wfn.org | Reception, Unity Key Topics of ELCA Visit to the Vatican

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 28, 2003

RECEPTION, UNITY KEY TOPICS OF ELCA VISIT TO THE VATICAN
03-066-JB

     VATICAN CITY (ELCA) -- Lutheran and Roman Catholic congregations
must engage in a "reception" process for the agreement reached in the
Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), and the
document should be presented in terms that members can understand, said
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for the
Promotion of Christian Unity, Vatican.
     In ecumenical circles, reception refers to how church bodies
receive and implement elements of a theological agreement.  Kasper was a
central figure for the Vatican in developing and completing the JDDJ.
     Kasper made his remarks to a 21-member delegation of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) during the delegation's
visit here March 21-26.  The delegation includes ELCA leaders, bishops,
Church Council members, pastors, staff and members.  Leading the
delegation is the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop.  The ELCA
group is traveling with Hanson as he meets international church leaders
in Europe.
     While here, the ELCA delegation was hosted by and met with key
Vatican leaders, and they visited a variety of historic religious sites
throughout Vatican City and Rome.
     On March 24 the ELCA delegation met briefly with Pope John Paul
II.  In prepared remarks, Hanson and the pope both said the signing of
the JDDJ in 1999 was a sign of greater unity between the churches.
     The JDDJ stated that the churches of the Lutheran World Federation
and the Vatican had reached a common understanding on justification,
agreeing that believers are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and not
necessarily by works.  The interpretation of justification caused
disagreement in the church nearly 500 years earlier, which led to the
Protestant Reformation.
     "We have come to appreciate more deeply the fellowship existing
between Lutherans and Catholics, which led to the Joint Declaration
signed in 1999," the pope told the ELCA delegation.  "In that document
we are challenged to build on what has already been achieved, fostering
more extensively at the local level a spirituality of communion marked
by prayer and shared witness to the gospel."
     Beyond developing a reception process for the JDDJ, Kasper said
Lutherans and Roman Catholics should recognize "our common basis in the
Bible."
     "We should read the Bible together," Kasper said.	"Over the Bible
we divided, and over the Bible we should come together again."
     To achieve greater unity, Lutherans and Roman Catholics should
also emphasize what Kasper called "spiritual ecumenism."  That means
that members can make a spiritual connection with one another by putting
their faith into practice together.
     As an example, he said members of both churches could serve those
who live in poverty, people who are sick and those suffering in a
variety of situations.
     "It doesn't matter whether the suffering [person] is Protestant or
Lutheran or Catholic or Orthodox or Jewish or Muslim," Kasper said in an
interview.  "It's a suffering person, and we can work together [to
help].	We must not do it separately.  In this way, we can 'lift'
together and become more familiar with each other."
     In the ELCA audience with Pope John Paul II, Hanson called for the
possibility of "limited interim Eucharistic sharing" between Lutherans
and Roman Catholics.  At present, it is not possible for Lutherans to
participate in Holy Communion in most Roman Catholic congregations.
Roman Catholics, however, are welcome to receive Holy Communion in most
ELCA congregations.  The pope did not address Hanson's suggestion.
     For Roman Catholics, a central question in Eucharistic sharing is
whether
Lutherans and Catholics share the same faith, Kasper said.
     "We must share the same faith," Kasper said.  "For us, Eucharistic
sharing is a problem of ecclesiology."
     The LWF is a global communion of 136 Lutheran churches in 76
countries.  Its worldwide membership includes 61.7 million Lutherans.
The LWF and the Vatican continue to discuss significant theological
issues in a formal dialogue.
     "Lutherans and Catholics should see that our community has grown
up very much," Kasper said of the growing unity between the Christian
churches.  "I think the dialogue with the LWF is one of  the best we
have, and we have 16 dialogues all over the world."
     The community of Lutherans and Catholics "is growing," as is
"trust" between the two, he said.
     In 2002, Kasper visited the Chicago-based churchwide office of the
ELCA -- an LWF member church.  In addition to his role as ELCA presiding
bishop, Hanson is an LWF vice president.
     During the visit to the Vatican, Hanson met privately with Kasper.

NEW STATEMENT ON EUCHARIST EXPECTED SOON
     A new papal statement -- or "encyclical" -- may be issued as early
as April 17, Maundy Thursday, on the topic of the Eucharist or Holy
Communion.  Hanson asked about the statement in a meeting here with
officials of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(CDF).
     Its purpose is to ensure that Roman Catholic doctrine is taught
properly and the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached faithfully, said
Father Augustine Di Noia, OP, undersecretary for the CDF.
     Di Noia said he could not comment on the encyclical, because no
one except the pope knows its final form.
     "In this case, Pope John Paul II has an intense personal interest
in the topic of the Eucharist," he said.  "It [the encyclical] is
chiefly addressed to the Catholic Church, but it will be of interest to
all Christian churches."
     Di Noia added that "the most productive conversations" since the
Second Vatican Council -- an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic
Church held in the early 1960s --  have been conversations between
Lutherans and Catholics.
     The JDDJ is not about the state of Lutheran-Catholic
relationships, Di Noia said.  "It is about our state as Christians
proclaiming to the world," he said.

VATICAN TO DO 'ALL THAT IS POSSIBLE' TO STOP WAR
     Despite the fact that war is underway between a U.S.-led military
coalition and the Iraqi military, the Vatican will continue its efforts
to put an end to the fighting, said Monsignor Pietro Parolin,
undersecretary for Relations with States, Secretariat of State, Vatican.
     "We will do all that is possible through prayer and diplomatic
means," he told the ELCA delegation.  "For the time being, it is
difficult.  We've not seen any effort [toward peace].  We're ready to do
what is possible."
     Parolin described how the Vatican sent representatives to meet
with international political leaders, including President George W.
Bush, to try to avert conflict.  Like the ELCA, he said, the Vatican and
Pope John Paul II publicly emphasized avoiding war and the
responsibility of Iraq to conform to U.N. resolutions, while saying the
international community must seek solutions under the watch of the
United Nations.
     "We do not believe this war has met historic principles of 'just
war,'" Parolin said, adding that the Vatican has "rejected" suggestions
that a pre-emptive war is a just war.n
     The Vatican has also worked to prevent impressions that the war is
a clash between Christianity and Islam, he added.
-- -- --
     The Department for Ecumenical Affairs has its home page at
http://www.elca.org/ea on the ELCA Web site.  The text of the Joint
Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and related resources are
available at
http://www.elca.org/ea/ecumenical/romancatholic/jddj/jddj.html on the
Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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