Catholic–Lutheran dialogue explained

The Catholic–Lutheran dialogue is a series of discussions that began during July 1964 as an outgrowth of the Second Vatican Council. These gatherings reflect the new openness of the Catholic Church to dialogue with other Christian denominations as well as other religions. These dialogues have been primarily between representatives of the Lutheran World Federation and representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.^{[1] [2]}

The Catholic–Lutheran dialogue within the United States have been conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the USA National Committee of the Lutheran World Federation. The Catholic–Lutheran dialogue brought the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) together to dialogue with the American Catholic community. The LCMS has not participated in all discussions. Unlike the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the LCMS has not come to an agreement with the Catholic Church due to differences in the understanding of various issues including faith, grace, and sin.^[3]

After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic–Lutheran dialogue culminated in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999) and the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan (2016), which essentially resolved the core theological conflict of Martin Luther and subsequent adversaries.^{[4] [5]} This conflict was further eased by the Anglican Communion doing the same.^{[6] [7]}

Rounds of discussion

Starting in July 1964, over 50 sessions have been held taking up eleven rounds of topics :^[8]

• I. The Status of the Nicene Creed as Dogma of the Church (1965)
• II. One Baptism for the Remission of Sins (1966)
• III. The Eucharist as Sacrifice (1968)
• IV. Eucharist and Ministry (1970)
• V. Papal Primacy and the Universal Church (1973)
• VI. Teaching Authority & Infallibility in the Church (1978)
• VII. Justification by Faith (1983)^[9]
• VIII. The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary (1990)
• IX. Scripture and Tradition (1995)
• X. The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries (2004)^[10]
• XI. The Hope for Eternal Life (2010)^[11]
• XII. Ministries of Teaching (2011)^[12]

Subsequent events

Significant events following these dialogues included a joint statement on the doctrine of Justification by Faith issued in 1983 and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification issued on 31 October 1999. In 2010, the Catholic–Lutheran dialogue completed a common statement entitled The Hope of Eternal Life. In 2015, Lutherans and Roman Catholics jointly issued the Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry and Eucharist, an ecumenical document marking greater visible unity between Catholics and Lutherans.^{[13] [14]}

The Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity hosted a joint Ecumenical Commemoration event at Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden, on 31 October 2016. This was a shared Catholic–Lutheran commemoration of the 499th anniversary of the posting by Martin Luther of the Ninety-five Theses at All Saint's Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517.^{[15] [16]}

Documents

Catholic–Lutheran Joint Commission

• "First Official Report of the Joint Working Group" (1966)
• "The Gospel and the Church" (1972)
• The Eucharist (1978)
• "Statement on the Augsburg Confession" (1980)
• "Ways to Community" (1980)
• "The Ministry in the Church" (1981)
• "Martin Luther - Witness to Jesus Christ" (1983)
• "Facing Unity. Models, Forms and Phases of Catholic-Lutheran Church Fellowship" (1984)
• "Church and Justification" (1994)

Catholic–Lutheran dialogue in the USA

• The Status of the Nicene Creed as Dogma of the Church (7 July 1965)
• One Baptism for the Remission of Sins (13 February 1966)
• The Eucharist (1 October 1967)
• Eucharist and Ministry (1970)
• Differing Attitudes Toward Papal Primacy (1973)
• Teaching Authority and Infallibility in the Church (1978)
• Justification by Faith (1983)
• The One Mediator, the Saints, and Mary (1990)
• Scripture and Tradition (1995)
• The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries (2004)
• The Hope of Eternal Life (1 November 2010)

Ecumenical Working Group of Catholic and Lutheran theologians in Germany

• "The Condemnations of the Reformation Era - Do They Still Divide?" (1986)

Catholic–Lutheran Commission on Unity

• From Conflict to Communion: Catholic–Lutheran Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 (2013)

Joint Declarations

• Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999)

See also

• Ecumenical meetings and documents on Mary

External links

• Historical Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. October 31, 1999
• Documents and News Releases Produced by the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in the United States

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue. 11 June 2013 . The Lutheran World Federation. March 25, 2016.
2. Web site: From Conflict to Communion. Lutheran–Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017. 28 October 2013 . The Lutheran World Federation. March 25, 2016.
3. Web site: The Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. March 25, 2016.
4. Web site: Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. 31 October 1999. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. 4 July 2017.
5. Web site: Full text: Joint Declaration for the 500th anniversary of Reformation | CatholicHerald.co.uk . 2017-11-15 . 2017-11-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171104010302/http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/10/31/full-text-joint-declaration-for-the-500th-anniversary-of-reformation/ . dead .
6. Web site: Archbishop Welby to present ACC Reformation resolution to Catholic and Lutheran leaders .
7. Web site: Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Reformed and Anglicans "drawn into deeper communion" .
8. Web site: 50 Years of Lutheran Roman Catholic Dialogue. First Things. Mathew Block. January 8, 2015. March 25, 2016.
9. Web site: Joint Declaration On The Doctrine Of Justification. The Vatican. March 25, 2016.
10. Web site: U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Began Round Ten. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. September 18, 1998 . March 25, 2016.
11. Web site: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue continues 'Hope of Eternal Life' theme. Ecumenism in Canada. March 25, 2016.
12. Web site: U. S. Catholic-Lutheran Dialogue Begins Round XII, Theme: Ministries of Teaching. United States Conference of Catholic Bishop. November 1, 2011. March 25, 2016.
13. Web site: The Meaning of the Joint Declaration on Justification. CatholicCulture.org. Cardinal Edward Cassidy. March 25, 2016.
14. Web site: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity. Institute on Religion and Public Life. March 25, 2016.
15. Web site: From Conflict to Communion - Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191206093605/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/lutheran-fed-docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_2013_dal-conflitto-alla-comunione_en.html#Foreword . December 6, 2019 . The Vatican . March 15, 2020 .
16. Web site: Joint Ecumenical Commemoration of the Reformation in Lund. The Lutheran World Federation. January 25, 2016. March 25, 2016.