{"id":22796,"date":"2017-10-31T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement-83657\/"},"modified":"2017-10-31T16:02:00","modified_gmt":"2017-10-31T16:02:00","slug":"catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Woman_in_prayer_Credit_Leia_Barker_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_6_29_15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,\u201d it said Oct. 31.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.<\/p>\n<p>The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia's office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods.<\/p>\n<p>The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope\u2019s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit.<\/p>\n<p>During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement.<\/p>\n<p>Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year\u2019s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,\u201d the statement declared.<\/p>\n<p>The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity \u201cguided by God\u2019s Spirit\u2026according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With God\u2019s help, we hope to continue to seek \u201csubstantial consensus\u201d on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. \u201cWith deep joy and gratitude we trust \u2018that He who has begun a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which \u201cChristians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other\u201d over the past 500 years.<\/p>\n<p>One positive effect of the past year\u2019s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"feedflare\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=QjuixhJYeeY:91o4hets_Mk:yIl2AUoC8zA\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/QjuixhJYeeY\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Woman_in_prayer_Credit_Leia_Barker_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_6_29_15.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\" target=\"_self\">CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.<\/p>\n<p>The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia&#8217;s office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods.<\/p>\n<p>The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit.<\/p>\n<p>During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement.<\/p>\n<p>Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared.<\/p>\n<p>The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years.<\/p>\n<p>One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?a=QjuixhJYeeY:91o4hets_Mk:yIl2AUoC8zA\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~ff\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA\" border=\"0\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/~r\/catholicnewsagency\/dailynews\/~4\/QjuixhJYeeY\" height=\"1\" width=\"1\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. &ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31. &ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo; The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia&#039;s office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded. &ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. &ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31. &ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo; The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia&#039;s office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded. &ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Woman_in_prayer_Credit_Leia_Barker_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_6_29_15.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/\",\"name\":\"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. &ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31. &ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo; The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia's office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. 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The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia's office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded. &ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement","og_description":"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. &ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31. &ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo; The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia's office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded. &ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Woman_in_prayer_Credit_Leia_Barker_via_Flickr_CC_BY_NC_20_CNA_6_29_15.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/","name":"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-31T16:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Vatican City, Oct 31, 2017 \/ 10:02 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- The Reformation anniversary gives us a renewed impetus to work for reconciliation, said a statement released jointly Tuesday by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation. &ldquo;We recognize that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation,&rdquo; it said Oct. 31. &ldquo;Again, it has become clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us.&rdquo; The statement was released to mark the end of the year of common commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Roman Curia's office for ecumenism, while the Lutheran World Federation is the largest communion of Lutheran ecclesial communities. In the US, the Lutheran World Federation includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but neither the Missouri nor Wisconsin Synods. The common commemoration was opened last year with an ecumenical prayer service between Lutherans and Catholics at the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Sweden during the Pope&rsquo;s Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2016 visit. During the service, Catholics and Lutherans read out five joint ecumenical commitments, including the commitment to always begin from a perspective of unity. Pope Francis and Munib Younan, then-president of the Lutheran World Federation and Lutheran bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land, also signed a joint statement. Quoting the 2016 declaration between Pope Francis and Younan, this year&rsquo;s statement acknowledged the pain of disunity, particularly that caused by the inability to share in the Eucharist. &ldquo;We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ. We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed. This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavors, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue,&rdquo; the statement declared. The new statement also emphasized the commitment to continue this journey toward unity &ldquo;guided by God&rsquo;s Spirit&hellip;according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ.&rdquo; With God&rsquo;s help, we hope to continue to seek &ldquo;substantial consensus&rdquo; on issues pertaining to the Church, Eucharist, and ministry, it said. &ldquo;With deep joy and gratitude we trust &lsquo;that He who has begun a good work in will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ&rsquo;.&rdquo; They gave thanksgiving for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, as well as the need to ask forgiveness for failures and the ways in which &ldquo;Christians have wounded the Body of Christ and offended each other&rdquo; over the past 500 years. One positive effect of the past year&rsquo;s common commemoration has been viewing the Reformation with an ecumenical perspective for the first time, it concluded. &ldquo;In the face of so many blessings along the way, we raise our hearts in praise of the Triune God for the mercy we receive.&rdquo;","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/10\/catholics-lutherans-look-toward-christian-unity-in-reformation-statement\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Catholics, Lutherans look toward Christian unity in Reformation statement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}