LETTER FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
TO HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II
21 November 2001
Your Holiness
It gives me the greatest pleasure to send you this letter of greeting by the hands of members of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Working Group. Since the inauguration of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission in 1970, much work has been done by its members to enable our churches to listen to each other, to share experiences and understandings, and to come to agreements about our common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Commission has prayed together, has studied issues that have divided our churches, and has offered statements that express our shared Christian inheritance. At the meeting that Cardinal Cassidy and I chaired in Mississauga last year, we too prayed and reflected together, and were made vividly aware of the communion that we share. It is my hope and prayer that this Working Group will be able to build on the foundations of the international Commission and of that meeting, and will enable our churches to put into practice the mutual commitment and common life that is already ours.
I welcomed the members of the Working Group at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday 21st November, and shared with them my vision and hopes for their work. I am glad that they will also be able to hear from Your Holiness your commission for the task that lies ahead. Remembering that my predecessor St Augustine journeyed to Canterbury with a mission from Pope Gregory, it is highly significant that this Working Group should receive its charge from both of us. As bishops, we have been entrusted with the mission to guide our churches and to bring good news to all the world. In these troubled times, I believe we must be bold in our witness to the truth of God's call and to the fullness of life in Christ.
I send my warm personal greetings to Your Holiness, with many happy memories of my visits to Rome. It is my earnest prayer that our churches may be one in faith and common witness, expressing that unity which is the vocation of the Church, that the world may believe. I trust that the Anglican Roman Catholic Working Group may be an instrument of strengthening our communion for mission.
Yours in Christ
GEORGE CANTUAR