Press Releases20 May 05

'Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ' - Initial statement by the Chair of the Committee for Christian Unity

THE GENERAL SYNOD COMMITTEE FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

Initial Statement by the Chair, The Rt Rev?d Peter F. Barrett, Bishop of Cashel & Ossory, on the publication of MARY: GRACE AND HOPE IN CHRIST - the Seattle Statement of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission.

The publication of this Agreed Statement is to be warmly welcomed. It is a sign of the continued commitment of both traditions to The Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey, issued in 1966, on which all ARCIC dialogue is founded, which calls us to a ?serious dialogue?founded on the Gospels and on the ancient common traditions?.

Its publication within these early weeks of the pontificate of Benedict XVI is, in particular, an encouraging response to the new Pope?s expressed commitment to the ecumenical pilgrimage, not least in matters pertaining to Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue.

Published also within the octave of Pentecost, it is appropriate that this most significant new ecumenical study, (indeed, the first international bilateral study of the role of Mary in the Church), seeks to examine the extent to which devotion and doctrine relating to the blessed Virgin Mary belong to a legitimate ?reception? of the apostolic Tradition, in accordance with the Scriptures. It also seeks to place Mary, the Mother of the Lord, within the community of the redeemed, itself sanctified by the same Holy Spirit.

The Committee for Christian Unity, in association with the Standing Committee of the Church of Ireland, looks forward to responding to the christological, ecclesiological and eschatological dimensions of this Statement at a later date. Equally, these and other related issues have serious implications for the exercise and expression of authority in the Church.