Abstract

Abstract The belief that the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches were divided by moral disagreements came to prominence in the early 1980s and affected the direction of ecumenical dialogue. But no moral disagreements go back to the Reformation era, and the perception of moral difference has undergone many changes since that time, especially reflecting differences of social and political setting. A moral agreement or disagreement is difficult to chart with precision. It is not embodied in a formulation of moral doctrine, since moral reason functions on two planes, that of evaluative description and that of deliberation and decision. Disagreement is phenomenologically present as offence, which has its own dynamic of expansion. Addressing offence, a task involving lay, theological and episcopal contributions, is the primary way in which moral agreement has to be sought and defended.

Highlights

  • To the best of my knowledge this was the first official suggestion that moral teaching did constitute an obstacle to unity

  • By 1982 the implication that the two communions were divided morally passed as conventional wisdom

  • Raising moral teaching for arcic’s agenda was not an idiosyncrasy of the cdf, for the topic had been proposed to Rome by national Anglican – Roman Catholic dialogues

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Summary

Introduction

In March 1982 the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (hereinafter cdf), in its ‘Observations’ on the Final Report of the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission (hereinafter arcic), noted that ‘moral teaching’ should be given an ‘important place’ among the remaining ‘points via free access o’donovan which constitute an obstacle to unity’.1 To the best of my knowledge this was the first official suggestion that moral teaching did constitute an obstacle to unity. Keywords ecumenism – moral teaching – Anglicanism – Roman Catholic Church – arcic – moral reason In March 1982 the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (hereinafter cdf), in its ‘Observations’ on the Final Report of the Anglican – Roman Catholic International Commission (hereinafter arcic), noted that ‘moral teaching’ should be given an ‘important place’ among the remaining ‘points Via free access o’donovan which constitute an obstacle to unity’.1 To the best of my knowledge this was the first official suggestion that moral teaching did constitute an obstacle to unity.

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