ELCA NEWS SERVICE
July 11, 2007
ELCA Presiding Bishop Responds to Vatican Statement on Nature of the Church
07-125-JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In response to a document released by the
Vatican July 10, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said the statement
does not appear to change the Vatican's previously stated
positions, and it will not alter the ELCA's commitment to
ecumenism, including ongoing discussions in the U.S. Lutheran-
Roman Catholic bilateral dialogue.
The Vatican statement, "Responses to Some Questions
Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church," was
prepared by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith and approved by Pope Benedict XVI. It reasserted that the
Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, stated that
Orthodox churches "lack something in their condition" as churches
because they do not recognize the primacy of the pope, and it
said that other Christian denominations "cannot, according to
Catholic doctrine, be called "Churches' in the proper sense."
In his written response issued July 11, Hanson said that
while the Vatican's statement doesn't change any existing
statement "it does, however, restate known positions in
provocative ways" that are under discussion in the current U.S.
dialogue.
"It is no surprise that the Roman Catholic Church asserts
that in it subsists the Church of Christ; surely every Christian
church body makes the same assertion, for it is only because
Christ's Church survives in and lives through the community we
call 'Church' that we preserve and promote the apostolic faith,"
Hanson wrote. "However troubling such exclusive claims may be, we
recall the Second Vatican Council's 'Decree on Ecumenism' which
affirmed that the separated churches and ecclesial communities
are used by the Spirit of Christ 'as means of salvation.'"
Hanson pointed out that the ELCA upholds the "Augsburg
Confession," a 16th century foundational document which states
that the Church is the "assembly of saints in which the Gospel is
taught and the sacraments are administered rightly." He wrote
that the Church is "wounded by the division that exists among
Christians." However, Hanson stated that the ELCA is not
deficient in its self-understanding as 'Church.'
The "anguished response of Christians" throughout the world
to the Vatican's statement shows that what may have been meant to
clarify has caused pain, Hanson wrote.
"Now is the time for our thoughtful and measured response.
The question all Christian people should reflect on today is how
best to exercise forbearance and love for one another," he wrote.
The Vatican document doesn't alter the ELCA's commitment to
ecumenism, nor will it cause the ELCA to step back from its U.S.
or international relationships or promises. With the Roman
Catholic Church, that there have been numerous "breakthroughs" in
recent years, Hanson wrote.
"The 'Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification' in
1999 ... resolved a bitter 500-year dispute. We will continue to
celebrate and build upon the deepening relationships fostered by
that Joint Declaration even as we long for greater visible unity
itself," Hanson wrote.
Hanson urged Lutherans not to pull back from their own
personal commitments to ecumenism. He wrote that he agrees with
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council from
Promoting Christian Unity, that "for the ecumenical movement to
bear the weight of change for the future, it must be rooted in
ecumenism of life."
"Difficult and important matters of ministry and
ecclesiology remain to be discussed in our ongoing U.S. Lutheran-
Roman Catholic Dialogue," Hanson wrote, concluding that Christian
unity already exists through baptism into Christ, which serves as
a continuing sign of hope that the churches will not always
remain divided.
---
The text of Presiding Bishop Hanson's response to the
Vatican statement is at
http://www.ELCA.org/bishop/messages/m_070711.html on the ELCA Web
site.
The Vatican's statement, "Responses to Some Questions
Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church," is at
http://tinyurl.com/2pzqa9 on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
