-Caveat Lector- >>Justification is defined in the "Joint Declaration" by the Lutheran and Catholic Churches as "the forgiveness of sins, the liberation from the dominating power of sin and death . . . It is acceptance into communion with God". The crux of the disagreement was Martin Luther's belief that the process came "through faith alone" and was an act of God, while the Catholic Church taught that justification required man's co-operation with God.<< http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000432752732526&rtmo=aNHRpJ8L&atmo=99999999 &pg=/et/99/10/21/wvat21.html Electronic Telegraph ISSUE 1609 Thursday 21 October 1999 Vatican heals rift with the Lutheran Church By Victoria Combe, Religion Correspondent ONE of the principal causes of the Reformation, which divided the Christian Church, has been resolved in a historic statement to be signed by church leaders this month. After 32 years of discussions, the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation will sign a "Common Statement" on the issue which drove them apart in 1517 - the doctrine of justification. The agreement signifies the greatest leap taken by the Roman Catholic Church towards healing the 450-year-old rift with the Protestant churches. Rev Tom Bruch, general secretary of the Lutheran Council for Great Britain, said yesterday: "It is very dramatic. We have come to a serious agreement on a core doctrine by which all our beliefs and practices are measured. It is the first time the Vatican has signed any such agreement with any Church of the Reformed tradition." Justification is defined in the "Joint Declaration" by the Lutheran and Catholic Churches as "the forgiveness of sins, the liberation from the dominating power of sin and death . . . It is acceptance into communion with God". The crux of the disagreement was Martin Luther's belief that the process came "through faith alone" and was an act of God, while the Catholic Church taught that justification required man's co-operation with God. To be signed in a ceremony in Augsburg, Germany on Oct 31, the statement will have repercussions across all protestant areas including the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian and United Reformed Churches. The agreement was "highly significant" to inter-church relations said a spokesman for the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Church's spokesman said: "The Churches have come to a historic agreement on basic truths and on an issue which goes to the heart of the Reformation. It is the first time any such agreement has happened and has been marked in such a public ceremony and will pave the way for future dialogue with other Churches." The Lutheran Church, which has about 70 million members worldwide, was the the first of the protestant churches to split from Rome when Luther, a Catholic monk in Germany, nailed his 95 theses attacking Rome to the door of Wittenburg church on Oct 31, 1517. Luther's attack was centred on the Catholic Church's selling of Indulgences as a way of atoning for sin and earning God's grace. His further treatises called on the German people to reform the Church's structures and doctrines and in 1521 he was excommunicated. The mutual condemnations which followed at the Council of Trent and Lutheran Councils have been swept aside in the Common Statement to be signed by Cardinal Edward Cassidy, of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation. Fr Bernard Longley, secretary of the Bishops' Conference Committee for Christian Unity, said yesterday the Common Statement would "bear fruit wherever Protestants and Catholics are seeking reconciliation and unity". He said: "It is the first time the Vatican has celebrated publicly the signing of an ecumenical agreement and it is significant that they have chosen Oct 31 [Reformation Sunday]." � Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 1999. ======================= Robert F. Tatman Computer Help Desk Desktop & LAN Services Systems Department Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 215.854.2729 215.854.2788 The contents of this message represent the opinion only of the writer, and may not be construed to indicate the endorsement of Knight-Ridder, Inc.; Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc.; The Philadelphia Inquirer; or the Philadelphia Daily News. "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." 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