I remember when the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed the historic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, attempting to resolve one of the key theological conflicts of the Reformation. It was signed in October 1999 in Augsburg, Germany. I attended an ecumenical prayer service soon afterward at the Princeton University Chapel, which was attended by Christians from throughout the country, including two signers of the document, Cardinal Edward Cassidy, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and then-general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko.
In July 2006, the World Methodist Council officially signed on to JDDJ, adding an addition on related aspects of the theology of sanctification. In April 2016, the Anglican Consultative Council welcomed and affirmed the substance of the document. In July 2017, the World Communion of Reformed Churches signed on to JDDJ, adding its own strong views on justification and justice. In March 2019, all five partners met at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing and issue a statement recommitting the biblical message of salvation in new ways for the good of the contemporary world.
Last month, Lutherans from all over the world converged in Krakow, Poland, for the Thirteenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation, focusing on the theme, “One Body, One Spirit, One Hope.” On the last day of the gathering, leaders from the seven Christian world communions – Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Reformed – met for a panel discussion on the future of their ecumenical journey together. At an ecumenical prayer service at the end of the assembly, both the Rev. Dr. Anne Burghardt, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, called for a joint reflection on the Augsburg Confession, the 28 articles that constitute the basic confession of faith of the Lutheran churches.
The Augsburg Confession was presented on July 25, 1530, by the Lutheran princes and representatives of the “free cities” at the Diet of Augsburg that set forth what Lutherans believe. The first 21 articles presented Lutheran doctrine in a way that tried to demonstrate that “they dissent in no article of faith from the Catholic Church.” The seven last articles rejected the Catholic practices of: communion under one kind (bread) only, enforced priestly celibacy, the Mass as an expiatory sacrifice, compulsory confession, human institutions designed to merit Grace, abuses in connection to monasticism, and the expanded authority claimed by the bishops of the Church.
In their “Common Word” declaration, the Rev. Dr. Burghardt and Cardinal Koch said that Lutherans and Catholics will enter a joint reflection on the Augsburg Confession ahead of the 500th anniversary in 2030. They said this study “could lead to another ‘milestone’ on the way from conflict to communion, comparable to the landmark Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.”
The declaration said that the Catholic Church’s “excommunication of Martin Luther is still a stumbling block for some today. It maintains its place in confessional memory, even though the excommunication has long since lost its immediate effect with the death of the reformer, and Lutherans are not enemies or strangers for Catholics, but brothers and sisters, with whom Catholics know themselves to be united through baptism.” In a similar way, the declaration said, “The fact that Martin Luther and the Lutheran confessional writings refer to the papacy as ‘anti-Christ’ is a stumbling block, even though today, the Lutheran World Federation does not support that view.”
The “Common Word” document noted Pope Francis’ meeting with Lutheran leaders in 2021, when he expressed his hope that this joint study of the Augsburg Confession could strengthen Catholics’ and Lutherans’ ability “to confess together what joins us in faith.” He added, “It will be important to examine with spiritual and theological humility the circumstances that led to the divisions, trusting that, although it is impossible to undo the sad events of the past, it is possible to reinterpret them as part of a reconciled history.”
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
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