wfn.org | Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>October 2, 2009  

Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists Mark 10th Anniversary of Joint Declaration
09-219-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Much work needs to be done for the meaning of a
historic ecumenical agreement to take root among Catholic and Protestant
believers, said a U.S. Roman Catholic leader, who preached Oct. 1 at a
special worship and prayer service here at Old St. Patrick's Church.

The Most Rev. Wilton D. Gregory, Roman Catholic archbishop of
Atlanta, made the comment at a 10th anniversary celebration of the
signing of the Joint Declaration on Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ).
He also said the JDDJ should be shared with new generations of church
leaders "as a standard of faithful preaching of the gospel."

More than 300 people celebrated the anniversary of the JDDJ's
signing, recognized as a significant achievement in the history of
Christian ecumenical relations.

The agreement was signed in 1999 by representatives of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) and the Catholic Church in Augsburg, Germany. It
declared that the LWF and the Catholic Church had reached a common
understanding on justification, agreeing that believers are saved by
faith in Jesus Christ and not by works.

Lutherans and Catholics also declared that certain 16th century
condemnations of each other no longer applied. Interpretations of
justification caused disagreement in the church nearly 500 years earlier,
which led to the Protestant Reformation. The World Methodist Council
affirmed the JDDJ in 2006.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and LWF president, and Cardinal Francis
George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, hosted the
event. Members of the ELCA Conference of Bishops attended, along with
several ecumenical guests including Methodist representatives.

In his homily Gregory said scholars must continue the work
of "theological reception" of the JDDJ, even as they begin new
studies "that seek to remove impediments to full Eucharistic communion."
He cited how Lutherans and Catholics have reached a point at which both
read Scripture and interpret moral law "so differently on the matter of
human sexuality."

In August the ELCA Churchwide Assembly adopted a social statement on
human sexuality. Voting members also adopted a series of proposals to
change ELCA ministry policies, including a change to make it possible for
Lutherans in lifelong, publicly accountable, monogamous same-gender
relationships to serve as ELCA associates in ministry, clergy,
deaconesses and diaconal ministers.

"The decisions taken at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in August, even
as they have yet to unfold in concrete procedures for their
implementation within the church, pose a serious challenge to our
relationship, and, I might further add, a new agenda for our dialogues,"
Gregory said. "Further rounds of our bilateral conversations must
undertake a careful study of the foundation of moral discernment in our
respective traditions."

Gregory said the subject of human sexuality and the church can also
be an opportunity "for deeper and more energetic engagement in the work
of reconciliation."

Looking ahead, the archbishop called for renewed study among
Lutheran and Catholic theologians and more emphasis on prayer among
members of both traditions.

The Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, Geneva, addressed the
congregation, saying the JDDJ is about the present and future, not the
past. It is a testimony to how much can be achieved when Christians work
together, said Noko, an original signer of the JDDJ.

Noko said the action of the World Methodist Council to affirm the
JDDJ "was a decision to join in the ecumenical journey in search of unity
for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." He noted that in August, the
ELCA and United Methodist Church (UMC) formally entered into a
relationship of full communion.

Looking 25 years into the future, Noko said because of the JDDJ,
clergy from the churches will have been ordained into a different
ecclesial reality "in which we are no longer communities defined by these
mutual condemnations. Let us commit ourselves to be serving congregations
that reflect that difference."

Prayers at the celebration were offered by bishops of the ELCA and
the UMC, and the Rev. Michael Kinnamon, New York, general secretary,
National Council of Churches USA. Carlos Pena, Galveston, Texas, ELCA
vice president, was lector. Cardinal William Keeler, Roman Catholic
archbishop emeritus of Baltimore, also attended.

A second ecumenical worship service recognizing the 10th anniversary
of the JDDJ signing will be held Oct. 31 in Augsburg.

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Photos from the celebration are at

http://photos.ELCA.org/ELCA-news-service on the Web. A video is also
available at http://tinyurl.com/yc2wgan on the Web.

Information about the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification is at http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:

John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog