wfn.org | LWF Welcomes Appointment of Cardinal Kasper as Pontifical Council President

[FRANKI@elca.org]

Noko Recognizes Kasper as a Respectable Theologian

GENEVA, 5 March 2001 (LWI) - Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has welcomed the appointment of Walter
Cardinal Kasper as the new president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity (PCPCU).

On March 3, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Kasper to succeed retiring
Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy who served as president of the Pontifical
Council for 11 years.

Noko said he was filled with "great satisfaction" to know that in the coming
years, Cardinal Kasper "will continue to be a decisive architect of
ecumenism in the Roman Catholic Church." Noko described the new president of
the PCPCU as a "renowned, respectable theologian", who brings "a quality of
theology and style of leadership that facilitates collaboration in the
ecumenical movement."

"We know Cardinal Kasper and have found in him a common faith in the living
God,
who will guide us in these complex times towards the unity which God makes
possible in Christ," said the LWF general secretary.

Noko recognized Cardinal Kasper's valuable contribution and cooperation as
co-chairman of Lutheran - Catholic Commission on Unity. Also as one of the
signatories of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, "he
relates to Lutheran churches as a friend."

Cardinal Kasper follows in the footsteps of "Cardinal Cassidy who for eleven
years has been a fine co-worker in bridging the gap between the Lutheran
Communion and the Roman Catholic Church," Noko noted.

The LWF general secretary paid tribute to Cardinal Cassidy for his important
contribution to the process of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification, signed by the LWF and the Vatican on 31 October 1999 in
Augsburg, Germany.

"The Joint Declaration is a gift which has changed the landscape of the
ecumenical relations," Noko emphasized. The Joint Declaration was not very
easy, Noko recalled, saying the progress made so far was unimaginable 20
years ago. He said that mechanisms must now be forged to help other churches
benefit from the Joint Declaration.

The 76-year-old Australian-born Cardinal Cassidy was appointed president of
the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in December 1989, and
elevated to cardinal in June 1991. Cardinal Cassidy together with Cardinal
Kasper signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification for the
Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinal Kasper, who turned 67 on March 3, was appointed PCPCU secretary in
March 1999. On February 22, Pope John Paul II elevated him to cardinal. The
renowned ecumenical expert taught dogmatics at the University of Muenster in
Germany. In 1989, he became bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart in Germany.

Canadian theologian Father Father Marc Oullet, 56, succeeds Cardinal Kasper
as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. From
1995 to 2000, Father Ouellet was consultor of the Vatican Congregation for
the Clergy.

(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
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