[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, met Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday after five Church of England bishops switched to Roman Catholicism this month.The audience with the pope came as Williams visited the Vatican for a conference on the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Vatican said in a statement.
"Despite new problems or difficult points in dialogue, the goal of the path towards ecumenism remains unchanged, as does the firm commitment to achieve it," Benedict told conference participants, his press office said.
"This is not... a commitment that falls under political categories in which the ability to negotiate or find compromises come into play or in which you might expect agreements acceptable to everyone," he said.
"The unity of Christians is, and remains, a prayer," he added.
The Vatican did not provide any more information about the talks with Williams and a spokesperson for Williams said it was "a private meeting."
Five Church of England bishops this month announced they would convert to Catholicism under an offer from Benedict to welcome Anglicans disaffected by moves to ordinate women and homosexual clergy.
The Roman Catholic Church last year unveiled a controversial new juridical framework that made it easier for Anglicans -- both clergy and parishioners -- unhappy in the Church of England to join Catholic ranks.