Question

To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent engagement the Church of England has had with the Roman Catholic Church of England and Wales.

The relationship with the Roman Catholic Church is warm and one that has grown closer in recent decades, exemplified by the reciprocal attendance by both Archbishops at each other's Instillation in Westminster and Canterbury, followed by the pilgrimage to Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury which included meetings and prayer with His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, reaffirming a shared commitment to Christian unity.

Within England the Church continues to engage regularly with the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales on areas of shared interest, while local clergy and parishes also work closely together with all denominations as part of Churches Together to support local ecumenical activity. Another example of the warm relations between the two communities can be found in the common witness during September 2025 where bishops and clergy of both Churches in Liverpool joined together for a service and pilgrimage walk between the two cathedrals. Dialogue between the two Churches also continues regularly through the meeting of the English and Welsh Anglican Roman Catholic dialogue group.