LONDON — Pope Benedict XVI met Friday with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, at Williams’ London residence.
The meeting came amid new tensions after Benedict’s unprecedented decision last year to make it easier for Anglicans opposed to the ordination of female bishops to convert to Catholicism.
Benedict and Williams greeted each other warmly. Benedict said flat-out he had no intention of speaking of difficulties “that are well-known to everyone here.” Rather, he stressed the need for Christians to work together and bring a greater sense of virtue into public discourse.
Williams praised Benedict for his constant call to bring faith into public policy — a theme Benedict explored further in a speech Friday in Westminster Hall attended by former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, who recently became Catholic.
Benedict praised Britain’s democracy as a model for valuing freedom of speech and respect for law. The Associated Press
