The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission recently released a jointMosaic2blog_3 document called Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ. I think such a document represents a positive step forward in Anglican and Catholic relations. Although the document is not binding on either side, it does represent a viable framework for future negotiations. Here is the part detailing shared agreement:

As a result of our study, the Commission offers the following
agreements, which we believe significantly advance our consensus regarding Mary. We affirm
together

  • the teaching that God has taken the Blessed Virgin Mary in the fullness of her person into his glory as consonant with Scripture, and only to be understood in the light of Scripture (paragraph 58);
  • that in view of her vocation to be the mother of the Holy One, Christ’s redeeming work reached ‘back’ in Mary to the depths of her being and to her earliest beginnings (paragraph 59);
  • that the teaching about Mary in the two definitions of the Assumption and the Immaculate Conception, understood within the biblical pattern of the economy of hope and grace, can be said to be consonant with the teaching of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions (paragraph 60);
  • that this agreement, when accepted by our two Communions, would place the questions about authority which arise from the two definitions of 1854 and 1950 in a new ecumenical context (paragraphs 61-63);
  • that Mary has a continuing ministry which serves the ministry of Christ, our unique mediator, that Mary and the saints pray for the whole Church and that the practice of asking Mary and the saints to pray for us is not communion-dividing (paragraphs 64-75).

79. We agree that doctrines and devotions which are contrary to
Scripture cannot be said to be revealed by God nor to be the teaching of the Church. We
agree that doctrine and devotion which focuses on Mary, including claims to ‘private
revelations’, must be moderated by carefully expressed norms which ensure the unique and
central place of Jesus Christ in the life of the Church, and that Christ alone, together
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is to be worshipped in the Church.

80. Our statement has sought not to clear away all possible problems,
but to deepen our common understanding to the point where remaining diversities of
devotional practice may be received as the varied work of the Spirit amongst all the
people of God. We believe that the agreement we have here outlined is itself the product
of a re-reception by Anglicans and Roman Catholics of doctrine about Mary and that it
points to the possibility of further reconciliation, in which issues concerning doctrine
and devotion to Mary need no longer be seen as communion-dividing, or an obstacle in a new
stage of our growth into visible koinonia. This agreed statement is now offered
to our respective authorities. It may also in itself prove a valuable study of the
teaching of the Scriptures and the ancient common traditions about the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Mother of God incarnate. Our hope is that, as we share in the one Spirit by
which Mary was prepared and sanctified for her unique vocation, we may together
participate with her and all the saints in the unending praise of God.

There are some incredible statements here, especially from an Anglican perspective. Some Anglicans would probably argue that it represents a betrayal of Anglicanism’s Reformation roots. Other Anglicans would probably say "about time." Any comments?

The whole document can be found here
Hat Tip: Kendall Harmon
Photo by Jonathan Bennett (from the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)