Posted on 08/02/2011 8:54:35 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Pope Benedict XVI is to rehabilitate Martin Luther, arguing that he did not intend to split Christianity but only to purge the Church of corrupt practices.
Pope Benedict will issue his findings on Luther (1483-1546) in September after discussing him at his annual seminar of 40 fellow theologians — known as the Ratzinger Schülerkreis — at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer residence. According to Vatican insiders the Pope will argue that Luther, who was excommunicated and condemned for heresy, was not a heretic.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, the head of the pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said the move would help to promote ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Protestants. It is also designed to counteract the impact of July's papal statement describing the Protestant and Orthodox faiths as defective and “not proper Churches”.
The move to re-evaluate Luther is part of a drive to soften Pope Benedict's image as an arch conservative hardliner as he approaches the third anniversary of his election next month. This week it emerged that the Vatican is planning to erect a statue of Galileo, who also faced a heresy trial, to mark the 400th anniversary next year of his discovery of the telescope.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
More here fopr discussion :
http://www.newser.com/story/20839/pope-to-cut-luther-a-break.html
Pope to Cut Luther a Break : Vatican changing view after 500 years
By Peter Fearon
Five centuries after he ignited the Reformation by challenging papal authority, Martin Luther is expected to get a break from—of all people—Pope Benedict XVI. The pope is German and ostensibly that’s the only thing he has in common with Luther. Nevertheless, the pope plans a warmer and fuzzier re-evaluation of the monk who divided Christianity in 1517, according to the Times of London. Benedict is expected to argue that Luther didn’t intend to divide the Church—only cleanse it of corruption.
It’s a bid to launch an ecumenical dialog with Lutherans and bridge a rift created by an earlier papal statement referring to Protestant and Orthodox faiths as defective. “We have much to learn from Luther, beginning with the importance he attached to the word of God,” said the Vatican’s front man on Christian Unity. He observed that Luther “anticipated aspects of reform which the Church has adopted over time.”
A product of his time that can’t really be accurately viewed through the lens of the modern world.
I was taught essentially the same message in 1961 in Catholic school
Except for his profane rants against Jews, Luther wasn’t so bad.
What a load of crap! Does Richard Owen really believe the Pope is so political?
>>> Except for his profane rants against Jews, Luther wasn’t so bad.
Well that Jewish thing, and the way he keeps kidnapping Lois Lane.
Well if you spent most of your waking hours sitting on the crapper, you’d be pretty bitter.
MORE HERE :
Is the Pope Catholic? Now he plans to rehabilitate ‘heretic’ Martin Luther
The Pope is planning to rehabilitate Martin Luther - whose actions instigated the Protestant Reformation ? by arguing that he did not intend to split Christianity but only to purge the Church of corrupt practices.
Benedict XVI will issue his findings on the 16th-century German theologian after discussing him at the papal summer residence, Castelgandolfo, during his annual seminar of 40 fellow theologians, the Ratzinger Schülerkreis.
Luther was and condemned for heresy and excommunicated in 1521 by Pope Leo X, who had initially dismissed him as ?a drunken German? and predicted he would ?change his mind when sober?.
Vatican insiders say the 80-year-old Pope - himself born in Germany - will argue that his countryman was not a heretic after all.
SNIP SNIP
Some scholars have suggested recently that Luther did not share the view of some Protestants during the Reformation that the concept of succession referred only to God’s Word and not to church hierarchies.
Luther, born in 1483, was appalled on visiting Rome in 1510 to witness the wealth, worldliness and corruption of the papacy.
He insisted that the Bible, not the Vatican, was the sole source of religious authority - and to underline his point he translated it from Latin.
SNIP SNIP
In the famous 95 Theses which he nailed the door of a Wittenberg church in 1517, Luther attacked the practice of selling papal ?indulgences? granting remission of sin. This act is generally regarded as the spark of the Reformation.
The news of the re-evaluation of Luther comes hot on the heels of the revelation that the Vatican plans a statue of Galileo, the astronomer it once tried for heresy, for the fourth centenary next year of his invention of the telescope. Both are part of an attempt to soften Pope Benedict’s image as a hardline conservative.
CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE REST
RE: Except for his profane rants against Jews
Was Luther an inspiration for Adolf Hilter? Just asking.
He would never get away with it today with the ADL.
Pope Benedict will issue his findings on Luther (1483-1546) in September after discussing him at his annual seminar of 40 fellow theologians — known as the Ratzinger Schülerkreis — at Castelgandolfo, the papal summer residence. According to Vatican insiders the Pope will argue that Luther, who was excommunicated and condemned for heresy, was not a heretic.
Previously posted when it was current news, SAF. And I can predict the reaction.
Related threads:
Catholic Church called on to revoke Luther's excommunication
That Martin Luther? He Wasn’t So Bad, Says Pope
The Forum: Rehabilitating Luther: a London Times theory
Vatican spokesman calls rumors of rehabilitation of Luther groundless
RE: and the way he keeps kidnapping Lois Lane.
LUTHOR my friend LUTHOR :)
So Luther was basically just a “whistleblower”?
I don’t have a dog in this fight, but Benedict
seems prompted by some agenda, maybe not even conscious,
to re-unite Christianity—there have already been signs of this from the beginning with his sober evalutation of Islam.
interesting ... missed the post 3 weeks ago. So, doesn’t this say something about Papal infallibility to undo something 500 years old?
To this ex-catholic I hope they do ... and a few more things ... it’s that ‘infallibility’ item that is left open to question if they do though. Maybe that should be reconsidered as well!! ;-)
bttt
RE: So Luther was basically just a “whistleblower”?
IMHO, calling him a whistleblower is a little bit simplistic. He had DEEPER issues than that as can be seen by his desire to debate them when he posted his 95 Thesis on his church’s door.
To make an analogy with today’s corporations, he was not only a company whistleblower, he was questioning the corporate charter as to whether it was departing from its original charter.
If there was any corruption in the Catholic Church at that time or today, I have no doubt that Pope Benedict would try to weed it out.
The Pope’s wanting to reconcile with Martin Luther’s spiritual progeny is admirable, but the doctrinal issues posted by Martin Luther still remain and need to be reconciled as well.
Whether this can be done or not remains to be seen.
If I recall correctly, one of the major hot buttons was Transubstantiation, whether the Communal Host was actually magically transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ or was He speaking in an allegorical sense. I think Luthor's opinion was the same as the traditional Catholic belief while people like Calvin diverged.
European history has never been my specialty so any correction would be appreciated.
Piffle!
Retract JDDJ and we MIGHT have a starting place.
:: He would never get away with it today with the ADL ::
The conservative (originalist) groups within the Lutheran tradition continue to “get away with it”.
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