Reformation? That Was 500 Years Ago…

by Jael SC · November 15, 2016

Pope Francis and leaders of the Lutheran World Federation launched a year of activities to mark the 500th anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther’s efforts to reform the Church at Lund cathedral in Sweden, which was built as a Catholic cathedral in the 11th century.

Pope Francis attends an ecumenical event at the Malmo Arena in Malmo, Sweden. The event opened a year marking the 2017 commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

For the pope and the Vatican, Catholics are called to commemorate the event by focusing on concrete ways to express and strengthen the doctrinal agreements reached by Catholic and Lutheran theologians over the past 50 years. The most appropriate way to mark the anniversary, they said, was with common prayer and renewed commitments to working together to help the poor and promote justice.

The Lutherans agree, but many also saw the shared commemoration as a moment to recognise that the joint agreements on issues of faith over the past 50 years mean it is appropriate now to expand occasions when eucharistic sharing is possible.

The Catholic Church has insisted that regular sharing of the Eucharist will be possible only when divided Christians have attained full unity.

In his homily at the prayer service, the Rev Martin Junge, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, expressed his hope for shared Communion sooner.

While in the past Catholics and Lutherans sometimes carried stones to throw at each other, he said, that is no longer possible “now that we know who we are in Christ”. The stones cannot be used “to raise walls of separation and exclusion” either, he said.

Pope Francis, the Rev. Martin Junge, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, and Archbishop Antje Jackelen, primate of the Lutheran Church in Sweden, far right, attend an ecumenical prayer service at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden. At far left is Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unit. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

A joint statement signed in Lund by Pope Francis and Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, said: “Many members of our communities yearn to receive the Eucharist at one table as the concrete expression of full unity.”

However, they did not authorise further opportunities for shared Communion, but expressed longing “for this wound in the body of Christ to be healed”. Catholic and Lutheran leaders took turns asking God’s forgiveness for maintaining divisions, “bearing false witness” against each other and allowing political and economic interests to exacerbate the wounds in the body of Christ.

In his homily, Pope Francis insisted that Catholics and Lutherans must “look with love and honesty at our past, recognising error and seeking forgiveness”.

Pope Francis and leaders of the Lutheran World Federation continued their ecumenical commemoration of Reformation Day in Malmö Arena as Catholics and Lutherans filled the stands and promised to work together for peace — particularly in Syria — and for justice — especially for refugees.

A centrepiece of the Malmö event was the signing of a “declaration of intent” by the heads of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based confederation of Catholic charities, and the Lutheran World Federation’s World Service. The two organisations promised to “witness and act together”, supporting one another, including by serving the victims of war in Syria and Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.

At the end of an ecumenical trip to Sweden, Pope Francis celebrated the feast of All Saints with a Mass in Malmö stadium.

He highlighted the lives of the Swedish saints, Elizabeth Hesselblad and Bridget of Vadstena.

Registered Catholics in Sweden number about 115000 — just over 1% of the population. But with recent waves of immigration, especially from Chaldean Catholic communities in Iraq, local church officials believe the number of Catholics is double the reported figure — By Cindy Wooden, CNS