Basic HTML Version
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 4, 1982
PAGE 8
between a "high church," much closer to Rome and liturgy in tradition, and a
"low church" which is much closer to various Protestant bodies.
Yet, Some Retain Cautious Skepticism
Not all observers, however, were falling head over heels over the charis
matic Pope's pronouncements at Canterbury Cathedral and his profession of
working towards church unity.
One dissenting view was expressed by an
Anglican vicar from Tockwith in York, Peter Mullen. Mr. Mullen pointed up
the difficulties ahead with regard to church unity as well as the rather
compromising position that church union would have upon the Throne of
England.
There are several good reasons why we should be suspicious of the
ballyhoo surrounding the papal visit. I do not share the vicious
hostility to all things Catholic that we now see from some
extreme Protestants with their loud mouths and slogans. But it
is not only the bigots who are shouting "No popery." There are
genuine political fears. More than 400 years ago, in complicated
circumstances that involved a lot more than Henry VIII's marital
difficulties, England decided to be free from Rome's jurisdic
tion.
Because the Church of England is the established church,
its head is the Queen and its government is closely tied to
Parliament. Any attempt to unite the two churches under the Pope
would become a civil and legal revolution affecting all Britain.
It is significant {some might say ominous) that the joint commit
tee studying paths to unity between the two churches made no men
tion of the Queen's status••••
The Church of England allows room for individual conscience••. the
Roman Catholic Church does not. I am all for compromise. It is
the reasonable way to settle differences, but it is not possible
to compromise when one side clearly states that its own view is
the absolute truth.
Beneath the smiles and the friendly words
that issued from the papal platform, it is hard to avoid the sus
picion that here lies something of that old technique: "Come into
my corner, said the Spider to the fly."
Make no mistake, in any unity scheme, all the compromise would be
on one side only--the Church of England's side••••
For all of the apparently warm-hearted beckoning on the unity
front, the Roman Catholic Church has not yet renounced its own
highhanded statement of 1896 about Church of England priests:
that their Holy Orders are "absolutely null and utterly void•••. "
The price of agreement with Rome is submission to its dogmas.
What would become of our valuable distinctiveness then?•••.
In this light it was very interesting that Prince Charles, heir to the
throne, was present at this ecumenical service at Canterbury Cathedral.
Not only did he attend it, he made a special request to be there so that he
could meet the Pope as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all three
of them were photographed meeting before the service began. The photograph
appeared in every major newspaper in Britain.
(The previous day the Pope
made a courtesy call at Buckingham Palace to visit Queen Elizabeth II. The
two talked privately for about 35 minutes.} In light of all this, it should