wfn.org | Cardinal Kasper: The Ecumenical Problem is a Heartfelt Concern

[FRANKI@elca.org]

Emphasis on Achievements of Lutheran - Roman Catholic Dialogue 

GENEVA, 2 March 2001 (LWI) - The ecumenical problem, that of striving for
the unity of the church and unity "at the Lord's table", has been described
as "a heartfelt concern" by Walter Cardinal Kasper.

A German theologian elevated to cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February
22, Kasper told Lutheran World Information (LWI) that in confessionally
divided Germany, the country where the Reformation began, the great majority
of Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians long for church "unity,
especially unity at the Lord's table, to come about as soon as possible."

He himself wants to invest "the best of his abilities" in bringing this
longing to fulfillment. Cardinal Kasper was at the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) secretariat in Geneva, February 26-27, for a regular joint staff
meeting of the LWF and Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
(PCPCU). As a German theologian, Kasper felt that he had been "born with"
the ecumenical problem, and it had become a burning contemporary issue in
view of the many confessionally mixed marriages in Germany.

As PCPCU Secretary, Kasper headed the Roman Catholic delegation at the joint
meeting. He considers that a great deal has been achieved especially in the
dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. The Joint Declaration on the
Doctrine of Justification, he said, was not the usual sort of document which
only carries the authority of the Commission, but rather a document, which
has been, received by the churches themselves. This gives it a wholly
different quality.

Cardinal Kasper said he has the impression that "this document on
justification has given a new quality to relations between Lutherans and
Catholics; they have quite simply come closer together and become slightly
better friends." A more precise consensus has been reached on essential
questions regarding the content of the Gospel, he added.

As the next issues for the Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue, Cardinal Kasper
named the nature of the church and ministries in the church. Work has been
done in these areas, but there has not yet been a breakthrough. He said
there was agreement that these issues have priority.

After the Joint Declaration was signed on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg,
Germany, many people had thought that now it would be possible to share the
Eucharist, and many were disappointed to find that this was not the case.
However, Kasper continued, this does not mean that it is not possible to
share anything. "We can now witness together to that which is central in the
Gospel," he said, "and in an increasingly secularized world that is truly no
small matter."

With regard to the Vatican statement Dominus Iesus, published last
September, Kasper said that the original controversy had now been more or
less overcome. He felt that the PCPCU had succeeded in its attempt to
clarify the misunderstandings that had arisen. The language of the statement
was certainly different from that of the Second Vatican Council and from
that used by the Pope, and did not mention previous dialogues, Kasper
admitted, but the statement was intended for interreligious dialogue, as a
warning against "a relativism or a fundamental pluralism". He emphasized
that in the meantime, Pope John Paul II has several times made it very clear
"that for him, the decisions taken at the Second Vatican Council are
irrevocable and irreversible for the ecumenical process."

Kasper said recognition of their different traditions was a goal for
reconciled diversity between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. Unreconciled
differences must be overcome, he said, and also contradictions; one thing
and its opposite could not both be true, but statements could complement one
another. Such "reconciled diversity would not impoverish us, but rather
enrich us," Cardinal Kasper remarked, adding that in this way it would be
possible to speak of reconciled diversity and diversity within unity.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches
in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does
not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material
may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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