Too ‘Catholic’ at Lourdes?

Pope Benedict XVI blesses a pilgrim at Lourdes.
Pope Benedict XVI blesses a pilgrim at Lourdes. (photo: CNS/Reuters)

Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams has come under fire from some members of his own church over his remarks today at Lourdes.

According to some of his co-religionists, the leader of the global Anglican Communion acted like a “papal puppet” during his historic visit to the Catholic shrine in southwestern France.

Archbishop Williams’s visit came only ten days after Pope Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage to Lourdes marking the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous.

Speaking at an ecumenical service led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Archbishop Williams used Catholic terminology in describing Mary’s encounter with St. Bernadette.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis