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VATICAN CITY (AP) \u2014 Britain\u2019s King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in an historic visit to the Vatican to forge closer relations<\/a><\/span> between the Church of England and the Catholic Church, a welcome spiritual respite for the royals from the turmoil at home over the Epstein sex scandal.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Charles, who is the titular head of the Church of England, and Camilla sat in golden thrones on the raised altar of the Sistine Chapel, in front of Michelangelo\u2019s \u201cLast Judgment,\u201d while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical service. <\/p>\n The event marked the first time since the Reformation that the heads of the two Christian churches, divided for centuries over issues that now include the ordination of female priests, have prayed together.<\/p>\n The accompanying music reflected a shared Anglican and Catholic musical heritage: Hymns were sung by members of both the Sistine Chapel choir and visiting members of two royal choirs: the St. George\u2019s Chapel choir of Windsor Castle and the children\u2019s choir of the Chapel Royal of St. James\u2019s Palace.<\/p>\n During the visit to Rome, Charles was also to formally receive a new title and recognition at a pontifical basilica that has strong, traditional ties to the Church of England, St. Paul\u2019s Outside the Walls. The title \u201cRoyal Confrater\u201d is a sign of spiritual fellowship and was reciprocated by Charles: Leo was given the title of \u201cPapal Confrater of St George\u2019s Chapel, Windsor Castle.\u201d<\/p>\n The visit comes as the British royal family is once again under intense scrutiny<\/a><\/span> over Prince Andrew\u2019s ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The scandal that has long dogged the king\u2019s brother was reignited this week after a memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre<\/a><\/span> was published.<\/p>\n The 65-year-old prince has said he will stop using his titles<\/a><\/span>, including Duke of York, but has \u201cvigorously\u201d denied Giuffre\u2019s claims. Buckingham Palace and the U.K. government are under pressure to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom and princely title, and kick him out of the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lives.<\/p>\n Charles and Camilla\u2019s visit and exchange of titles had actually been planned for earlier this year but was rescheduled after Pope Francis got sick and then died. Charles had strongly wanted to visit the Vatican during the 2025 Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity.<\/p>\n Anglicans split from the Catholic Church in 1534 when English King Henry VIII was refused a marriage annulment. While popes for decades have forged warm relations with the Church of England and the broader Anglican Communion on a path toward greater unity, the two churches remain divided.<\/p>\n The Sistine Chapel service, though, marked a historic new step toward unity and included readings and prayers focused on the unifying theme of God the creator. <\/p>\n The issue of ecological sustainability<\/a><\/span> and care for God\u2019s creation are priorities both for Charles and the Vatican. After the Sistine Chapel service, the royal delegation will join Leo in a nearby hall for an encounter on sustainability with CEOs from Charles\u2019 Sustainable Markets Initiative, which works to facilitate environmental action between the public and private sphere.<\/p>\n Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic archbishop of Westminster, said the king\u2019s visit strengthens the relationship forged by Queen Elizabeth II, who came to Rome six times during her reign, including during the 2000 Holy Year.<\/p>\n \u201cPope Leo and King Charles coming together before God in prayer is an example of a genuine and profound co-operation,\u201d he told The Associated Press. He recalled that Charles accepted his constitutional role as supreme governor of the Church of England, \u201cbut also his role in protecting freedom of religion and the important role of faith in society across his kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n The visit comes just weeks after the election of the first female archbishop of Canterbury<\/a><\/span>, Sarah Mullally. She did not join the king and queen at the Vatican since she hasn\u2019t been formally installed as the Church of England\u2019s spiritual leader. In her place, the archbishop of York, the Most. Rev. Stephen Cottrell, was celebrating the ecumenical service.<\/p>\n While the king copes with tensions over the Epstein scandal at home, Mullally\u2019s election has heightened tensions within the Anglican Communion abroad. Mullally\u2019s office is historically considered \u201cfirst among equals\u201d among bishops in the Anglican Communion, which has more than 85 million members spread across 165 countries. But following her appointment, a long-building schism in the Anglican Communion appears close to a final rupture.<\/p>\n An organization of conservative Anglican primates \u2014 representing a majority of the communion\u2019s membership, primarily in Africa \u2014 announced it is rejecting all of the bureaucratic links that have historically connected the Anglican Communion.<\/p>\n The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, known as Gafcon, says it\u2019s forming a new structure, although it claims it represents the historic Anglican Communion in a \u201creordered\u201d form.<\/p>\n Its statement denounced the LGBTQ-affirming stances of some parts of the Anglican Communion as precipitating the break, a reference to positions taken by the Church of England and the Episcopal Church in the United States. But it closely followed another Gafcon statement lamenting Mullally\u2019s appointment, saying that many believe only men can be bishops and rejecting her office as a defining point of Anglican unity.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Peter B. Smith contributed from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a><\/span> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nA visit to strengthen ties between two churches<\/h2>\n
Visit comes amid strains in Anglican Communion<\/h2>\n