At 10:45 this morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the German Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Sisters and brothers,
I cordially greet you and thank Bishop Ulrich for his words, which clearly testify to his ecumenical commitment. I also greet the other representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church from Germany and those from the Ecumenical Commission of the German Episcopal Conference who are on an ecumenical visit to Rome.
Today, the official dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics can look back over almost fifty years of intense work. The noteworthy progress which, with the help of God, has been accomplished constitutes a solid foundation of sincere friendship lived in faith and in spirituality. Even though there are theological differences which still remain in regard to some questions of faith, collaboration and shared fraternity characterize the life of our Churches and ecclesial communities, now engaged in a common ecumenical journey. The ecumenical responsibility of the Catholic Church, as Saint John Paul II pointed out in his Encyclical Ut unum sint, is in fact an essential task of the same Church, convoked and directed toward the unity of the One Triune God. Joint texts such as the Common Declaration on the doctrine of justification - to which you have referred - between the World Lutheran Federation and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, officially signed fifteen years ago in Augsburg, are important milestones which allow us to continue in trust on the road.
The common objective of full and visible unity between Christians seems to sometimes be illusive because of various interpretations, within the scope of dialogue, as to what the Church is and what unity means. Despite these questions which are still unresolved, we should not be resigned but rather we should concentrate on the next possible steps. Let us not forget that we are on a journey of friendship, of reciprocal esteem and of theological research, a journey which makes us look toward the future with hope. This is the reason why on November 21 of this year, the bells of all the churches in Germany rang out, to invite Christians from every place to a common liturgical service for the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Decree Unitatis redintegratio.
I am happy that the Commission for bilateral dialogue between the German Episcopal Conference and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany is about to complete its work on the theme God is the dignity of mankind. Questions relative to the dignity of the human person both at the beginning and at the end of life are of great importance, as are those related to the family, to marriage and to sexuality, which cannot be excluded or left out simply because we don't want to jeopardize any ecumenical consensus that has been reached so far. It would be a sin if you were to experience confessional differences based on such important issues related to human existence.
Ecumenical dialogue can no longer be separated from reality and from the life of our Churches. In 2017, Lutheran and Catholic Christians will commemorate together the fifth centenary of the Reform. On that occasion, Lutherans and Catholics will have a possibility for the first time of sharing one common ecumenical commemoration all over the world, not in the form of a triumphal celebration, but as a profession of our common faith in One Triune God. At the centre of this event, there will therefore be common prayer and the intimate request for forgiveness from the Lord Jesus Christ for our reciprocal faults, together with the joy of travelling a shared ecumenical path, with specific references to the document produced by the Lutheran-Catholic Commission for Unity, published last year and entitled From conflict to communion: the common Lutheran-Catholic commemoration of the Reform in 2017. May this commemoration of the Reform encourage all people to work, with God's help and the support of his Spirit, toward furthering our steps on the path to unity and not merely limit ourselves to that which we have already achieved.
Hoping that your fraternal visit may contribute to reinforcing the good collaboration that exists between Lutherans and Catholics in Germany and in the world, I willingly invoke the blessing of the Lord upon you and upon your communities.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the delegation from
the German Evangelical Lutheran Church
Sisters and brothers,
I cordially greet you and thank Bishop Ulrich for his words, which clearly testify to his ecumenical commitment. I also greet the other representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church from Germany and those from the Ecumenical Commission of the German Episcopal Conference who are on an ecumenical visit to Rome.
Today, the official dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics can look back over almost fifty years of intense work. The noteworthy progress which, with the help of God, has been accomplished constitutes a solid foundation of sincere friendship lived in faith and in spirituality. Even though there are theological differences which still remain in regard to some questions of faith, collaboration and shared fraternity characterize the life of our Churches and ecclesial communities, now engaged in a common ecumenical journey. The ecumenical responsibility of the Catholic Church, as Saint John Paul II pointed out in his Encyclical Ut unum sint, is in fact an essential task of the same Church, convoked and directed toward the unity of the One Triune God. Joint texts such as the Common Declaration on the doctrine of justification - to which you have referred - between the World Lutheran Federation and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, officially signed fifteen years ago in Augsburg, are important milestones which allow us to continue in trust on the road.
The common objective of full and visible unity between Christians seems to sometimes be illusive because of various interpretations, within the scope of dialogue, as to what the Church is and what unity means. Despite these questions which are still unresolved, we should not be resigned but rather we should concentrate on the next possible steps. Let us not forget that we are on a journey of friendship, of reciprocal esteem and of theological research, a journey which makes us look toward the future with hope. This is the reason why on November 21 of this year, the bells of all the churches in Germany rang out, to invite Christians from every place to a common liturgical service for the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Decree Unitatis redintegratio.
I am happy that the Commission for bilateral dialogue between the German Episcopal Conference and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany is about to complete its work on the theme God is the dignity of mankind. Questions relative to the dignity of the human person both at the beginning and at the end of life are of great importance, as are those related to the family, to marriage and to sexuality, which cannot be excluded or left out simply because we don't want to jeopardize any ecumenical consensus that has been reached so far. It would be a sin if you were to experience confessional differences based on such important issues related to human existence.
Ecumenical dialogue can no longer be separated from reality and from the life of our Churches. In 2017, Lutheran and Catholic Christians will commemorate together the fifth centenary of the Reform. On that occasion, Lutherans and Catholics will have a possibility for the first time of sharing one common ecumenical commemoration all over the world, not in the form of a triumphal celebration, but as a profession of our common faith in One Triune God. At the centre of this event, there will therefore be common prayer and the intimate request for forgiveness from the Lord Jesus Christ for our reciprocal faults, together with the joy of travelling a shared ecumenical path, with specific references to the document produced by the Lutheran-Catholic Commission for Unity, published last year and entitled From conflict to communion: the common Lutheran-Catholic commemoration of the Reform in 2017. May this commemoration of the Reform encourage all people to work, with God's help and the support of his Spirit, toward furthering our steps on the path to unity and not merely limit ourselves to that which we have already achieved.
Hoping that your fraternal visit may contribute to reinforcing the good collaboration that exists between Lutherans and Catholics in Germany and in the world, I willingly invoke the blessing of the Lord upon you and upon your communities.
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