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January 30, 2002
Vatican thanks Anglican prelate for ecumenical commitment
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican thanked Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury for his "commitment to fostering and deepening Anglican-Roman Catholic relations" as head of the Anglican Communion for more than a decade.
"We know he has a very full schedule ahead of him prior to his retirement, but would like at this time to express our profound thanks for the many blessings of his years of leadership as archbishop of Canterbury," the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity said in a Jan. 8 statement.
Archbishop Carey, 66, announced he would step down Oct. 31, three years before he was due to retire. He was appointed 103rd archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader to the world's 70 million Anglicans, in 1991.
In a statement, he called his tenure "demanding yet wonderfully absorbing and rewarding."
"I feel certain this will be the right and proper time to stand down. I look forward to exciting opportunities and challenges in the coming months, and then to fresh ones in the years that follow," he said.
The Vatican's Christian unity council said the archbishop had visited Pope John Paul II "more than any of his predecessors." The Anglican head met the pope at the Vatican five times, including for a three-day visit in 1996.
A particularly poignant moment, the Vatican said, was the archbishop's spontaneous decision to kneel next to the pope at the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2000.
"The image of him kneeling with an Orthodox leader alongside the pope as they together opened the Holy Door at St. Paul's Outside the Walls to begin the jubilee year is firmly planted on our memories," the council said.
In England, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster called Archbishop Carey a good friend who would be greatly missed.
"I have appreciated very much our collaboration in ecumenical endeavors," said Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, president of the Catholics Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
He said the Anglican leader "has had to live through some difficult times" during his tenure, adding, "I am sure there will be very many, like myself, who will express their appreciation of his considerable achievements in a most demanding role and who will miss him when he steps down as archbishop."
Kevin Flaherty, editor of the Catholic Times, a weekly newspaper for Britain and Ireland, said Archbishop Carey's cool-headed leadership prevented greater divisions within the Anglican Communion over a series of controversial issues.
"His time as archbishop of Canterbury has seen the first ordinations of women priests in the Church of England, and it is a remarkable tribute to his leadership that he has managed to avoid further divisions within the church by his calm and rational approach," Flaherty said.
Queen Elizabeth, the supreme governor of the Church of England, formally appoints the archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Carey's successor will be chosen first by a special commission, known as the Crown Appointments Commission, which secretly recommends two names to Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will pass his choice to the queen for ratification.
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