Pope needed as spokesman, bishop says

Christian Century, Nov 14, 2001 by Folk Peggy

An Anglican bishop who attended a monthlong meeting of Catholic prelates at the Vatican has strongly endorsed the role of Pope John Paul II as spokesman for all of Christianity. Bishop Peter Forster, a "fraternal delegate" to the international Synod of Bishops, said in an interview that the terrorist attacks on the U.S. and their repercussions made the need for such a spokesman all the more clear.

"The Roman Catholic Church is the big hitter in Christianity, the Microsoft of Christianity," Forster told Religion News Service two days before the synod's October 27 closing. "In an ever more globalized world there is a need for the pope's role as a strong voice for all Christians."

"After September 11 it is clear that political and religious issues are clearly intertwined," said Forster, a bishop in Chester, England. "We need a major spokesman, and the major spokesman must be the pope."

Forster chairs the Theological Group of Church of England bishops and was sent to the Vatican meeting by Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey. Forster reflected the position on papal primacy taken by the Anglican--Roman Catholic International Commission for ecumenical dialogue. In its report, "The Gift of Authority," issued in May 1999, the commission called papal primacy "a gift to be received by all of the churches" in the Christian world.

The Synod of Bishops, attended by more than 240 bishops, on October 26 issued an absolute condemnation of terrorism and a call for action against hunger, poverty and other "endemic evils" that "can produce despair in entire populations." The message urged political and economic leaders to "work for justice and peace" and to heed John Paul II's appeal to reduce the external debt of developing countries. It also offered a prayer for the "well-being" of Jerusalem.