At 10:50am this morning (4:50am EDT), the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a delegation from the German Lutheran Evangelical Church.
Dear Bishop Ulrich,
Dear friends,
I warmly welcome you and am happy that you are here. I thank with all my heart, Bishop Ulrich, for the words that he has offered and which bear witness to his ecumenical commitment. I also cordially greet the other representatives of the German National Committee for the World Lutheran Federation and members of the United Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany, together with their guests.
With joy, I remember the moments that we shared last year on the occasion of the common Commemoration of the Reform. Already on 31 October 2016, we had met in Lund to determine, in a spirit of fraternity that which, due to the wounds of the past, could have provoked controversy and hatred. Thank God, we have been able to see that over the past five hundred years of history - which has at times been very painful - we have been opposed to one another and even caught up in conflict, but always, we have been able to leave some space, over these last fifty years, for growing communion. Thanks to the work of the Spirit, to many fraternal encounters, to various gestures based on the logic of the gospel more than revolving around human strategies, and through the official Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, it has been possible for us to overcome old prejudices on both sides. With God's help, we can hope for a future that strives for the complete resolve of all our divergences. We must continue moving forward.
The common Commemoration of the Reform has confirmed the desire for ecumenism to continue marking our journey. This is becoming increasingly a necessity and a desire, as was seen in many prayers in common and in various ecumenical encounters that took place last year throughout the world. Let us never forget to begin with prayer, for these are not human undertakings that point the way, but rather the work of the Holy Spirit: He alone can open the way and show us the steps that we should take. The Spirit of love cannot but push us along the paths of charity. As Christians, Catholics and Lutherans are called above all to love one another intensely, with one true heart, so that we may be recreated through the word of God who is living and eternal (1 Peter 1:22-23). We are also called to work together toward alleviating the sufferings of those who are in need and those who are being persecuted. The sufferings of so many of our brothers who are oppressed because of their faith in Jesus are also a pressing invitation to strive for more concrete and visible unity between us. The ecumenism of blood.
Let us support one another on the journey, working together to advance our theological dialogue. No ecumenical dialogue can move ahead if we remain closed in upon ourselves. We need to journey, to continue journeying together: not with the enthusiasm of rushing ahead in order to reach coveted goals, but walking together, with patience, under the constant gaze of God. Some themes - I am thinking of the Church, the Eucharist, and ecclesiastical ministry - merit precise and well-shared reflection. Ecumenism also requires that we not be elitist, but that we involve as many of our brothers and sisters in the faith as possible, growing as a community of disciples who pray, love and proclaim. It is on this basis that ecumenical dialogue will help us to progress, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in common understanding of divine revelation which is deepened all the more when we know and love the Lord Jesus Christ together, for it is in him that God dwells in all His fullness (Col 2:9) and it pleased God ... that in him ... all things have been reconciled (Col 1:19-20).
May the Lord accompany us, so that our Christian existence may be more and more centred on Him and so that we may be courageous in our mission; may our pastoral care be enriched by service and, in its various dimension, may this service be all the more imbued with an ecumenical spirit. I invoke upon all of you the blessings of the Lord: may the Holy Spirit descend and renew all that is still divided.
It would be good, at the end of these words, that we pray together the Pater Noster:
Vater Unser ...
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to a delegation from the
German Lutheran Evangelical Church
Dear Bishop Ulrich,
Dear friends,
I warmly welcome you and am happy that you are here. I thank with all my heart, Bishop Ulrich, for the words that he has offered and which bear witness to his ecumenical commitment. I also cordially greet the other representatives of the German National Committee for the World Lutheran Federation and members of the United Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Germany, together with their guests.
With joy, I remember the moments that we shared last year on the occasion of the common Commemoration of the Reform. Already on 31 October 2016, we had met in Lund to determine, in a spirit of fraternity that which, due to the wounds of the past, could have provoked controversy and hatred. Thank God, we have been able to see that over the past five hundred years of history - which has at times been very painful - we have been opposed to one another and even caught up in conflict, but always, we have been able to leave some space, over these last fifty years, for growing communion. Thanks to the work of the Spirit, to many fraternal encounters, to various gestures based on the logic of the gospel more than revolving around human strategies, and through the official Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, it has been possible for us to overcome old prejudices on both sides. With God's help, we can hope for a future that strives for the complete resolve of all our divergences. We must continue moving forward.
The common Commemoration of the Reform has confirmed the desire for ecumenism to continue marking our journey. This is becoming increasingly a necessity and a desire, as was seen in many prayers in common and in various ecumenical encounters that took place last year throughout the world. Let us never forget to begin with prayer, for these are not human undertakings that point the way, but rather the work of the Holy Spirit: He alone can open the way and show us the steps that we should take. The Spirit of love cannot but push us along the paths of charity. As Christians, Catholics and Lutherans are called above all to love one another intensely, with one true heart, so that we may be recreated through the word of God who is living and eternal (1 Peter 1:22-23). We are also called to work together toward alleviating the sufferings of those who are in need and those who are being persecuted. The sufferings of so many of our brothers who are oppressed because of their faith in Jesus are also a pressing invitation to strive for more concrete and visible unity between us. The ecumenism of blood.
Let us support one another on the journey, working together to advance our theological dialogue. No ecumenical dialogue can move ahead if we remain closed in upon ourselves. We need to journey, to continue journeying together: not with the enthusiasm of rushing ahead in order to reach coveted goals, but walking together, with patience, under the constant gaze of God. Some themes - I am thinking of the Church, the Eucharist, and ecclesiastical ministry - merit precise and well-shared reflection. Ecumenism also requires that we not be elitist, but that we involve as many of our brothers and sisters in the faith as possible, growing as a community of disciples who pray, love and proclaim. It is on this basis that ecumenical dialogue will help us to progress, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in common understanding of divine revelation which is deepened all the more when we know and love the Lord Jesus Christ together, for it is in him that God dwells in all His fullness (Col 2:9) and it pleased God ... that in him ... all things have been reconciled (Col 1:19-20).
May the Lord accompany us, so that our Christian existence may be more and more centred on Him and so that we may be courageous in our mission; may our pastoral care be enriched by service and, in its various dimension, may this service be all the more imbued with an ecumenical spirit. I invoke upon all of you the blessings of the Lord: may the Holy Spirit descend and renew all that is still divided.
It would be good, at the end of these words, that we pray together the Pater Noster:
Vater Unser ...
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