wfn.org | Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue Continues Drafting Document

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 29, 2002

LUTHERAN-CATHOLIC DIALOGUE CONTINUES DRAFTING DOCUMENT
02-122-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The 10th round of talks in the United States
between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) continued with a meeting
May 2-5 at St. Paul's College, Washington, D.C.  Scholars from both
Christian traditions are drafting a document on "The Church as
Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries."
     "Koinonia" is an anglicized Greek word that appears several
times in the Christian Bible and is translated as "communion,"
"fellowship" or "a close mutual relationship."  The dialogue is
taking up issues of koinonia as they relate to "ordained ministry and
structures of church unity."
     Talks have centered around the roles of priests, pastors and
bishops, their relationships to the nature and mission of the Church,
the significance of parishes and diocese/synods and the history of
ordination.  A purpose of the document is to lay the groundwork for
theological agreements and proposals to the churches for steps that
may increase the expression of koinonia between Lutherans and
Catholics.
     The text will contain two parts -- one will be a view of the
Church as communion, differences and similarities in understandings
of local church, and another will be a treatment of what Lutherans
and Catholics can say together about congregations/parishes,
dioceses/synods and the universal Church.  Within each of these
sections there will be a common statement and the different Catholic
and Lutheran emphases.
     A second half of the document will develop biblical and
historical explanations of the bases for the proposals laid out in
the first part of the common statement.  The theological theme of
koinonia will be developed in three dimensions: the Church
participates in salvation, the Church shares salvation, and the
Church as a community shaped by salvation.
     The work at this particular meeting "was devoted to careful
review of the structure of our argument and the thoroughness of the
documentation gathered to support the eventual recommendations of the
final report," said the dialogue's Catholic co-chair, the Most Rev.
Richard J. Sklba, auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese
of Milwaukee.
     The Rev. Charles H. Maahs, former bishop of the ELCA Central
States Synod, Overland Park, Kan., is the Lutheran co-chair.  He
called the meeting "another very positive step forward for our
dialogue, with the structure and outline of our document beginning to
take shape."
     "The  common understanding of the gospel by our two churches
lays a solid foundation for our dialogue on koinonia.  By 'gospel' we
mean the essence of the good news we proclaim as Christians from the
Word of God as we know it in our Scriptures," said Maahs.
     "The Church as a community shaped by salvation in Christ shares
this gospel, the good news for which the world is searching.  It is
this gospel 'lens' through which we seek to understand and recognize
the structures and ministries of our churches," Maahs said.
     "The enduring highlight of the meeting was the wealth of
theological data from the Middle Ages, and the openness of the
theological community to a variety of forms for ministry in the
Church, especially the close interconnection between the roles of
priest/pastor and bishop," said Sklba.
     "Our ability to study the data with mutual respect and honesty
was greatly assisted by the deepening friendship which has developed
among the entire group of scholars and staff personnel," Sklba added.
     "Our communion with one another sets an example of the way in
which respectful listening can contribute to understanding of the
text and the search for closer communion by our churches," Maahs
said.
     "It is always refreshing and encouraging to be together for
common prayer, study, and work on the agreed text.  This work is
highlighted for us when we take the time to worship face-to-face with
parishes and congregations of our churches," said Maahs.
     Dialogue members attended Saturday mass at St. Matthew's
Catholic Cathedral, Washington, D.C., where Sklba preached and Maahs
brought greetings.  On Sunday, they worshiped with the congregation
at Nativity Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Va., where Maahs preached
and Sklba brought greetings.
     The ELCA has 5.13 million members in 10,816 congregations
across the United States and Caribbean.  Those congregations are
organized into 65 synods, each headed by a bishop.
     The Roman Catholic Church has more than 62 million members in
the United States.  Its 187 dioceses or archdioceses oversee almost
20,000 parishes.
     The USCCB and the U.S.A. National Committee of the Lutheran
World Federation initiated the first round of the "bilateral"
dialogue in 1965.  It has produced a number of common statements on
such topics as Scriptures, saints and justification by faith.  The
10th round of talks began in September 1998.
-- -- --
Bro. Jeffrey Gros, FSC, associate director, USCCB Secretariat for
Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, provided information for this
story.

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