wfn.org | Signing of the "Joint Declaration" will be a historic bridging

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

LWF President foresees greater understanding between Lutherans and
Catholics

HANOVER, Germany/GENEVA, 4 August 1999 (lwi) - The signing of the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) and the Roman Catholic Church in Augsburg, Germany on
31 October 1999 will be a historic bridging, according to the LWF
President Bishop Christian Krause

In a recent interview with Udo Hahn of the United Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Germany (VELKD) -Information, Krause was quoted saying that
"steps towards becoming closer and towards greater understanding"
between the Lutheran churches and the Roman Catholic Church can best be
continued "by having worship services together and cooperating on every
imaginable level. From the sharing of spirituality and social-ethical
responsibility more bridges will develop. The Joint Declaration both
proves how far we have come and acts as a catalyst for developing
further closeness."

Speaking with VELKD-Information, the LWF President expressed the hope
that "the Catholic Church may now be able to agree to such guest
participation as in the Lord's Supper and the Eucharist as we have been
extending to them for years. This is an especially important sign for
marriages and families of mixed confessions."

Christian Krause vehemently protested against the view expressed in some
commentaries that the Joint Declaration will have no immediate effects.
"Whoever says that is not thinking historically. The Joint Declaration
is itself an effect of a long dialogue which has brought people
together, and not only those who participated. If we look at the
conflicts, wars and persecutions in Europe which are due to
misunderstood or misused confessionalism, we have the background for a
right perspective and appreciation of the consensus which has been
reached. What we are confessing together today is a central point which
broke up the church and caused merciless condemnations in the 16th
century. If that has no consequences, what will? I have been saying
clearly from the beginning that, for me, the signing of the Declaration
is a step that must lead to further steps in the way the churches live
in actual practice, and live with one another. With the Joint
Declaration we have not reached a conclusion, but rather have laid a
foundation on which we must, and can, go on building!"

For the LWF President, who is also the Bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Brunswick, the great traditional families of
worldwide Christianity have much more in common than that which divides
them. "This is a great resource, which we can use in better ways to bear
witness to Christ with our hearts, voices, actions and lives. In the
face of market and technological globalization, we should keep working
to globalize Christian solidarity. Here the Joint Declaration can be of
service, along with other important inter confessional conversations and
models."

Bishop Krause's wish for the signing of the Joint Declaration is "that
in our worship on Reformation Sunday, and in parish events during the
following days, the issue will be made understandable and elementary:
sola gratia, sola fide - in other words, that our life is a gift, which
we receive in faith and preserve in love."

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee.)

[Lutheran World Information is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented
does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (lwi), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/