Ecumenical Dialogues between Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church

        The Roman Catholic-Lutheran dialogue began shortly after the conclusion of Vatican II in 1967 (Cassidy, “Presentation to the Vatican Sala Stampa” 4). So far, the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, formed by Catholic and Lutheran theologians completed four phases of dialogue. Common statements have been produced for Phase I (1967-1972): “The Gospel and the Church (Malta Report – 1972);” for Phase II (1973–1984): “The Eucharist (1978);” “All Under One Christ (1980);” “Ways to Community (1980);” “The Ministry in the Church (1981);” “Martin Luther – Witness to Christ (1983);” and “Facing Unity – Models, Forms and Phases of Catholic-Lutheran Church Fellowship (1984);” for Phase III (1986–1993): “Church and Justification (1993);” and for Phase IV (1995–2006): “The Apostolicity of the Church (2006)” (Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, “From Conflict to Communion” Common Statements). The current co-chairs of the joint commission are Bishop Emeritus Dr. Eero Huovinen (Lutheran) and Bishop Prof. Dr Karlheinz Diez (Catholic). Each side comprises eight to nine other members.

        The third phase of the above dialogue in examining the doctrine of justification is of particular significance since it was “a central issue in the dispute between Martin Luther and the Church authorities in the 16^th Century” (Cassidy, “Presentation to the Vatican Sala Stampa” 3). In the light of the progress made in the dialogue, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation appointed a group of theologians to work on a joint declaration on the doctrine of justification. The group produced the first version of the joint declaration in 1994. After almost four years of study work, and two revisions made in 1996 and 1997, the joint declaration was officially submitted to the authorities of the Catholic Church and the members of the Lutheran World Federation for approval. On the Catholic side, both the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith were involved in the process (Cassidy, “Presentation to the Vatican Sala Stampa” 5). An official statement on the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) was issued by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church on 31 October 1999, the anniversary of Martin Luther giving his ninety theses to the Archbishop of Mainz. The JDDJ contains common affirmations on some basic truths on the doctrine of justification, “followed by an explanation on the part of each of the dialogue partners, indicating how their traditional explications of the point in question are in harmony with the common statement” (Cassidy, “Presentation to the Vatican Sala Stampa” 5). The JDDJ also highlights a couple of issues which require further discussions.

        Consensus on the basic truths on the doctrine of justification is set out in paragraphs 15 to 17 of the JDDJ:

15.   In faith we together hold the conviction that justification is the work of the triune God. The Father sent his Son into the world to save sinners. The foundation and presupposition of justification is the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. Justification thus means that Christ himself is our righteousness, in which we share through the Holy Spirit in accord with the will of the Father. Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.

16.   All people are called by God to salvation in Christ. Through Christ alone are we justified, when we receive this salvation in faith. Faith is itself God’s gift through the Holy Spirit who works through word and sacrament in the community of believers and who, at the same time, leads believers into that renewal of life which God will bring to completion in eternal life.

17.   We also share the conviction that the message of justification directs us in a special way towards the heart of the New Testament witness to God’s saving action in Christ: it tells us that as sinners our new life is solely due to the forgiving and renewing mercy that God imparts as a gift and we receive in faith, and never can merit in any way (JDDJ 15-17).

       The JDDJ further explicated an explanation on the part of each of the dialogue partners under seven topics: 1.“Human Powerlessness and Sin in Relation to Justification” (19-21); 2.“Justification as Forgiveness of Sins and Making Righteous” (22-24); 3.“Justification by Faith and through Grace” (25-27); 4.“The Justified as Sinner” (28-30); 5.“Law and Gospel” (31-33); 6.“Assurance of Salvation” (34-36); and 7.“The Good Works of the Justified” (37-39). The JDDJ has also raised a couple of issues which require further dialogue. It is stated in paragraph 18 that Lutherans consider justification “an indispensable criterion which constantly serves to orient all the teaching and practice of our churches to Christ” (18). “According to the Lutheran understanding, God justifies sinners in faith alone (sola fide). In faith they place their trust wholly in their Creator and Redeemer and thus live in communion with him” (26). On the other hand, Catholics are “bound by several criteria,” while “they do not deny the special function of the message of justification” (18). For example, Lutherans believed that a baptized Christian, despite being a “sinner,” is not separated from God and “this sin no longer brings damnation and eternal death” (29). It is because a baptized person has already been justified by Christ and thus sin can no longer “rule” over him but it is itself “ruled by Christ with whom the justified are bound in faith” (29). On the other hand, in Catholic teaching, a baptized Catholic can continue to use his free will to separate himself from God, and if he has committed a mortal sin, he “must receive pardon and peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation through the word of forgiveness imparted to (him) in virtue of God's reconciling work in Christ” (30). As for good works, Catholics consider that a person is responsible for his own actions and thus “a reward in heaven is promised to these (good) works” (38). On the other hand, Protestants deny that good works or “one’s own merits” have anything to do with his salvation as eternal life is not earned but the “unmerited reward in the sense of the fulfillment of God's promise to the believer” (39).

        To provide a clearer explanation on the above divergent views, a Catholic response was annexed to the Official Common Statement on the JDDJ. In the Catholic note, a few clarifications have been made on: (a) the “different approaches” to the subject of a Christian being “simul justus et peccator” (at the same time righteous and sinner); (b) the concept of "concupiscence” being “used in different senses on the Catholic and Lutheran sides;” (c) clarification on “justification takes place by grace alone, by faith alone,” while recognizing the fact that the “working of God’s grace does not exclude human action;” (d) it is the “responsibility of the justified not to waste this grace but to live in it. The exhortation to do good works is the exhortation to practice the faith;” and (e) when we face God’s judgment after our earthly life, “God’s gracious sentence will approve anything in our life and action that corresponds to his will,” while “everything in our life that is wrong will be uncovered and will not enter eternal life” (“Annex to the Common Statement on the JDDJ” 2). In other words, according to Catholic teaching, despite that justification has been merited to us by the Paschal Mystery of Christ and not through human works, it does not mean that justification of individuals can take place without human cooperation. Moreover, Luther’s “imputed righteousness” doctrine appears to “deny the creative power of God’s grace to overcome sin and transform the justified” (Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, “From Conflict to Communion” 121).As a separate but related issue, the JDDJ also pointed out in paragraph 43 that “there are still questions of varying importance which need further clarification” (JDDJ 43). These differences include “the relationship between the Word of God and church doctrine, as well as ecclesiology, ecclesial authority, church unity, ministry, the sacraments, and the relation between justification and social ethics” (43). Despite these differences, the two parties noted that “(t)he teaching of the Lutheran churches presented in this Declaration does not fall under the condemnations from the Council of Trent. The condemnations in the Lutheran Confessions do not apply to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church presented in this Declaration” (JDDJ 41).

        In commemoration of the 500^th anniversary of Protestant Reformation in 2017, the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity prepared a report entitled “From Conflict to Communion” in June 2013 to confirm the determination of both parties to continue walking along the way to unity, even though full communion has not yet been achieved. The report includes a “historical sketch of the Lutheran Reformation” (Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, “From Conflict to Communion” 35), the intention of which was not “establishing a new church, but was part of a broad and many-faceted desire for reform” (59) by Martin Luther, as well as the Catholic response, particularly the Council of Trent which had also introduced major reforms to the then Church’s practices in response to the Protestant Reformation. The report also highlighted the Second Vatican Council which “made it possible for the Catholic Church to enter the ecumenical movement and leave behind the charged polemic atmosphere of the post-Reformation era” (90). In particular, Lumen Gentium, Unitatis Redintegratio, Dignitatis Humanae and Dei Verbum are “foundational documents for Catholic ecumenism” (90). The report went on to discuss four topics of Luther’s theology: “justification, Eucharist, ministry, and Scripture and tradition” (94) and the Catholic views on them. The subject on justification has already been discussed in the above paragraph. As for the Eucharist, Luther “strongly emphasized the real presence of Christ in the sacrament” (142). Yet he denied the sacrificial meaning of the Eucharist, fearing that it “would mean that it was a good work that we perform and offer to God” (147). The Catholic-Lutheran dialogue has substantially improved the understanding of the two parties on the concept of anamnesis to address the sacrificial nature of the Mass/Last Supper in remembrance of the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the Cross (158) as well as the handling of Eucharistic elements after the celebration of the Mass/Last Supper (156).

        Regarding the understanding of ministry, in fact Catholics and Lutherans share many commonalities such as the divine source of the ordained ministry (178), the ordination rite (183), common priesthood of the baptized (177), etc. Yet there remains significant differences on the episcopacy (187), the sharing of Christ’s priesthood by ordained ministers (190), “fullness of the sacramental sign” by means of “apostolic succession in the episcopate …the threefold ministry, part of the complete structure of the church” (191), and fundamentally recognition of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ on earth (192).

        On the subject on the supreme authority of Scripture, Luther regarded Scripture as the “first principle (primum principium) on which all theological statements must directly or indirectly be grounded” (“From Conflict to Communion” 196). His major concern was that “nothing could claim a higher authority than Scripture” (199). While the Catholic Church was historically concerned with the private interpretation of Scripture, Dei Verbum made it clear that the teaching office of the Church, despite being the interpretative authority of Scripture, “is not above the word of God, but serves it” (DV 10). The Church “urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Philippians 3:8)” (DV 25). The Second Vatican Council “does not say that the tradition gives rise to new truths beyond Scripture, but that it conveys certainty about revelation attested by Scripture” (“From Conflict to Communion” 207). As such, Catholics and Lutherans are in basic agreement regarding the authority of Scripture vis-à-vis tradition and the teaching authority notwithstanding a certain difference in emphasis. There is essentially “unity in reconciled diversity” (210).

        The latest Lutheran-Catholic report identified the following five ecumenical imperatives as Lutherans and Catholics commemorate 2017 together:

(a)    “Catholics and Lutherans should always begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced” (“From Conflict to Communion” 240). This is in line with the Catholic ecumenical principle that the dialogue parties should “seek to understand the roots of such differences and assess to what extent they constitute a real obstacle to a common faith. When differences are recognized as being a real barrier to communion, they try to find ways to overcome them in the light of those points of faith which they already hold in common” (Directory of Ecumenism 172).

(b)   “Lutherans and Catholics must let themselves continuously be transformed by the encounter with the other and by the mutual witness of faith” (“From Conflict to Communion” 241). This may be facilitated by cooperation in areas such as “common bible work” (Directory of Ecumenism 183-186); “common liturgical texts” (187); “common cooperation in catechesis” (188-190); “cooperation in institutes of higher studies (191); “cooperation in missionary activity” (205-209); etc. in accordance with the Directory of Ecumenism.

(c)    “Catholics and Lutherans should again commit themselves to seek visible unity, to elaborate together what this means in concrete steps, and to strive repeatedly toward this goal” (“From Conflict to Communion” 242). This is primarily the purpose of the ecumenical movement which “calls them to the hope that the prayer of Jesus ‘that they all may be one’ (John 17:21) will be fully realized. It calls them to that charity which is the new commandment of Christ and the gift by which the Holy Spirit unites all believers” (Directory of Ecumenism 9). The ultimate goal is “confession of one faith,” “common celebration of divine worship” and “fraternal harmony of the family of God” (Directory of Ecumenism 20).

(d)   “Lutherans and Catholics should jointly rediscover the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ for our time” (“From Conflict to Communion” 243).

(e)    “Catholics and Lutherans should witness together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world” (“From Conflict to Communion” 244). Imperatives (d) and (e) are in line with Catholic ecumenical principle that “ecumenical collaboration in social and cultural life (is) to be an important aspect of working towards unity” and that the dialogue parties should “work together in the use of every possible means to relieve the afflictions of our times such as famine and national disasters, illiteracy and poverty, lack of housing, and the unequal distribution of wealth” (Directory of Ecumenism 211). Indeed, Christians should actively engage in “ecumenical cooperation that express and promote unity and enhance the witness to the saving power of the Gospel that Christians give to the world” (Directory of Ecumenism 161).

Works Cited

"Annex to the Common Statement on the JDDJ." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. 

Cardinal Cassidy, Edward Idris. "Presentation to the Vatican Sala Stampa." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. 

"Dei Verbum." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. 

"Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. 

Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission. "From Conflict to Communion." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016. 
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. "Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism." Vatican, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.