Archbishop of Canterbury backs Pope Leo calls for peace amid Trump criticism

The Archbishop of Canterbury praised his meeting with Pope Leo as a “pivotal moment”, describing it as warm, encouraging and hopeful.

Dame Sarah Mullally, the first woman to hold a senior ministerial post in the Church of England, met the pontiff at the Vatican on Monday and they prayed together.

He confirmed that the two religious leaders shared “the desire to see peace, reconciliation and justice in the world.”

Despite US president Donald Trump’s recent public criticism of the pope, Dame Sarah had no idea whether the US leader was discussed during the conversation.

This historic encounter is particularly significant given Dame Sarah’s pioneering position, especially given the Catholic Church’s refusal to allow women to become priests.

But the archbishop stressed that the meeting was important “regardless of the fact that I am a woman.”

Speaking after the meeting at the Venerable English College in Rome, he described the experience as “a privilege and humbling” and also described it as “great warmth, great courage and hope”.

When asked if it was important to be the first woman to meet a Pope in the line of duty, she said: “I think we both recognize that this is an important moment, regardless of the fact that I am a woman, because both of our churches are embarking on a journey together to deepen our friendship, to pray together and to seek the unity to which we are called.”

Regarding whether the issue of women was discussed in the ministry, he said: “The issue of the ministry is a matter of the Roman Catholic Church.

“We met as pastors and talked about these problems in the world, some of the conflicts, the need for the church to offer hope to people.”

In his address to the archbishops during the meeting, Pope Leo called on Anglicans and Catholics to work to overcome differences “no matter how intractable they may seem”, but did not specify what those differences were.

The Church of England first ordained female priests in 1994 and Dame Sarah made history by becoming the first woman to hold the role of Bishop of London.

During Dame Sarah’s enthronement in Canterbury last month, a campaigner who has worked for women’s ordination in the Catholic Church for 50 years stood outside the cathedral with a banner reading “Catholics, let’s do this”.

Dame Sarah described her meeting with the Pope as a “meeting of two priests”.

Following Mr Trump’s sweeping statement earlier this month against the Pope, in which the US president called him “weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy”, the archbishop issued a statement supporting the pope’s calls for peace and urging “all those entrusted with political authority to pursue every possible peaceful and just means to resolve the conflict”.

Asked whether Mr Trump and his comments were part of the talks, Dame Sarah said: “We talked about the world and realized that the church needs to bring reconciliation and hope. And we talked about the desire of both our churches to live with the hope that we can offer to the world and our desire to pray for that.”

He refused to share his feelings about the widely criticized and later deleted image Mr. Trump posted online that many thought depicted him as Jesus.

The US president later claimed it was a picture depicting himself as a doctor.

Asked about the image, Dame Sarah said: “First and foremost I am a pastoral leader and what I try to do is to try to provide that leadership, to give that care to the people entrusted to my care and to pray for peace in the world.”

When asked to speak on political as well as religious issues, he said: “First and foremost, I am a pastor and a spiritual leader. But of course, sometimes when we speak as a spiritual leader, a pastor, and a Christian, we have things to say that could be perceived as political – but I am not a politician.”

The archbishop said “pastoral care for our communities” was also discussed with the Pope.

Asked if there had been any mention of failings in safeguarding, which have been an issue for both the Church of England and the Catholic Church, he said: “We’ve talked a lot together about our pastoral care of our communities and the responsibility we have to ensure our communities are cared for and cared for.”

Dame Sarah had previously told the Pope that “we must continue to tell a more hopeful story” while there is “inhumane violence, deep division and rapid social change” in the world.

He also told the Pope that he “valued” the King’s visit to Rome in October, “especially the spirit of common prayer and brotherhood that that visit embodied”; this marked the first time since the Reformation that a British monarch, who was Supreme Governor of the Church of England, prayed in a public service with the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church.

The Archbishop told the Pope: “If you do the honor of visiting the United Kingdom, please be assured that the Church of England will give you a warm welcome.”

Among the gifts the archbishop presented to the Pope was a jar of honey made from nectar from beehives in London’s Lambeth Palace Garden, described by the Pope’s office as “a simple and welcoming symbol rooted in the place and in everyday life.”

The Pope commented when Dame Sarah handed him the letter that she was “still a nurse”, referring to her previous career as a matron in England.

After the audience, the archbishop joined the priest for a prayer service in the Urban VIII Chapel, and the two prayed together.

Lambeth Palace said the four-day visit to Rome was aimed at “strengthening Anglican-Roman Catholic relations” and “aims to deepen community ties, confirm a common witness and encourage ongoing cooperation both globally and locally.”

He is accompanied on his trip by the Archbishop of Westminster, Richard Moth, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales.