I did not know that... Packer signed this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicals_and_Catholics_Together Apparently, RC. Sproul said of this, Ah those Anglicans, they have one foot in geneva and another in rome Now for me, I don't have any feet in geneva or rome, but it is very surprising that such a notable Evangelical as Packer signed that declaration which bridged a huge span of disagreements with Roman Catholics
Here's the actual statement, which is called "The Gift of Salvation": https://www.firstthings.com/article/1998/01/001-the-gift-of-salvation It's not objectionable. It also doesn't say a whole lot. Even less than the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" (http://www.christianunity.va/conten...-sulla-dottrina-della-giustificazion/en1.html) which the Romans and the Lutheran World Federation released around the same time. Additionally, "The Gift of Salvation" had no official standing.
There was something of a falling-out between Martyn Lloyd-Jones and John Stott over the same issue, as I recall. I think the issue was less theological -- Packer was as Calvinist as Sproul theologically -- than institutional. I think Stott and Packer were of that generation of Anglicans who existed in the "ecumenical wave" that washed over the Christian world in the 50's and 60's, and their impulse was always to reach out and try to find common ground. Packer and Stott were criticized as being "compromisers" at the time, but this is both unkind and unfair: they were not just theologians but also churchmen steeped in the Anglican tradition. They believed in their church as an instrument of ecumenical outreach as well as a repository of Godly practice and doctrine. In this they were both disappointed -- Stott though dismayed remained to the last, but Packer ended up leaving both England and the CofE in the end.
Oh I know, I have no concerns on my end.... just really surprising to see JI Packer that old dog high puritan, undertaking all these actions, like shaking hands with RCC on justification... And having a hand in the ACNA catechism's remarkably anti-puritan doctrines... His journey as a churchman is fascinating