The scene has had something unprecedented and symbolic in equal parts: the first meeting between a pope ylfirst woman to head the Anglican Church in almost five centuries of history. It happened this Monday in the Vatican, where Leo XIV has received Sarah Mullally,.
Beyond words, the meeting has been marked by the gestures. The most eloquent: the joint prayer of both leaders, a image of normality which until recently would have been difficult to imagine, among other reasons because the distance doctrinal on matters such as the ordination of women priests.
The event itself has been history. In fact, the popes and heads of the Anglican Church with have been meeting since 1966when Paul VI and Michael Ramsey met for the first timesomething that this year fulfills six decades. Since then it has become normal for the two leaders to meet punctually to address religious and social issues, although .
Scandal
In this context, Leo XIV wanted to emphasize the urgency of unity among Christians in a especially turbulent international context. “It would be a scandal not continue working to overcome our differences, no matter how irreconcilable they may seem,” he stated. And he added: “Our suffering world urgently needs peace of Christ” and divisions among Christians only “weaken our ability to act effectively.
Even so, the Pontiff, of Peruvian-American nationality, also . “Certainly, it has been complex –he stated–. Although progress has been made in historically divisive issuesin recent decades new problems have arisen that make it difficult to discern the path to full communion.”
Along the same lines, he has admitted that the Anglican Communion faces similar tensions, but also has warned against discouragement. “We must not allow these challenges to prevent us from taking advantage of every opportunity to proclaim Christ together,” he said.
First trip
Mullallyfor its part, He chose Rome as the destination of his first trip abroad after his appointment last month, a fact in itself loaded with intention. In his speech, he appealed for “clarity” in times of uncertainty. “In the face of inhuman violence, deep division and rapid social change, we must tell a more hopeful story: that every human life has infinite value because we are precious children of God; that the human family is called to live as sisters and brothers,” he assured.
The archbishop has also insisted on the need to a joint action: “We must work for the common good, always building bridges and never walls, remembering that the poorest are closest to the heart of God.” A message that arrives few days later to urge Anglicans to speak out against injustices and wars, in a climate of growing international political tension and of Donald Trump attacksthe American president, against the Pope.
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