|
JOINT DECLARATION ON JUSTIFICATION ANGELUS MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY FATHER October 31, 1999 - Vatican City Dearest Brothers and Sisters! Today, in fact at this very hour, an event of major significance is taking place at Augsburg, in Germany. Representatives of the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation are signing a joint Declaration on one of the principal arguments that has opposed Catholics and Lutherans: the doctrine of justification by faith. This is a milestone on the uneasy road for the reconstruction of full unity among Christians, and it is very significant that it is taking place in the very city in which, in 1530, a decisive page of the Lutheran Reformation was written, with the "Confessio Augustana." Such a document constitutes a sure base for continuing in ecumenical theological research and in addressing the difficulties that remain with more well-founded hope of resolving them in the future. Moreover, this is a valuable contribution to the purification of the historical memory and to common testimony. I want to thank the Lord for this intermediary goal along the difficult way, though full of joy, of unity and communion among Christians. In fact, this offers a significant response to the will of Christ, who before his passion prayed to the Father so that his disciples would be one ... (Cf. John 17, 11). Yet another reason for gratitude is the fact that this consoling sign is reached on the threshold of the year 2000, in such a way that Christians can come to the Great Jubilee "if not totally united, at least much closer to overcoming the divisions of the second millennium" (Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 34). I send good wishes to all those who have prayed and worked to make this joint Declaration possible. At the same time, I am happy to emphasize that at the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Europe, which concluded recently, fraternal delegates from other Churches and ecclesial communities participated. The Synod has been able to count on signs of hope in the ecumenical road in a Continent that is responsible for the greater part of the divisions among Christians and that continues to suffer much from their consequences. I invite all to renew their faith in the prayer and work of the Holy Spirit, "who knows how to remove from us the specters of the past and the painful memories of division; He knows how to give us lucidity, strength and courage to undertake the necessary steps, so that our efforts will be ever more authentic" (Ut Unum Sint, 102). Christians know the word of the Angel to Mary on the day of the Annunciation: "Nothing is impossible to God" (Lk 1, 37). Their hope for full unity rests on the power of God. We entrust the ecumenical road to the maternal intercession of the Virgin, sublime model of justice that comes from faith. May she, who two thousand years ago brought the Incarnate Word to the world, be able to lead all believers to Him, "true light, who enlightens every man" (John 1, 9). OPEN THE DOORS TO CHRIST
|
