Pope supports Canterbury over stance on gay marriage

Pope Francis praised the Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday for his stance on same-sex marriage suggesting David Cameron's plans could undermine the "foundations of society". In the first meeting between the new leaders of Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, the Pope praised the Most Rev Justin Welby for promoting "Christian values".

The two leaders, who were enthroned within days of each other in March, also spoke of a new period of closer cooperation between the two Churches after centuries of "pain". Archbishop Welby, who although from the evangelical wing of the Church of England is heavily influenced by Catholic teaching, spoke of feeling "at home" in the Vatican.

The Pope spoke of "longing for" unity between the two Churches, which have been formally separated since Tudor times. And he offered an olive branch to the Church of England over the decision of his predecessor Pope Benedict to set up the Ordinariate, the special branch of the Catholic Church for disaffected Anglicans.

He publicly thanked the Church of England for its efforts to "understand" the move and said he hoped it would mean Anglican liturgy, including elements of the Book of Common Prayer, would be more widely known and used by Roman Catholics around the world.

Following a meeting in which the two men discussed their shared interests in combating poverty, the Pope spoke out against the way he said the poor were often "abandoned to the laws of an economy that seems at times to treat people as mere consumers".

The meeting comes as Archbishop Welby grapples with differing views within the Church of England over how to respond to the Government's same-sex marriage Bill. Last week the archbishop spoke strongly in the House of Lords against the bill.

But only 24 hours later the Church of England announced that, in light of large majorities in both houses of parliament, bishops in the Lords would no longer attempt to block same-sex marriage in principle.

Joined by the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Archbishop of Westminster the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the Pope listed areas of close cooperation between the two Churches.

In a reference to Archbishop Welby's speech in the Lords on gay marriage he said: "Particularly important among these is our witness to the reference to God and the promotion of Christian values in a world that seems at times to call into question some of the foundations of society, such as respect for the sacredness of human life or the importance of the institution of the family built on marriage, a value that you yourself have had occasion to recall recently."

Archbishop Welby said afterwards: "Our experience in the UK with Archbishop Vincent and in our conversation today with the Pope is that we are absolutely at one on issues and equally we are at one in our condemnation of homophobic behaviour."

He added: "My speech was forthright as can be, the Pope was kind enough to say said he has read it." In their meeting the two leaders also discussed the fallout from Pope Benedict's surprise announcement in 2009 of his plans to set up the Ordinariate.

The move was seen at the time as major snub to the Church of England and the then archbishop, Rowan Williams, setting back decades of work to bring the two Churches more closely together. Pope Francis, who was archbishop of Buenos Aires at the time, is said to have told his Anglican counterpart in Argentina that the move was "unnecessary".