Two Australian bishops have said they share an “ecumenism of humiliation” over child sexual abuse and a determination to work alongside survivors. They were among 19 pairs of Catholic and Anglican bishops commissioned for a joint mission by Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Canberra (pictured) and Goulburn and Anglican Bishop John Parkes (below right), of the Victorian Diocese of Wangaratta, wrote a joint letter on their return from the pilgrimage to Canterbury and Rome marking the 50th anniversary of the meeting of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey that formally inaugurated Anglican-Catholic ecumenical dialogue.
“Together with 38 Anglican and Catholic bishops from 19 countries, we reviewed the progress on the pilgrimage to unity so far,” they wrote. “The mood has changed from optimism that organic unity was imminent, to a more realistic assessment. Serious obstacles have arisen on matters pertaining to the ordination of women, and human sexuality. Friendships between our communities have continued to mature in the midst of these complex issues.”
Archbishop Prowse and Bishop Parkes wrote that they had listened to the testimonies from around the world of growing friendships and practical pastoral initiatives between Catholic and Anglican communities.
“In some parts of the world, both communities have suffered much together in the face of martyrdom, discrimination and slavery. It has been a kind of ‘ecumenism of blood’ for them. For others, there is the common challenge of responding to secularism, refugees, homelessness and corruption. Wonderful pastoral initiatives were showcased. These are a type of ‘ecumenism of hope’,” they wrote.
“From the Australian point of view, we shared about our ‘ecumenism of humiliation’ in the face of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and our determination to work alongside the victims,” the bishops wrote. “We spoke also of the continued practical support offered to each other, especially in our rural communities. We spoke of the mature co-operation in regard to theological education, the work of the Australian Anglican/Roman Catholic Commission and its production of joint theological documents, and our shared efforts to respond to the many faces of secularism in our home of Australia.”
The two bishops added that a high point had been the commissioning by the Pope and Archbishop Justin Welby of the 19 pairs of Anglican/Roman Catholic bishops from around the world.
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