Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter marking 60 years of Anglican-Catholic dialogue. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday, the Vatican announced. The meeting falls during the 60th anniversary year of the first formal ecumenical statement between the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, according to the Anglican Communion. Mullally, the first woman to lead the Church of England, made history with the encounter.
Pope Leo XIV called on Anglicans and Catholics to work together to overcome differences and achieve unity, according to a Vatican readout of the meeting. According to the Vatican, he quoted his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, telling Anglican primates that it would be a scandal if divisions hindered the common vocation of making Christ known. The Pope noted, according to the Vatican, that progress had been made on "historically divisive issues," but cautioned that "new problems have arisen in recent decades," without elaborating.
The meeting comes as Pope Leo recently returned from a four-nation African tour, according to Vatican media. During a visit to Cameroon earlier this month, the Pope warned that the world is being "ravaged by a handful of tyrants," threatening global stability, major media reported. He pledged to continue to "speak out loudly against war" and promote peace, his office said, and stressed the importance of dialogue and reconciliation in conflict zones.
Weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.
Separately, former U.S. President Donald Trump accused Pope Leo of being "weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy," as reported by major media. The Pope voiced concerns over Trump's threat that "a whole civilisation will die" if Iran did not agree to U.S. demands, according to a Vatican spokesperson. The Pope's comments came as Trump intensified rhetoric against Iran, amid fears of a military escalation.
Mullally's appointment as Archbishop has deeply divided the Anglican Communion, with conservative African churches sharply criticizing the first woman archbishop, according to church officials. According to church records, the Church of England first ordained women as priests in 1994, but female bishops and archbishops remain a point of contention. According to her official biography, Mullally is a former nurse who is married with two children.
During the meeting, Mullally told Pope Leo that he would receive a "warm welcome" if he visited the United Kingdom, according to the archbishop. The discussion also touched on King Charles III's recent visit to the Vatican, which the King "valued," as the two prayed together in October, according to a palace source. That moment highlighted the warm relations between the British monarchy and the Vatican.