An Anglican and Roman Catholic joint commission has recognized the pope's overall spiritual authority, depicting the pope as a "gift to be received by all churches."
The archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, commented: "In a world torn apart by violence and division, Christians urgently need to speak with a common voice, confident of the authority of the gospel of peace."
After five years of intense debate, the commission published a 50-page paper. Its conclusion, unsettling to some, was that "only the Pope has the moral authority to unite the various Christian denominations." Said the Anglican bishop of Arundel and Brighton: "The primacy of the Pope is a gift to be shared." (Source: Electronic Telegraph [Britain].)
