March 3, 2003
by James Solheim

At a banquet following the February 27 enthronement of Rowan Williams as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican's Council for Promoting Christian Unity, described the ecumenical task in terms of building bridges.

On his historic visit to Rome in March of 1966, Pope Paul VI told Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey that he was "rebuilding a bridge which for centuries had lain fallen between the Church of Rome and the Church of Canterbury - a bridge of respect, of esteem and of charity."

The pope characterized that bridge as yet unstable and "still under construction," Kasper said. "In the intervening years it has grown much more stable. While it is still very much under construction, it has carried me here today without a wobble," he added.

A bridge is a much better metaphor for the relationship between Rome and Canterbury, Kasper argued. While the Tunnel under the English Channel may be convenient, "I don't know what a spiritual chunnel would look like and besides, we don't want to meet in the dark; it's better to keep building bridges, in the light."

Addressing Williams and his "forthcoming ministry," Kasper said that he saw three types of bridge-building in the future - the bridge across the separation of the ages which links us to our ancient common traditions and gives us our bearings; the bridges of unity, within the Anglican Communion and with ecumenical partners; and bridges between the Christian faith and present-day cultures, "our contemporary world with its joys and hopes, its grief and anguish."

Kasper said that for Roman Catholics the "common traditions include not only the Scriptures and foundational doctrines of the first Councils, but shared spiritual and liturgical traditions, the monastic life, the role of the bishop as a guardian of unity and much more. Together with our ecumenical partners, we know that this ancient heritage is not something that belongs in your British Museum. It is not dry bones but something ever enlivened by the Holy Spirit."

"The Christian churches," he added, "have been walking the road of dialogue, and must continue on this road. But a bridge in constant need of attention is the one which takes us from dialogue to common mission and back. Our world would greatly benefit from our common witness and joint mission on many fronts."

The cardinal welcomed the gifts of the new archbishop of Canterbury in addressing cultural issues. "You are a theologian with keen perception in reading the signs of the times; a scholar with an ear bent to the ground; a poet, with a deep sensitivity to language. All of these talents will be well put to use, for the task at hand is not simply to build bridges but, by the grace of God, to become a bridge, so that talk about God, about a boundless mercy, about the crucified and risen Lord, and the hope and treasure we carry within us, spans the distance between the Gospels and the farthest reaches of our contemporary world."

Episcopal News Service