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Skriven 2005-11-18 07:11:00 av Marc Lewis (1:396/45)
Ärende: Vatican Information Service (Press Release)
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Hello All!

                The following press release is Copyrighted by the
                          Vatican Information Service.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                               VIS-Press releases

LUTHERAN-CATHOLIC COMMISSION TO PUBLISH NEW DOCUMENT

VATICAN CITY, NOV 7, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received Bishop
Mark Hanson, president of the World Lutheran Federation, accompanied by a
delegation.

In his address to them in English, the Pope affirmed that one of the results of
the "fruitful dialogue" between the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran
Federation is "the Joint Declaration on Justification, which constitutes a
significant milestone on our common path to full visible unity. This is an
important achievement. In order to build on this accomplishment, we must accept
that differences remain regarding the central question of justification; these
need to be addressed, together with the ways in which God's grace is
communicated in and through the Church."

The Pope recalled his recent visit to Cologne, Germany, and expressed the hope
that "the future progress of our dialogue ... will not only be placed in a
context of 'institutional' questions, but will take into account the true
source of all ministry in the Church. In fact, the mission of the Church is to
witness to the truth of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Word and witness go
together."

"The International Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity will soon
complete its fourth phase of dialogue and publish its findings in a document on
the apostolicity of the Church. We are all aware that our fraternal dialogue is
challenged not just by the need to verify the reception of these shared
formulations of doctrine in our respective communions, but even more so today
by a general climate of uncertainty regarding Christian truths and ethical
principles which formerly went unquestioned. This common patrimony in certain
cases is being undermined by changed hermeneutical approaches."

Benedict XVI also indicated that the ecumenical path "will continue to
encounter difficulties and will demand patient dialogue. I draw much
encouragement, however, from the solid tradition of serious study and exchange
which has characterized Catholic-Lutheran relations over the years."

"As we prepare to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of the events of 1517, we
should intensify our efforts to understand more deeply what we have in common
and what divides us, as well as the gifts we have to offer each other."
AC/.../WORLD LUTHERAN FEDERATION VIS 051107 (370)

SUMMARY

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