Representatives of the Lutheran World Federation in Rome

25 Jun 2021

On 24 June 2021, a delegation of the Lutheran World Federation, led by its President, Archbishop Dr Panti Filibus Musa, and its General Secretary, Rev. Martin Junge, visited the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Cardinal Kurt Koch welcomed the representatives of the different regions of the Lutheran World Federation and recalled the beginnings of the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue as well as its current challenges. He gave thanks for the the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification of 1999 and the ecumenical prayer service with Pope Francis on Reformation Day 2016 in Lund, the founding site of the Lutheran World Federation.

On 25 June 2021, the commemoration day of the Augsburg Confession, the delegation of the Lutheran World Federation was received by the Holy Father Pope Francis in private audience. In his address Pope Francis outlined the next steps of the journey from conflict to communion: "The next stage will seek to explore the close bonds uniting Church, ministry and the Eucharist. It will be important to examine with spiritual and theological humility the circumstances that led to the divisions, trusting that, although it is impossible to undo the sad events of the past, it is possible to reinterpret them as part of a reconciled history".