Pope Benedict XVI Pays Tribute to Fruitful Dialogue Between Roman Catholic Church and LWF
PRESS RELEASE NO. 14-2007
Pope’s Greeting on LWF 60th Anniversary Stresses Call to Common Witness
LUND, Sweden/GENEVA, 26 March 2007 (LWI) – In his congratulatory greeting to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to the “always fruitful” dialogue between the LWF and Roman Catholic Church and the major progress in ecumenical relations after the Second Vatican Council.
“Ecumenical fellowship has [grown] all over the world through numerous encounters between Lutherans and Catholics,” said the pope in his greeting read to worshippers at the 25 March LWF 60th anniversary eucharistic worship service at the Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden.
Walter Cardinal Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity delivered the greeting, which was addressed to LWF President, Bishop Mark S. Hanson.
The pope expressed his great joy and wishes for blessing at the celebrations and deliberations around the LWF’s 60th anniversary. He described the relations between the two communions as “a gift of the Holy Spirit” which at the same time “commits us not to slacken in our ecumenical endeavors in the spirit of our Lord’s prayer ‘that they may all be one’” (John 17:21).
“We are called in common witness to proclaim the saving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world suffering distress and seeking orientation at so many points. After all, “we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God” (Romans 5:2b).
Of the major progress in ecumenical relations made since the 1960s, Pope Benedict singled out the solemn signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification on 31 October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany. He noted that the questions currently calling for further clarification include, above all, the understanding of the Church, its sacraments and its ministries.
“Living in Communion in the World Today,” is the theme of the LWF events taking place in Lund from 20-27 March. Representatives from the LWF member churches all over the world joined in the discussions of the regular Council meeting, and in the Church Leadership Consultation that included regional meetings among other encounters. Sunday’s festive events included a presentation of reflections and visions about the LWF’s past and future, held at the campus of Lund University, the place where the LWF was founded in 1947. (393 words)
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An estimated 500 people including over 100 church leaders are attending this year’s Council meeting, church leadership consultation and the LWF 60th anniversary celebrations. Also attending are officials from LWF partner organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, LWF staff and co-opted staff, accredited media and participants in the three-year LWF international training program for young communicators.
During the Council meeting, the LWF Office for Communication Services can be reached at mobile tel no. +46/76-276 1311.
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