There are signs "of hope and maturity in the life of our churches which are quite unique in our histories and are genuinely encouraging," Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said yesterday evening.
"Obviously we should be acting together on the unity that is there and working to overcome its imperfection."
At what was a historic event, he was speaking in a homily during a Eucharist service at the Church of Ireland Theological College in Dublin on the first visit there by a Catholic archbishop of Dublin. The service was conducted by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev John Neill, and attended by students for the ministry there.
"This evening is a moment of great joy for me personally. Yet it is also a moment of great sadness that we have not reached that unity which would allow me to share fully in the Lord's Table," Dr Martin said. He did not take Communion at the service. The Catholic Church teaches that members may not do so at reformed church services until there is a shared understanding of what the Eucharist contains and signifies.
"Our unity is real, yet imperfect. Obviously we should be acting together on the unity that is there, and working to overcome its imperfection," said Dr Martin. He continued: "Unity cannot be founded, however, on a type of consensus thinking, as in drawing up a political platform or a United Nations declaration."