The Statement on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan in a special Catholic-Lutheran dialogue was signed by Pope Francis, leaders of the Catholic Church and Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, on 31 October 2016 during a Protestant Reformation Day traditional service at the Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden.
This was the first time leaders of the Catholic Church had met representatives of the Lutheran World Federation as part of a commemoration of the Protestant Reformation Day. Pope Francis explicitly stated that it was not a "celebration" because of the schism that had resulted; rather, he termed it a "commemoration" in order to pursue a dialogue with the Lutheran Protestants. The traditional service heralded 12 months of events leading up to the 500th anniversary in 2017 of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
See also
References
- ^ Harriet Sherwood (31 October 2016). "Catholics and Lutherans sign joint declaration 'accepting common path'". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
External links
- Full text of the Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan
- On the Vatican website (below the homily)