Lutheran World Federation meets with Pope: Already ‘so much' in common
By Joseph Tulloch
On Thursday morning, Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Lutheran World Federation, highlighting the ‘signs of hope’ on our common ecumenical journey.
Among those in attendance was the Rev Dr Anne Burghardt, the Federation’s General Secretary and an ordained pastor in the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.
After the meeting, the Rev Burghardt stopped by for an interview in Vatican News’ offices, and discussed the state of Catholic-Lutheran relations today.
Catholic-Lutheran dialogue
Burghardt began by noting that the Lutheran Church’s dialogue with the Catholic Church is its oldest, dating back to 1967, right after the Second Vatican Council.
There have been five rounds of official dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans so far, and, Burghardt said, the plan is for a sixth phase – focusing on ecclesiology and the understanding of ministry – to begin next year.
However, she stressed, there is “already so much we can celebrate together”. In particular, she mentioned the 1999 joint declaration on the doctrine of justification, which, she said, “solves one of the crucial issues that caused separation in the 16th century.”
The Augsburg Confession
Burghardt noted that next year will mark the beginning of the preparations for the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession (or ‘Confessio Augustana’), a foundational statement of the Lutheran faith.
Published in 1530, it was originally intended to frame Lutheran theology in such a way that it would be acceptable to Roman Catholics.
Burghardt said that the LWF is hoping to “look at this confessional work through an ecumenical lens”, exploring together with the Catholic Church the “universal Christian understanding” it contains.
The ‘Catholic Luther’
Asked about the rediscovery in recent scholarship of the ‘Catholic Luther’, Burghardt said that “it was never Luther's aim to create another Church.”
His aim, she said, was rather to reform the Church, and to “put the Gospel and the message of God's grace at the centre.”
“When I listened to Pope Francis this morning,” she added, “he said that Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism and he is Divine Mercy incarnate - this could easily have been said by Martin Luther back then.”
She noted that this, in her view, is the central contribution that Luther has made to Christianity as a whole: the impetus to “put Jesus Christ and the relevance of God's grace and mercy at the centre of our faith.”
Ecumenical progress
As the interview drew to a close, Burghardt emphasised her “great joy” over the current state of good relations between churches today.
Sometimes we hear, she noted, that ecumenism is not moving fast enough – but it is very important to remember that only 100 years ago the situation was completely different.
“It is very good to see that Christians are really coming closer together and are working together,” Burghardt said. “Joint voices are very much needed in the world today.”
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