Pope Leo Praises Lutherans: Has Rome Abandoned Trent? Pope Leo XIV has praised the landmark Catholic-Lutheran agreement on justification. While the document's claims about faith, grace, and the Council of Trent raise serious questions about Rome's ecumenical project, the contrast with its treatment of the SSPX is impossible to ignore.In his October 1, 2026 address to the Delegation of the World Lutheran Federation, Leo XIV praised a 1999 joint declaration of the Lutheran World Foundation and the Catholic Church regarding justification:“I am pleased that the Lutheran-Catholic relations have matured both spiritually and theologically over the decades. The international dialogue, now...