Vatican
City, 18 December 2014
(VIS) – Official dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics has been
in place for almost 50 years and the progress made in this half
century “constitutes a solid foundation for sincere friendship
lived in faith and spirituality,” Pope Francis said this morning on
receiving a delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Germany on an ecumenical visit to Rome.
Despite
theological differences that persist in various issues of the faith,
collaboration and fraternal coexistence characterize the life of our
churches and ecclesial communities, which are committed to a common
ecumenical journey and joint documents. One such text was the “Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” between the Lutheran
World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity, which was officially signed fifteen years ago in Augsburg.
“These are,” Pope Francis said, “important milestones that
allow us to confidently continue along the path undertaken.”
Although
the common goal of full and visible unity of Christians sometimes
seems to become more difficult to achieve because of different
interpretations regarding the church and its unity, we must not give
in to resignation but concentrate on the next possible step. “Do
not forget,” the Pope stressed, “that we are walking together the
path of friendship, mutual respect, and theological research. It is a
path that makes us look with hope to the future. That is why, this
past 21 November, bells of all the cathedrals in Germany rang to
invite all Christian brothers and sisters to a common liturgical
service for the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of Unitatis
Redintegratio, the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism.”
The
Holy Father expressed his satisfaction that the Commission on
Bilateral Dialogue between the German Bishops' Conference and the
German Evangelical Lutheran Church is about to finish its work
dedicated to “God and the Dignity of Man”. He emphasized the
relevance of “issues related to the dignity of the human person at
the beginning and end of life, as well as those related to family,
marriage, and sexuality, which cannot be excluded or left to the side
just because one doesn't want to endanger the ecumenical consensus
reached thus far. It would be a shame if new confessional differences
arose in such important topics related to human existence.”
“Ecumenical
dialogue today can no longer be separated from the reality and the
life of our churches. In 2017, Lutheran and Catholic Christians will
jointly commemorate the 500th anniversary of the
Reformation. On that occasion, Lutherans and Catholics around the
world will, for the first time, have the opportunity to share the
same ecumenical commemoration, not in the form of a triumphalistic
celebration, but as the profession of our common faith in the Triune
God. At the center of this event, therefore, there will be common
prayer and the plea that our Lord Jesus Christ pardon for our mutual
faults, along with the joy of journeying together on a shared
ecumenical path. This meaningfully references the document produced
by the Lutheran-Catholic Commission for Unity published last year
entitled “From Conflict to Communion: The Joint Lutheran-Catholic
Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017”. May this commemoration
of the Reformation encourage us all to carry out, with God's help and
the support of his Spirit, further steps towards unity and to not
just limit ourselves to what we have already achieved!”
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