VATICAN: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that he had been "encouraged" by the "sense of the priority of ecumenical work" highlighted by Pope Benedict XVI in the first few days of his pontificate.
Dr Williams was speaking after taking part, along with representatives of various Christian and non-Christian faiths, in a Vatican audience with Pope Benedict yesterday morning.
The archbishop said that while it was not possible to speak "at any great depth" with the Pope yesterday, he had exchanged "a few words", adding that, at the suggestion of the Pope, both men had promised to pray for each other. Dr Williams said that he had been encouraged by the manner in which, during the last few days, Pope Benedict had "gone out of his way to underline his sense of the priority of ecumenical work".
Asked if Pope Benedict, in his work as the guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had not himself built huge barriers on the road to better ecumenical and inter-religious relations, Dr Williams suggested that the new Pope has given "signals of a willingness" to take his pontificate forward in a spirit of "fellowship with others".
The Archbishop of Canterbury argued that there are three "phases" in the life and work of Pope Benedict. In the first phase, he was an innovative and stimulating theologian. In the second phase, he was in charge of doctrinal precision, doing work which "many found problematic".
"He is now being asked to undertake a third task. How he will perform that task, we don't yet know but he has given signals of a real willingness to find ways of taking it [his ministry] forward in fellowship with others in the light of the late pope's Ut Unum Sint encyclical, drawing others into the conversation about how the Petrine ministry is to be exercised", said Dr Williams.
"It seems to me that the events of recent weeks, the death and the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the events around the inauguration this weekend have shown a kind of foretaste of a worldwide fellowship gathered for worship, glorifying God together in a way which has somehow gone around the difficulties of doctrinal definition. It's as if we've been given a glimpse of other levels of unity and my own feeling is that is the level at which he will seek to work, it's certainly my prayer."
Earlier in the day, speaking to a packed public audience of his enthusiastic German compatriots, Pope Benedict had revealed something of his thoughts during the conclave which last week elected him as successor to John Paul II.
"I never expected to be elected nor did I do anything whatsoever to get myself elected. I can tell you, though, that when I saw this guillotine coming my way then I remembered the letter sent to me by a German priest that I had carried into the conclave with me.
"The priest had written to me that if the Lord had called on me to 'follow Him' then I should remind myself of what I had said at the funeral of John Paul II, and not refuse the call."
Speaking to the German pilgrims, the Pope also confirmed that he will be attending the World Youth Day of Prayer in Cologne in August this summer, adding that he was "very happy to go to Cologne where the world will come together to meet with Jesus Christ".
The Pope also confirmed all Curia appointments made by his predecessor until their five-year mandates run out. He also visited the Basilica of St Paul's Without The Walls to underline the link between the Church of Rome and St Paul.