Posted on 01/22/2013 1:41:25 PM PST by NYer
PARIS (Reuters) - Two leading Lutheran clerics have rejected suggestions from the Vatican that it could create a subdivision for converted Lutherans similar to its structures for Anglicans who join the Roman Catholic Church.
The dispute, concerning tiny numbers of believers but major issues in ecumenical relations, comes as the churches mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this week.
Rev Martin Junge, the Chilean-born secretary general of the World Lutheran Federation (WLF), said in a statement that the suggestion caused great concern and would "send wrong signals to LWF member churches around the world."
Bishop Friedrich Weber, the German Lutheran liaison with the Catholic Church, said the idea was unthinkable and amounted to "an unecumenical incitement to switch sides."
The Vatican announced special structures for disaffected Anglicans in 2009, creating a so-called ordinariate so conservatives opposed to female and homosexual bishops could become Catholic while retaining some of their traditions.
Several thousand Anglicans, including dozens of priests and a few bishops, have joined ordinariates established in England, Australia and Canada. Married clergy are exempted from the obligatory celibacy of the Catholic priesthood.
Relations among Christian churches have improved greatly since the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council and most now see each other more as partners than as competitors. A Catholic bishop attended an ecumenical service Weber celebrated last Sunday.
But this Vatican welcome has raised suspicions among some Protestants that the Catholic Church, which makes up half the world's 2.2 billion Christians, now wants to woo away believers from smaller churches torn by internal debate.
While the Vatican's opening to Anglicans followed years of bitter public splits in that church, few of the world's 75 million Lutherans seem interested in reunification with Rome.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, said the Vatican would consider creating an ordinariate if Lutherans asked for one.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Ping!
Finally some True Ecumenism coming out of the Vatican, after a half century of failed false ecumenism.
Actually, It does effectively separate the Swedes from the Germans.
So ... what?
Do those many Lutherans who seem uninterested in reunification with "Rome" wish to stand in the way of the few that do? Are those many attempting to impose their interpretation of Scripture on the few?
Very interesting.
Tough choice for Lutherans, between the discipline of the Catholic church and the gayness of the ELCA.
FYI, we don’t sell indulgences anymore!
Neither do we.
We will welcome them with open arms.
That depends on how one defines "sell", and what the agreed-upon unit of exchange is.
A more accurate phrasing might be "FYI, we don’t sell indulgences for coin anymore!"
You are correct.
“While retaining some of their traditions.” Well, they do have a history of that don’t they.
“raised suspicions among some Protestants that the Catholic Church, which makes up half the world’s 2.2 billion Christians, now wants to woo away believers from smaller churches torn by internal debate”
Ya think? I’d say that is pretty transparently their plan. Of course, the Protestant churches are playing right into their hands by continuing to liberalize their churches, thereby driving away the most faithful believers.
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So do the REST of us "incomplete" Protestants!
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