Communiqué
The ninth meeting of the Malines Conversations Group took place at St Paul’s Bay, Malta from 20 to 25 May 2023. Under the patronage of The Right Reverend and Right Honourable The Lord Williams of Oystermouth (former Archbishop of Canterbury) and His Eminence Cardinal Josef de Kezel (Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels), the Malines Conversations Group comprises Anglican and Roman Catholic theologians from nine different countries and meets with the encouragement and support of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and Lambeth Palace. The Group was delighted to meet on the island where, according to Acts, St Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome, and to pray in churches where the apostle’s name and association with Malta are celebrated, and on the beach where he may have landed.
The Group was welcomed to Malta by the Archbishop of Malta, Monsignor Charles Jude Scicluna, by the cathedral chapter at the Co-Cathedral of St John, Valetta, and by the churchwardens of St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral, Valetta.
Following on from the Group’s document, Sorores in spe (2021), which tackled the arguments in Pope Leo XIII’s letter Apostolicae curae (1896) rejecting the sacramental validity of Anglican ordinations, the Group has extended its work to the consideration of further key issues dividing Catholics and Anglicans. The themes of apostolicity, migration and prayer were central to its discussions, as well as contributing towards its ongoing work on ministry and communion. At the beginning of the week, its work was grounded in reflection on the Book of Acts by Fr Dominic Mendonca O.P., of the École Biblique de Jérusalem, and on contemporary issues of migration and solidarity by Danielle Vella and Katrine Camilleri, of the Jesuit Refugee Service.
The Malines Conversations Group this year celebrates the tenth anniversary of its foundation with a book to be entitled Malines: Continuing the Conversations, due to be published in December.
Members, Observers, Guest Speakers, Companions, Patrons
Anglican members
The Rt Revd David Hamid, Suffragan Bishop of the Church of England Diocese in Europe; Co-chair of IARCCUM
The Most Revd David Moxon, Former Co-Chair of ARCIC III and former representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, former Primate of New Zealand; Currently: Hamilton, New Zealand – present online
The Revd Canon Prof Dr Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge, UK; Currently: Washington DC, USA – not present
The Revd Dr Jennifer Cooper, Canon Theologian of Newcastle Cathedral – not present
The Revd Canon Dr James Hawkey, Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey, London; member of Steering Committee of Malines Conversations Group
The Revd Canon Dr Jeremy Morris, National Adviser for Ecumenical Relations for the Church of England, Senior Associate of the Cambridge Theological Federation, Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University
The Very Revd Canon David Richardson, Former representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See and director of the ACR; Currently: Toorak, Australia – not present
The Revd Canon Dr Nicholas Sagovsky, Former Canon Theologian at Westminster Abbey; member of ARCIC I & II; Currently: London, UK
Catholic members
Prof Dr Joris Geldhof, Chair of the Liturgical Institute, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven
Dr Maryana Hnyp, European Network on Religion and Belief, President; Adjunct Lecturer of Theological Ethics, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Prof Dr Arnaud Join-Lambert, Centre de théologie pratique, UC Louvain – present online
The Revd Prof Dr Keith Pecklers, SJ, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; member of Steering Committee of Malines Conversations Group
The Revd Prof Dr Thomas Pott OSB, Pontifical Atheneum Sant’Anselmo, Rome; Chair of Steering Committee of Malines Conversations Group
The Revd Cyrille Vael OSB, Advisor of NNE (New Narrative for Europe)
Observers
The Revd Martin Browne, Secretary to the Anglican and Methodist dialogues at the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, Rome
The Most Revd Ian Ernest, Representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome – not present
Guest speakers
The Revd Dominic Mendonca, École Biblique de Jérusalem
Danielle Vella, Director of Reconciliation & Social Cohesion for Jesuit Refugee Service, Malta
Katrine Camilleri, Director of Jesuit Refugee Service, Malta
The Revd Kirsty Borthwick, Assistant Curate, All Saints Leighton Buzzard, UK
Vera La Mela, Global Christianity and Interreligious Relations, Lund University, Sweden
Prof Dr Angela Berlis, Institut für Christkatholische Theologie, Theologische Fakultät, Universität Bern
Prof Dr Thomas O’Loughlin, Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology, The University of Nottingham; Director of Studia Traditionis Theologiae; Director of Brepols Library of Christian Sources
Companions
His Eminence Joseph Cardinal Tobin, C.Ss.R, Archbishop of Newark
The Rt Hon The Earl of Halifax, KStJ, DL
The Rt Revd Dr David Stancliffe, Former Bishop of Salisbury and Chairman of the Church of England Liturgical Committee
The Revd Em Prof Dr Gordon Lathrop, Professor Emeritus of Liturgy at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
The Most Revd Donald Bolen, Archbishop of Regina (Canada); Co-chair of IARCCUM
Patrons
His Eminence Jozef Cardinal De Kesel, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels
The Rt Revd and Rt Hon The Lord Williams of Oystermouth, Former Archbishop of Canterbury
