Pope Francis has urged Catholics and Lutherans to ask forgiveness for the harm they have caused one another.
Pope Francis was speaking during a meeting with representatives of
the Lutheran World Federation and members of the Catholic-Lutheran
international theological dialogue.
As the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation approaches, he
said, “Catholics and Lutherans can ask forgiveness for the harm they
have caused one another and for their offences committed in the sight of
God”.
The Pope said commemorations in 2017 of the beginning of the Reformation must take place in a spirit of dialogue and humility.
“I believe that it is truly important for everyone to confront in
dialogue the historical reality of the Reformation, its consequences and
the responses it elicited,” the Pope told the group.
While the Reformation fractured Western Christianity, he said, for
the past 50 years Catholics and Lutherans have been committed to
dialogue in an effort to restore full unity.
“Together we can rejoice in the longing for unity which the Lord has
awakened in our hearts, and which makes us look with hope to the
future,” Pope Francis said. “Patience, dialogue and mutual
understanding” will be necessary as the two communities seek to overcome
what separates them.
While theological dialogue is important, he said, the key to unity
lies in prayer and trying to follow more closely the teachings of Jesus.
“In the measure in which we draw closer to our Lord Jesus Christ in
humility of spirit, we are certain to draw closer to one another,” he
said. “We must let ourselves be taken by the hand by Jesus Christ.”
Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan of Palestine and Jordan, president of
the Lutheran World Federation, told Pope Francis that Catholics and
Lutherans must solemnly vow to never again use violence against one
another or use the power of being a majority to silence their minority
counterpart. Instead, he said, they must be committed to “listening and
learning from one another”.