The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) is at the heart of attempts to tackle the split between Catholics and Anglicans.
Mark Santer, the Bishop of Birmingham, who was co-chairman of the Commission that produced the latest report entitled 'The Gift of Authority', is quoted as saying: 'the dialogue between Anglicans and Roman Catholics is only one stream in the wider river of ecumenical dialogue. The issue of authority comes up sooner or later in every dialogue which addresses itself seriously to the questions of communion and authority.'
His opinion is surely correct and the publication of this report last year provides a useful point of reference in assessing where the ecumenical movement has got to. ARCIC was set up in the heyday of ecumenism during the 1960s, following a celebrated meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsay. The First Commission finished its work when it produced a report in 1981. Following that report, a Second Commission was created to address further issues of concern to the two denominations. In 1987, a report tackling the issue of justification by faith was published, and now we have a report which takes a closer look at the vexed issue of authority.
