wfn.org | LWF on Joint Declaration -- B. RECOMMENDATION

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

1.   Premises

a.   By 12 June 1998, 89 member churches of the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) have responded to the General Secretary's letter of February 1997,
which asked if they could affirm the conclusions of the "Joint Declaration
on the Doctrine of Justification."

b.   80 churches, representing 89.9% of the LWF constituency, have
affirmed the differentiated consensus displayed in the "Joint Declaration."
The consensus claimed by the "Joint Declaration" has three aspects. First,
the content of the consensus is contained in the jointly affirmed
assertions in Chapter 1 (8-12), Chapter 3 (14-18), and Chapter 4 (19,
22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 37). To affirm these agreements is itself to affirm the
consensus. Second, the "Joint Declaration" claims that the "remaining
differences" related to these themes "do not destroy the consensus
regarding basic truths" (40), i.e., that the differences are compatible
with the joint affirmation of the common statements in the "Joint
Declaration." Third, this consensus also "shows that the remaining
differences .... are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations"
(5). If a church affirms the agreements in the "Joint Declaration" and
declares on the basis of these agreements that the relevant condemnations
are not applicable, even if differences remain, then it has affirmed the
sort of consensus the "Joint Declaration" claims.

c.   An even greater number of churches than the ones mentioned in point
b., have affirmed that the condemnations in the Lutheran confessions do not
apply to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church presented in the "Joint
Declaration."

d.   The LWF General Secretariat maintains the list of member churches
which have endorsed, or will endorse, the conclusions of the "Joint
Declaration." The statements received from the churches are, and will
remain, available for study. As the discussion continues, churches which
have not replied or which have replied negatively can add their names to
the list of affirming churches. Negative answers are, however, fully
respected within the communion.

e.   An action of this type by the Council on behalf of the LWF is a
concluding moment in an integrated process of consultation and deliberation
involving the member churches and the bodies of the LWF. Specifically, the
Lutheran affirmation of the "Joint Declaration" is the result of a process
involving both the action of the affirming churches and the action of the
LWF Council.

2.   Affirmation

On the basis of these premises, the Council VOTED:

-    to thank the member churches which have studied and given their
response to the "Joint Declaration" for their effort,

-    to commend the Institute for Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg for
contributing the analysis, requested by the Council in 1997, of the
responses from the churches,

-    to receive the responses from the member churches to the "Joint
Declaration" and the analysis of these responses by the Institute for
Ecumenical Research, Strasbourg,

-    to recognize the positive response to the "Joint Declaration" by the
great majority of the responding churches, representing a significant
majority of the LWF constituency,

-    to affirm, on the basis of the positive responses of the said
majority, the agreements regarding the doctrine of justification as
presented in the "Joint Declaration," and to declare that, on the basis of
these agreements, the doctrinal condemnations in the Lutheran confessional
writings regarding justification do not apply to the teaching of the Roman
Catholic Church as presented in the "Joint Declaration,"

-    to encourage exploration of pastoral consequences of the agreements
in the "Joint Declaration" jointly with the Roman Catholic Church,

-    to emphasise, in light of the comments and concerns expressed by the
churches in their responses, the need for further common investigation,
both of the consequences of this doctrine for specific areas of teaching
and practice in the church, and also of the controverted topics within the
doctrine of justification that arose during the reception process,

-    to ask the General Secretary to prepare and present to the Council in
1999 a plan of action by which the issues listed in 43 of the "Joint
Declaration" and additional controversial questions that have arisen within
the "Joint Declaration" process can be addressed within the LWF and
together with the Roman Catholic Church,

-    to request the General Secretary, when the response from the Roman
Catholic Church is published, that he in consultation with the President
and the Executive Committee, and in coordination with the Roman Catholic
Church, determine how the "Joint Declaration" might most appropriately be
jointly confirmed by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic
Church.

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Lutheran World Information
Editorial Assistant: Janet Bond-Nash
E-mail: jbn@lutheranworld.org
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