wfn.org | Argentine Lutherans and Catholics celebrate ecumenical agreement

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

Justification enhances transformation

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina/GENEVA, 17 November 1999 (lwi) - "Justification is
not just a message launched to the outside world, it is also a judgement
within, aimed at the heart of our very existence as churches".  Hence the
Joint Declaration "is not a passing fad" of Catholic and Lutheran diplomacy
but a commitment "that what will shine in them (Christian communions) is
the Gospel."

These remarks were made by Pastor Angel Furlan, President of Argentina's
United Evangelical Lutheran Church, one of the two Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) member churches in the Latin American country, during a
joint ecumenical celebration on 3 November 1999 at the church of the
Lutheran Community "El Redentor" in Buenos Aires, to celebrate the
confirmation of the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" by
the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church on 31 October in Augsburg, Germany.

In his solemn address Pastor Furlan told guests among them leaders of
Catholic, Lutheran and other churches, that "justification is not some
distant relic of a past contention." On the contrary, he added, today,
people's inability to build with certainty on a solid foundation is leading
to a life of nihilism and despair.

According to Pastor Furlan, the message of justification is that "we do not
need to depend on our own strength, conscience, awareness, experience or
capability but rather we can trust in something outside ourselves, the
unfailing promise and truth of God."

The Lutheran pastor felt that the certainty of justification brings about a
three-fold transformation. It transforms individuals, their priorities,
sense of worth and commitment. It also transforms the position they hold in
the world because it empowers them to offer their lives in service to
others. Finally, it challenges the justifications of the world for its own
scheme of things.

The Catholic Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Monsignor Jorge Bergoglio,
emphasised in his address just what divine grace means in the life of a
believer. He said: "The blundering, imperfect and self-centred search for
God is far outstripped by God's prior outreach towards us, because that is
what Love means: He loved us first."

The Catholic primate added: "A Christian is someone who, in the midst of
wretched poverty and powerlessness, allows his heart to be touched by
Christ Jesus in whom the grace of God abounds to overflowing, beyond all
sin or any petty human limitation." His concluding remarks were: "Let us go
forward, knowing that He is waiting to meet us, and let us spare no effort
to allow Him into our thinking so that there can be unity in diversity
reconciled."

Other church leaders present during the celebrations included the President
of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (LWF member church), Pastor
Juan Pedro Schaad and the Catholic Church's Cardinal Juan Carlos Arumburu.

Locally, given the long-standing close relationship among the two Lutheran
churches and the Catholic church in Argentina, the "Joint Declaration" was
heralded as one more landmark in that relationship, an earlier one being
the Mutual Recognition of the Sacrament of Baptism that was officially
adopted by the three churches in 1987. Moreover, the three churches have
ongoing talks about their understanding of the Sacrament of the Eucharist
and established pastoral guidelines for dealing with mixed marriages. In
addition to those talks, many Catholic parishes and Lutheran congregations
maintain friendly relations and work together at the local level.

During another function to mark in Argentina the signing of the "Joint
Declaration", emphasis was laid on the consequences of this ecumenical
development for the life and mission of the Church in the society and on
the significance of the dialogue for arriving at a consensus on issues
which historically have led to doctrinal controversy. At an information
session held in the library of the Argentine Bishops' Conference in Buenos
Aires, local representatives of the religious, academic and political
sphere in the country heard about the significance of the "Joint
Declaration" from various presenters.

Rev. Juan Pedro Schaad, President of the Evangelical Church of the River
Plate, emphasised that the challenge of the consensus which has now been
reached consists in "finding language which does justice to our time" in
expressing the message of the doctrine of justification. "The proclamation
that God accepts and justifies human beings far beyond the measure which
they can reach by themselves in their own lives", he said, "frees us from
the heavy burden of competition" which has been "leading us to devise
individualistic plans for our lives in which the dimension of solidarity is
lost.

"The great uncertainties from which large parts of our society are
suffering, those who have been excluded and abandoned by today's prevailing
socio-economic model, call for a clear and convincing answer from our
churches," Rev. Schaad affirmed. In this context, the doctrine of
justification "also liberates us as churches, we who have been preaching
against one another for hundreds of years," for it means that "God looks
upon us with deep compassion despite our inadequacies, our pride and the
hardness of our hearts." But at the same time, Schaad concluded,
"justification commits us to celebrate God's Word, and to witness to God's
love in action on behalf of life wherever it is in danger."

During the information session, Catholic priest and theologian Dr. Victor
M. Fern ndez said the "Joint Declaration" represents an extremely valuable
model, which stimulates reflection and discussion. He pointed out that
Catholics and Lutherans have taken "a wonderful journey" together, which
has allowed them "to see the old convictions from a new perspective. He
added that "the consensus which has been reached means neither uniformity
nor complete agreement" but it is "a fundamental and indispensable
condition for moving closer together."

Another speaker at the information sharing session, Lutheran pastor Dr.
Ricardo Pietrantonio emphasised that "visible unity was and is the highest
goal of the dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran
community at the international level." As the only Latin American member of
the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue Commission on Unity, and
therefore a privileged witness to the process leading to the Joint
Declaration, Dr. Pietrantonio gave an historical overview of this
"constructive dialogue" which began soon after the Second Vatican Council.

In the 16th century Martin Luther arrived at the conviction, through his
emphasis on the unearned justification of sinners by God, that the entire
system of indulgences was reprehensible, by which the faithful could buy
remission of the time of punishment for their sins after death. Luther's
refusal to attribute the power of salvation to good works was seen by some
as an invitation to a "dissolute life". The condemnations became based on
reciprocity.

The "Declaration" recently confirmed in Augsburg, establishes the consensus
reached by both branches of the Christian faith about the way in which
sinners can be pardoned by God and restored to communion with Him, an issue
that had divided them since the 16th century. According to the declaration,
it is the grace of God alone that can restore communion with God, in other
words, His unalloyed love and mercy is a gift received by penitents through
faith in Christ and his redeeming work. It is freely given and utterly
undeserved.

Nearly five centuries later, both confessions recognise that with the help
of new Biblical studies and theological working methods, they have arrived
at new insights which allow them to formulate a common interpretation of
the doctrine of justification. This interpretation contains the consensus
that has been reached with regard to the basic doctrine, without covering
everything that the two confessions teach on this subject. Consequently the
churches have revoked their mutual condemnations of the 16th century, at
least with regard to this issue.

The significance of the "Joint Declaration" lies in the fact that both
confessions do not regard the doctrine of justification as one among many
doctrines, but rather as a decisive link among all statements of faith and
as an indispensable criterion for keeping the churches' teaching and
practice oriented towards Christ. For these reasons the declaration
represents a decisive step towards overcoming one of the great divisions of
the Christian Church, and towards its visible unity.

What happened in Augsburg last month is an indication that Catholics and
Lutherans are further committed to continuing the dialogue towards full
community between their two churches, towards a unity in diversity in which
the remaining differences can be reconciled with one another and no longer
have the power to divide.

(Materials for this article were contributed by Juan Michel, from the
Publications and Communications Department of the Evangelical Church of the
River Plate.)

(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. The LWF secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

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