wfn.org | Lutherans Respond to Vatican Document and Letter

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 8, 2000

LUTHERANS RESPOND TO VATICAN DOCUMENT AND LETTER
00-211-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The general secretary of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) said Sept. 8 that he is "disappointed" that 35 years
of ecumenical dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics
apparently were not considered when the Vatican issued a document
earlier this week and sent a letter in June to presidents of Roman
Catholic Bishops' conferences around the world.
     The Sept. 5 document, "Dominus Iesus"-- On the Unicity and
Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, states that
"ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate
and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery,
are not churches in the proper sense."
     In a letter issued June 30, the Vatican said, in effect, Roman
Catholics should not use the term "sister church" referring to
Protestants.  Instead, they should be called "ecclesial communities,"
the letter said.
     "Dominus Iesus," was published by the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith of the Roman Catholic Church, and ratified by
Pope John Paul II.  The letter to the presidents of the bishops'
conferences was also issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith.
     "Lutheran churches, together with other churches of the
Reformation, are not ready to accept the categories now emphasized by
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith nor the definitions
and criteria underlying them," said the Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF
general secretary. "The impact of these statements is more painful
because they reflect a different spirit than that which we encounter
in many other Lutheran-Roman Catholic relationships."
     "The LWF remains committed to ecumenical dialogue," Noko's
statement continued. "We believe that ecumenism is not optional but
essential to the Church. Temporary setbacks should neither be allowed
to cloud nor to darken our vision for Christian unity as willed and
prayed for by Christ himself."
     The LWF is a global communion of 131 member churches in 72
countries representing 59.5 million of the world's 63 million
Lutherans. The LWF is based in Geneva, Switzerland.  The ELCA is a
member of the LWF.
     The ELCA affirmed the LWF statement, said the Rev. Daniel F.
Martensen, director, ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs.  In a
brief statement Sept. 7, the ELCA Office of the Bishop and the
department pointed to sections of the Augsburg Confession, a
foundational document of the Lutheran church, and the ELCA
Constitution, which offer the ELCA's definition of "church."
     "We recognize no deficiency in our self-understanding as
'church,'" the ELCA statement said. "Issues raised by Dominus Ieusus
will be discussed in our ongoing Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue."
     On October 31, 1999, the LWF and the Catholic Church signed the
"Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification" in Augsburg,
Germany.  Noko said the signing of the document nullified centuries
of conflict between Lutherans and Catholics, and was an important
milestone in the history of Christian unity.
      "In the Joint Declaration, a clarifying note states that the
word 'church' is used in the declaration 'to reflect the self-
understanding of the particular churches, without intending to
resolve all the ecclesiological issues related to them,'" Noko said.
"This approach is also helpful in the wider ecumenical relationship
between churches."
     The LWF plans to study "Dominus Iesus" carefully and will
discuss it with Roman Catholic representatives, Noko added.
---
     The text of the Rev. Ishmael Noko's statement will be posted Sept. 9
on Worldwide Faith News at www.wfn.org.   "Dominus Iesus"-- On the
Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, is
linked on the Web at
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/index.htm.

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