It was a highly newsworthy item. Secular news agencies around the world reported on this very religious matter. A rift between Roman Catholics and Anglicans was soon to come to an end.
A document titled Mary: Hope and Grace in Christ was finally published after six years of discussion. Centuries of Anglican dissent over the Roman Catholic view of Mary would soon be history. According to an article titled “Anglicans invited to take Catholic view of Mary,” a major step towards reunion with the Mother of All Churches was about to be accomplished. Quoting from the document:
“There is no continuing theological reason for ecclesial division” over the role of the Virgin Mary. “We do not consider the practice of asking Mary and the saints to pray for us as communion dividing,” it says. The document also describes private devotions inspired by apparitions of Mary as “acceptable” [1]
But there was more. The document stated that the infallible dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption – the teachings that Mary was herself conceived “without sin” and that on death she was “assumed” body and soul into Heaven – are consistent with the teachings of Scripture. [2] Click here to continue reading.