WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
For me - an Anglican - the main differences between the Church of England and the Church of Rome have been resolved, but one remains and can never be resolved by negotiation: either you are capable of looking at a piece of bread and truly believing that it has changed and is really Christ Himself, or you are not.  No amount of discussion can change that: if you can, worshipping the Host is not only a pleasure, but a duty; if you cannot, it is idolatry.  So I think movement towards the sort of unity for which Christ prayed - “that you all may be one in the same way that My Father and I are one” - has for years been tackled on the wrong basis.  Because of the Roman doctrine of infallability Pope Francis cannot change their stance but he could announce that all who believe that, at Holy Communion, all who believe that they are replicating Christ’s commandment “Do this in remembrance of Me” are welcome, would be a powerful move in the right direction.