Sarah Mullally was confirmed archbishop of Canterbury Jan. 28 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. She became the first woman to hold the office in its 1,400-year history.

“It is an extraordinary and humbling privilege to have been called to be the 106th archbishop of Canterbury. In this country and around the world, Anglican churches bring healing and hope to their communities,” Mullally said ahead of her confirmation. “With God’s help, I will seek to guide Christ’s flock with calmness, consistency and compassion.”
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) convened an online meeting of church leaders from Greenland, Denmark, the wider Nordic region, and North America on 23 January.

The meeting followed the WCC general secretary’s statement on 15 January emphasizing that the people of Greenland have an inalienable right to self-determination and are on a clear pathway to independence, that their rights and views must be seriously considered and respected, and that the US Government’s stated determination to own and control Greenland is in diametric opposition to the wishes of the people of Greenland and to their political trajectory towards independence, and is tantamount to neocolonialism.
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The Common Declaration of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966, together with the Malta Report (1968), set the agenda for the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, of which I was a member for many years. This agenda was nothing less than the restoration of full communion in faith and sacramental life between the two traditions. Since then, ARCIC has produced a succession of agreements on Eucharist, Ministry, Authority, Salvation, Moral Teaching, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, matters which were seen as Church-dividing. In the year 2000, in spite of some new obstacles, Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury and Cardinal Cassidy of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were able to call a meeting of bishops to consider how to take forward, in practical terms, the remarkable agreements already reached by ARCIC. Thus was formed the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission, of which I was also a member.
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Atlantic School of Theology (AST) will establish a pioneering ecumenical shared ministries training program after receiving a US$2.5-million grant from the Lilly Endowment foundation.

Designed for students preparing for ordained or lay professional ministry, as well as continuing education for existing clergy and lay ministers, the program will be the first formal training program of its kind, AST president the Rev. Heather McCance says. Ecumenical shared ministries refer to Christians from different denominations worshipping together or sharing a program, mission, ministry, clergy, staff and/or building.
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Archbishop Shane Parker, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has written an open letter asking the Canadian government to reconsider an amendment to an upcoming bill that would remove religion as a defence against hate speech charges — while other critics describe the bill itself as an attack on free speech.

The primate otherwise expressed his support for Bill C-9, which he described as intended to address a growing number of incidents involving hateful speech or conduct, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
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This past fall, I attended an event honouring the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka, a loved and respected rabbi from Ottawa. I was struck by the high level of security and how such measures are now common in Jewish circles. I thought, How sad we’ve come to this point in Canada where Jews are constantly forced to prepare for potential physical violence!

Antisemitism isn’t new. For millennia, Jews have faced slander, hatred and violence – and far too often from the Church. In the latter half of the 20th century, many hoped for the end of antisemitism after Auschwitz. Alarmingly, antisemitism is rising yet again.
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GAFCON, a conservative Anglican movement that claims to represent the majority of Anglicans worldwide, particularly in the Global South, is moving toward a formal reordering of global Anglican leadership following its October renunciation of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s authority.
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‘We believe in One God’ is the title of a new publication by the Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council, detailing progress made over the past six decades towards full visible unity between the two Christian world communions.

Printed by the Vatican Publishing House as part of an ecumenical series, the volume draws together the results of 11 reports produced by the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission (MERCIC) since their formal dialogue began back in 1967. These reports, named after the cities in which they were presented to the World Methodist Conference, explore topics such as baptism, holiness, Scripture and tradition, Eucharist, nature and mission of the church and the call to visible communion.
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Religious organisations urge Ottawa to consult them before redefining the limits of protected expression for religious groups.

Christian, Muslim and Jewish organisations are responding to a proposal to eliminate a religious exemption to Canada’s federal hate crimes legislation.

In September, the government introduced Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, which would introduce offences for publicly displaying symbols such as the swastika, impeding access to places of worship or other social centres, or committing offences motivated by hate.
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A report presenting the results of the Commission’s work has been released. It rules out admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders, but says that it is not currently possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.”

“The status quaestionis of historical research and theological investigation, as well as their mutual implications, rules out the possibility of moving in the direction of admitting women to the diaconate understood as a degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders. In light of Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Church’s Magisterium, this assessment is strongly maintained, although it does not at present allow for a definitive judgment to be formulated, as is the case with priestly ordination.”
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