The Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst, of the traditionalist group Forward in Faith, said: "We rejoice that the Holy Father intends now to set up structures within the Church which respond to this heartfelt longing.

"Forward in Faith has always been committed to seeking unity in truth and so warmly welcomes these initiatives as a decisive moment in the history of the Catholic Movement in the Church of England. Ut unum sint." His Latin quote referred to the Pope's 1995 Encyclical 'May they be as one'.

Bishop Geoffrey Rowell, Bishop in Europe, said that the combined statement issued by the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was a historic statement which was highly significant.

"I think this should be seen as a much wider journey into unity," he said. "We are so much further down the road into unity than people even 40 years ago would have believed. However, at the same time, there are new issues which have come up which were not there in the earlier days."

He added: "Of course there are doctrinal differences which remain and again I would want to see the apostolic constitution."

The Rev Preb David Houlding, a leading member of Forward in Faith and an Anglo-Catholic, said the joint statement from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster was, "what we have been waiting for."

He added: "We have been waiting for Rowan to say something like this because more and more traditionalist Anglo-Catholics are being driven into the corner. This is a clear sign of the Archbishop showing generosity towards us. It will enable us to move forward."

Preb Houlding went on to say: "It doesn't mean all Anglicans will become Catholics but its will create a bridge which can only further Christian unity."

Dr Williams said he hoped the Anglo-Catholic community would remain within the Church, describing it as "an abrasion, in the sense that it keeps vigorously alive the theological life of the Anglican Church as a whole."

Regarding the work done by the Revision Committee on women bishops, Preb Houlding said it would not be in vain and would continue.

Canon Chris Sugden also supported the Pope's open invitation and said it was progressive for unity.

However, he also said that Rome's open invitation was a reflection of weak leadership in the Anglican Church.

"I would imagine that Archbishop Rowan is quite shocked actually," he said.

"The complaint is not so much that there has been heterodox behaviour in the Anglican Communion but rather that there has been a failure to discipline it; that heterodox behaviour is not in Anglican practice."

He added: "The invitation of those who consecrated Gene Robinson to the Lambeth Conference was the tipping point."

Archbishop Rowan Williams said: "I don't think this Constitution should be seen as in any sense a commentary on Anglican problems offered by the Vatican."

END