Giant step down ecumenical road

In the midst of the Protestant Reformation, Lutherans and Roman Catholics took aim at each other and unleashed mutual condemnations. The result was nearly 500 years of pain, separation and wounds to the Body of Christ.

Much of that is about to end. In what is being called a major triumph for ecumenism, the Lutheran World Federation Council -- whose members include more than 57 million of the world's 61 million Lutherans -- has unanimously approved the Catholic-Lutheran ``Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.' It is the first official step toward removing the condemnations that were exchanged over how people are saved -- by faith alone, or by faith and good works.

Another huge step will be taken when the Vatican endorses the same declaration, a move that is expected later this month.

The statement declares that both faith communities ``hold the conviction that justification is the work of the triune God. 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.'

The statement says Catholics and Lutherans ``share a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification' and remaining differences ``are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations.' As a result, the Lutheran motion approving the declaration ordered that ``the doctrinal condemnations in the Lutheran confessional writings regarding justification be declared not to apply to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church as presented in the joint declaration.'

The declaration has been the work of a dialogue commission at the highest levels of both denominations: the Lutheran World Federation and the Vatican, which is represented by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Bishop Jean-Claude Perisset, associate secretary of that council, called the vote ``a great achievement on the way toward the unity of Christians' because it affirms that the basic requirement for being Christian ``is to recognize that the only savior is Jesus Christ.'

There's more to come in Catholic-Lutheran dialogue, which has been among the most successful of ecumenical discussions. As that work continues on an official level, we are called to echo it in our daily lives as individuals, families and members of the community.

(06-25-98)
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