Pope Leo XIV met Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the Vatican on April 27, urging continued Anglican-Catholic cooperation despite deepening doctrinal divisions, while reaffirming the long-standing goal of full communion between the two Churches. The meeting took place amid renewed debate over ecumenical dialogue, particularly following recent developments within the Anglican Communion on ministry and moral teaching on sexuality.
Mullally joined the Pope for midday prayer in the Chapel of Urban VIII in the Apostolic Palace. She was also scheduled to visit the Catholic church of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola and lead Anglican Choral Evensong. Afterwards, she was to commission the new director of the Anglican Centre in Rome for his post. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle was to preach the homily during Anglican Evensong.
In remarks delivered during the audience, Pope Leo reflected on the origins of modern Anglican-Catholic dialogue, recalling the 1966 meeting between Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI, which launched formal theological discussions between the two communions. He acknowledged both progress and continuing obstacles.
“When Archbishop Michael Ramsey and Pope St Paul VI announced the first theological dialogue between Anglicans and Catholics, they spoke of seeking the ‘restoration of complete communion in faith and sacramental life’,” the Pope said. “Certainly this ecumenical journey has been complex.”
He added that “while much progress has been made on some historically divisive issues, new problems have arisen in recent decades, rendering the pathway to full communion more difficult to discern”, noting that the Anglican Communion itself is confronting similar internal challenges.
Nevertheless, the Pontiff stressed the importance of sustained collaboration in Christian witness. “We must not allow these continuing challenges to prevent us from using every possible opportunity to proclaim Christ to the world together,” he said, echoing comments made by his predecessor Pope Francis to Anglican leaders in 2024. He concluded: “It would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards overcoming our differences, no matter how intractable they may appear.”
The audience came at a sensitive moment in Anglican-Catholic relations, as theological divergence has widened in recent decades, particularly following the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate within many provinces of the Anglican Communion. The Church of England consecrated its first female bishop in 2015, and Mullally was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 2025 before being installed in 2026. These developments remain a central point of contention for traditionalist Catholics, who question the sacramental validity of Anglican orders in light of earlier papal teaching.
That position was formally articulated in 1896, when Pope Leo XIII issued the bull Apostolicae curae, declaring Anglican ordinations “absolutely null and utterly void” owing to what he described as defects in form and intention during the English Reformation. The judgment has remained a cornerstone of Catholic teaching on Anglican ministry.
Commenting on the latest meeting, the Anglican priest and commentator Calvin Robinson questioned the long-term purpose of ecumenical dialogue in light of these doctrinal differences.
“At what point should these dialogues be ended?” he asked. “When the Archbishop of Canterbury no longer has the remote possibility of being a validly ordained priest, surely, there is little point in conversing any more? Pope Leo XIII declared Anglican orders ‘absolutely null and utterly void’ in his papal bull Apostolicae curae, due to a ‘defect of form and intention’. Women’s orders reinforce and compound that problem. The situation is worse than it was in 1896.”
Similar concerns were raised by Eric Sammons, who pointed to the approach taken by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a model for resolving doctrinal divisions.
“Let’s remember that Pope Benedict XVI actually gave us the only solution to the ‘intractable’ differences between Catholics and Anglicans,” he said. “Anglicans should convert and join the Ordinariate.”
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI established the personal ordinariates in 2009 through the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, creating a canonical structure allowing groups of Anglicans to enter full communion with Rome while preserving elements of their liturgical and spiritual heritage. Today, ordinariates operate in the United Kingdom, North America and Australia, serving several thousand faithful.
While the meeting on April 27 was described by Vatican officials as cordial and focused on cooperation in mission and witness, observers note that the underlying theological questions – particularly those concerning holy orders, ecclesial authority and moral teaching – remain unresolved and continue to shape the trajectory of Anglican-Catholic relations.
