“That They May Be One”—The Meaning of King Charles’s Visit to the Holy See

Times have been difficult for faithful Anglicans around the globe. In early October, the Church of England announced that Sarah Mullaly, a liberal who holds heterodox views, would be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Orthodox Anglicans worldwide therefore made the painful decision to split from their mother church. Meanwhile, on this side of the Atlantic, bishops of the conservative Anglican Church in North America have been mired in scandal, including allegations of sexual harassment leveled against recently elected Archbishop Steve Wood.  

Late last month, though, something remarkable happened that should give Anglicans—and all Christians—a renewed sense of hope: King Charles III’s state visit to the Holy See. The magnitude of the event cannot be overstated. For the first time since the Reformation 500 years ago, the reigning monarch of England prayed with the pope of the Roman Catholic Church.   

The royal visit will not simply do away with the deep theological disagreements dividing the communions, nor can it undo centuries of pained historical conflict. But to see the heads of the English and Roman churches worshipping together is a reminder of what all Christians have in common. Only a truly universal church, united in the shared heritage of the faith, can defend Western civilization against those forces which threaten to undo it. 

Of course, though, some sectarians were outraged by the event. One group of Ulster Protestants denounced His Majesty for violating “his Coronation oath and the promises he made before God.” Some radical traditionalist Catholics, including the disgraced prelate Carlo Viganò, also denounced Pope Leo XIV’s ecumenicism for “sanction[ing] the abdication of the Roman Papacy and the humiliation of the Catholic Church.” In both extreme camps, the King and the Pope were seen as somehow betraying their responsibilities as the head of ecclesiastical communities. Clearly the wounds of the Reformation have not fully healed. 

Read more in Providence.