wfn.org | Lutherans Apologize to Jewish Communities in Argentina, Uruguay

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

Churches Affirm LWF Stand on Luther's anti-Jewish Views

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina/GENEVA, 2 September 2002 (LWI/*ALC) - In a
declaration addressed to the Jewish communities in Argentina and
Uruguay, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church (IELU) has expressed
great distress over certain elements in its historical heritage,
partly derived from the Reformer, Martin Luther.

The August 2002 statement states that in the course of the long
history of Christianity, one of the most tragic circumstances has
been the treatment of Jewish believers by Christians. Very few
Christian communities could stand out as untainted by anti-Judaism
and its modern successor, anti-Semitism.

The IELU members say they "feel uniquely distressed in this respect"
as a Christian community in Argentina and Uruguay and as well as
members of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). With similar concern
they refer "to the catastrophes, including the 20th century Holocaust
experienced by Jews in places where Lutheran churches were strongly
represented, despite the expressions sometimes by a minority of
Lutherans who did not support such practices," the declaration
states.

As bearers of Luther's name and his heritage they recognize with pain
some of the Reformer's anti-Jewish diatribes and exhortations against
the Jews in his last writings. Like many of Luther's 16th century
companions, "we reject those invectives and also express our profound
and irrevocable regret for their tragic effects on later
generations," the IELU declaration adds.

The Argentine and Uruguay Lutherans say they join the LWF in
particularly deploring the use and exaggeration of Luther's words by
modern anti-Semites for teaching hatred of Judaism or of Jewish
believers in our times. They express their urgent desire to live out
their faith in Jesus Christ in love and respect for Jewish believers.

In recent years Lutheran churches in various parts of the world and
in the LWF itself, have taken decisive steps to dissociate themselves
from Luther's anti-Jewish views. For the Federation, this process
culminated in a Lutheran-Jewish consultation in Stockholm, Sweden in
1983 and the subsequent affirmation of its outcome by the LWF Seventh
Assembly in Budapest, Hungary in 1984. The Assembly commended these
findings to the LWF member churches for their study and
consideration. (For further reading: "Luther, Lutheranism, and the
Jews". Geneva LWF Studies, 1984.)

"We consider anti-Semitism to be a contradiction of and an affront to
the Gospel, a violation of our hope and our calling, and we commit
our church to opposing the harmful exercise of such intolerance, both
within our own circles and in the society around us," the IELU
statement affirms.

The declaration has been signed by IELU President Rev. Angel F.
Furlan, vice-president and secretary for ecumenism and
inter-religious relations, Ricardo Pietrantonio and executive
secretary, Roberto O. Stein.

* ALC - Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribena de Noticias (Latin
American & Caribbean News Agency)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133
member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the
64.3 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
acknowledgment.]

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