The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has said that most Anglicans recognize the Pope as “the father of the Church in the West.” He was speaking in the ecumenical discussions at the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England.
Welby said that he is “not proud” of the level of progress made in promoting Christian unity in recent years. He attributed this stasis partly to what he termed “habits of separation” that have been fostered over the last 500 years.
Nonetheless, he believes that the majority of the Church of England’s members acknowledge the pope to be “the father of the Church in the West.”
The urgency of ecumenical dialogue is stressed in the conference by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect for the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Koch called the present state of division an “emergency” in the Church.
Speaking to the Tablet, Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham Bernard Longley noted the ability of the conference to cement the unity of the Anglican Communion.