British royals pray with pope in historic step for churches and welcome respite from Epstein scandal

VATICAN CITY AP Britain s King Charles III and Queen Camilla prayed Thursday with Pope Leo XIV in an historic visit to the Vatican to forge closer relations 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 embarrassment 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 s Last Judgment while Leo and the Anglican archbishop of York presided over an ecumenical system 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 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 s Chapel choir of Windsor Castle and the children s choir of the Chapel Royal of St James s Palace The visit comes as the British royal family is once again under intense scrutiny over Prince Andrew s ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein The embarrassment that has long dogged the king s brother was reignited this week after a memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre was published The -year-old prince has stated he will stop using his titles including Duke of York but has vigorously denied Giuffre s proposes Buckingham Palace and the U K authorities are under pressure to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom and princely title and kick him out of the -room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lives Charles and Camilla s visit and exchange of titles had veritably been planned for earlier this year but was rescheduled after Pope Francis got sick and then died Charles had strongly wished to visit the Vatican during the Holy Year a once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity A visit to strengthen ties between two churches Anglicans split from the Catholic Church in 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 The Sistine Chapel provision though marked a historic new step toward unity and included readings and prayers focused on the unifying theme of God the creator Later Thursday 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 s Outside the Walls The title Royal Confrater is a sign of spiritual fellowship and was reciprocated by Charles Leo was given the title of Papal Confrater of St George s Chapel Windsor Castle At the basilica Charles will be given a special chair decorated with his coat of arms bearing the Latin exhortation Ut Unum Sint That they may be one the mantra for Christian unity The chair will remain in the basilica for Charles and his heirs to use administrators announced Cardinal Vincent Nichols the Catholic archbishop of Westminster declared the king s visit strengthens the relationship forged by Queen Elizabeth II who came to Rome six times during her reign including during the Holy Year Pope Leo and King Charles coming together before God in prayer is an example of a genuine and profound co-operation he described The Associated Press He recalled that Charles accepted his constitutional role as supreme governor of the Church of England but also his role in protecting freedom of religion and the key role of faith in society across his kingdom The visit comes just weeks after the voting of the first female archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally She did not join the king and queen at the Vatican since she hasn t been formally installed as the Church of England s spiritual leader In her place was the archbishop of York the Preponderance Rev Stephen Cottrell Visit comes amid strains in Anglican Communion While the king copes with tensions over the Epstein disgrace at home Mullally s poll has heightened tensions within the Anglican Communion abroad The Anglican Communion has more than million members spread across countries with the archbishop of Canterbury considered the first among equals among its bishops But following Mullally s appointment a long-building schism in the Anglican Communion appears close to a final rupture An organization of conservative Anglican primates representing a majority of the communion s membership primarily in Africa informed it is rejecting all of the bureaucratic links that have historically connected the Anglican Communion The Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans known as Gafcon says it s forming a new structure although it alleges it represents the historic Anglican Communion in a reordered form Its announcement denounced the LGBTQ-affirming stances of chosen 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 declaration lamenting Mullally s appointment saying that various believe only men can be bishops and rejecting her office as a defining point of Anglican unity