutual accountability ... "to do together whatever we can, but also to be together all that our existing koinonia allows." It suggests bishops meet together at regional and local levels and that they "witness together in the public sphere on issues affecting the common good."

In discussing universal primacy, where the commission says it has reached "sufficient agreement on universal primacy as a gift to be shared, for us to propose that such a primacy could be offered and received even before our churches are in full communion ... We envisage a primacy that will even now help to uphold the legitimate diversity of traditions, strengthening and safeguarding them in fidelity to the Gospel."

Universal primacy as envisioned would confirm the commission's two conclusions:

’Ä¢ "that Anglicans be open to and desire a recovery and re-reception under certain clear conditions of the exercise of universal primacy by the Bishop of Rome;

’Ä¢ "that Roman Catholics be open to and desire a re-reception of the exercise of primacy by the Bishop of Rome and the offering of such a ministry to the whole church of God."