Rev Canon John L. Peterson will conclude his ministry as the General Secretary of the Anglican Communion at the end of 2004, and prior to this he has written a letter to the Pope, John Paul II to express his appreciation for the close ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.
In the development of Western Christianity, the Anglican Church, with its home in England, is very different from the other Protestant churches set up after the Reformation in the 16th century. Rather than a complete separation from the Roman See in terms of tradition and liturgy, Catholic traditions, in part continue to exist in the Anglican Church.
According to the General Secretary of the Anglican Communion, Rev Peterson, the Anglican Church seeks full visible unity with the Catholic Church as a key element of the ecumenical endeavour. He said to the Pope in the letter, "We Anglicans are naturally proud of our own history…and of our conviction that in our life we have retained Catholic faith and order."
Rev Peterson, in the letter mentioned an important milestone in the ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church - the establishment of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) in 1968 initiated by the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Michael Ramsey and the Pope Paul VI. A joint statement "Mary, Grace and Hope in Christ", which concludes the work of the commission over the last 38 years, will be published in 2005.
In face of today’s Anglican Communion that many commented as "impaired" due to the crisis over a number of topics on sexuality such as homosexual clergy ordination, same-sex blessings and women bishop consecration, Rev Peterson described "the ecumenical pilgrimage is far from easy" nowadays and he expressed his deep concern over the advice from the Catholic Church.
"I believe that recent initiatives have shown how seriously we wish to work co-operatively and hear the views of the Catholic Church as we strive to discern Christ's will for us at this time," he said.
While the Anglican Communion becomes more diversified in its opinions about certain controversial issues and the influence of the more liberal modern theology, Rev Peterson said, "The churches of the Anglican Communion have been accustomed to exercising a constitutional autonomy by which they order their understanding of Christian faith and life. Increasingly, however, we are learning that the life of all Christ's disciples is interdependent, and the wisdom and counsel of the successor to the See of Peter is one particular voice, which the Anglican Communion has come, in the spirit of the ecumenical movement, to hold in high value and respect."
Recently, the Anglican Communion has actually formally invited the Holy See to offer its reflection on the Windsor Report. Moreover, in request by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a positive response from Cardinal Kaspe, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), a sub-commission of the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) was set up to investigate into the ecclesiological difficulties in the mentioned sexual issues.
Rev Peterson concluded the letter by quoting Apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Philippians, "May the God who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ." Even though the challenges ahead of the Anglicans are very big, he wishes to place his hope in Christ to overcome all hurdles.