TO LUTHERANS: WE MUST FOSTER A SPIRITUALITY OF COMMUNION

VATICAN CITY, MAR 24, 2003 (VIS) - A delegation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, making an ecumenical journey to Istanbul, Rome and Canterbury, was welcomed this morning by Pope John Paul, who said "May your visit confirm you in your commitment to the cause of Christian unity."

"The quest for full communion among all Christians," he went on, "is a duty which springs from the prayer of the Lord Himself. In recent times we have come to appreciate more deeply the fellowship existing between Lutherans and Catholics, which led to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification signed in 1999. In that document we are challenged to build on what has already been achieved, fostering more extensively at the local level a spirituality of communion marked by prayer and shared witness to the Gospel."

The Holy Father, in closing, said that "in a world filled with danger and insecurity, all Christians are called to stand together in proclaiming the values of the Kingdom of God. The events of recent days make this duty all the more urgent."

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