Pope Benedict XV and the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams held talks in the Vatican on Saturday concerning recent tensions between the two churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury attended a commemorative ceremony for the influential Dutch Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, who would have been a hundred years of age in September.

Cardinal Willebrands was nominated head of the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity in 1960. He helped to promote ties with the Anglican and Russian Orthodox churches.

The two church leaders discussed a recent invitation by the Vatican which would allow dissatisfied Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church while maintaining many of their traditions. The dissident Anglicans are unhappy about the acceptance of women and gay bishops.

On Saturday the pope received some 250 artists during a special ceremony at the Sistine chapel. There were three Dutch artists, including the writers Kader Abdolah and Cees Noteboom and the sculptor Caspar Berger.

Archdiocese of Utrecht
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