Lutherans, Catholics should repent past enmity, work for future unity, Pope says
CWN - October 21, 2013
Pope Francis saluted the progress that has been made in Catholic-Lutheran ecumenical relations—"not only through theological dialogue but also by means of brotherly collaboration in many pastoral fields"—as he met on October 21 with members of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic International Commission on Unity, along with a delegation from the Lutheran World Federation.
This year the Lutheran-Catholic commission is marking the 50th year of dialogue in the wake of Vatican II, and also the 5th centenary of the Protestant Reformation. The Pope underlined the importance of "dialogue on the historical reality of the Reformation, on its consequences and the responses that should be given to it."
"Catholics and Lutherans can ask forgiveness for the harm they have done to each other and for their guilt before God," as they reflect on the conflicts that followed the Reformation, the Pope said. At the same time, he added, they should "together rejoice for the nostalgia for unity that the Lord has reawakened in our hearts."
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