ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 19, 2005

Lutheran Leaders Stress Christian Unity With Election Of New Pope
05-073-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- With Pope Benedict XVI's election, Christians
should pray that God "may bless, strengthen and guide him as a heavy
mantle of responsibility is now being put upon him," said the Rev. Mark S.
Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the Rev.
Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, in a joint statement issued April 19.
     Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 78, of Germany was elected pope by the
College of Cardinals, meeting at The Vatican to elect a successor to the
late Pope John Paul II.  Ratzinger assumed the name Benedict, which comes
from Latin for "blessing."
     The unity of the church -- which Jesus Christ prayed for -- is an
important goal to strive for, and will also be a major contribution to the
unity of humankind, the two Lutheran world leaders said. Pope Benedict XVI
will meet "strong expectations" in this area, since the hope for Christian
unity calls for significantly new approaches, they said.
     "As Lutherans we expect especially that ecumenical progress can be
made on the basis of the substantial theological agreements that have been
achieved through 40 years of international Lutheran-Roman Catholic
dialogue, particularly with regard to justification, ministry and
sacraments," the statement said.  "Let us pray together that God may show
us ways forward by the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
     The Lutheran leaders pledged to support the new pope with "the prayer
that he will be given the grace to continue the ministry of his
predecessors in a process of steady renewal, for the benefit of the church
universal and of humanity."
     Hanson and Noko noted that history has demonstrated the impact of the
pope on events in church and in society. They said they see "urgency" in
reconciliation across religious, ethnic and economic divides.
     "The main contribution of the churches in the face of this common
challenge is the message of God's free, justifying grace, with its many
spiritual and social consequences," said Hanson and Noko. "The
significance of this message was ecumenically recognized five years ago
when the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of
Justification was signed."
     "By God's grace the value of the human person is immeasurable," they
continued. "It must not be violated by religiously based aggression or by
abuses of economic or military power. Human dignity must be protected from
continuing gender-based oppression. The ravages of preventable illnesses
must be curbed by social development and adequate ethical guidance."
     Faced with these challenges and many others, the new pope will be
expected not only to continue the many contributions of Pope John Paul II,
but also to provide new strategies, Hanson and Noko said.
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     The full text of this statement can be found at
http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/1649.EN.html on the Web.

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