00:02Pope Leo XIV met with the first female leader of the Church of England, Archbishop Sarah Mullally,
00:09and vowed to keep working to overcome differences.
00:12The historic encounter comes as the two churches remain divided over women's ordination in general
00:17and Mullally's appointment in particular.
00:20Your Holiness, thank you for your gracious welcome
00:24and for your prayers and kind wishes at my time of my installation.
00:28I am deeply grateful.
00:30It is a joy and privilege to be received by you together with this delegation.
00:36The Pope acknowledged that new problems in their relationship had been added onto historically divisive issues.
00:43Nevertheless, he also promised to continue the tradition of past Popes to try to reunite the churches.
00:50As my beloved predecessor Pope Francis said to the primates of the Anglican Communion in 2024,
00:58it would be a scandal if, due to our divisions, we did not fulfill our common vocation to make Christ
01:07known.
01:09For my part, I add that it would also be a scandal if we did not continue to work towards
01:14overcoming our differences,
01:15no matter how intractable they may appear.
01:19Anglicans split from Rome in 1534, when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment.
01:26Despite a formal theological dialogue that began in the 1960s, big differences remain,
01:31especially over the Church of England's decision to ordain women.
01:35The Roman Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men.
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