World News and Trends: Canterbury on the road to Rome?
With meetings between Catholic and Protestant leaders, will unity be found?
Many readers may not be aware of the fact that for nearly 50 years there has been an ongoing dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. It formally began in 1960 when the 100th archbishop of Canterbury , Geoffrey Fisher, visited Pope John XXIII in Rome . These two church leaders committed to a serious dialogue in the hope that it would eventually lead to real church unity.
Published last summer, the last formal document (titled Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ) actually stated that "the Roman Catholic Church teaching on the immaculate conception and the assumption of Mary were consonant with Anglican reading of the Bible." Also, according to The Times, there are "increasing numbers of Anglican and Catholic parishes that share church buildings and non-eucharistic services," particularly in England .
The original split with the Roman Catholic Church occurred during the days of King Henry VIII in the 16th century, principally over the validity of divorcing his first wife Catherine of Aragon and then marrying Anne Boleyn. Only in the last half of the 20th century has there been a serious ecumenical movement between the two church bodies. Rome has warned Canterbury that a major impediment to full unity would be the Anglican ordination of women to the office of bishop.
Notwithstanding, arrangements are being made for Dr. Rowan Williams, current archbishop of Canterbury, to visit the new pope this year in yet another attempt to make major progress in healing centuries-old rifts. Biblical prophecy shows that religion will play an essential role in end-time events in Europe directly preceding the second coming of Christ. To understand more, request or download our free booklet The Book of Revelation Unveiled. (Source: The Times [London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: May - June 2006
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
