Martin Luther was a ‘teacher of the faith’, say German bishops
In a new report Germany's bishops say the 500th anniversary of the Reformation must involve repentance on both sides
Portrait of Martin Luther by 16th-century German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Elder (CNS photo/Public domain)
by Jonathan Luxmoore
posted Friday, 12 Aug 2016
Germany’s Catholic bishops have praised Martin Luther as a “Gospel witness and teacher of the faith” and called for closer ties with Protestants.
In a 206-page report, “The Reformation in Ecumenical Perspective”, Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, chairman of the German bishops’ ecumenical commission, said the “history of the Reformation has encountered a changeable reception in the Catholic Church, where its events and protagonists were long seen in a negative, derogatory light”.
“While the wounds are still felt to the present day, it is gratifying that Catholic theology has succeeded, in the meantime, in soberly reconsidering the events of the 16th century,” he said in the report, published this week by Germany’s Bonn-based bishops’ conference.
Bishop Feige said the “history and consequences” of the Reformation would be debated during its upcoming 500th anniversary, but added that there was consensus that previous mutual condemnations were invalid.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/08/12/martin-luther-was-a-teacher-of-the-faith-say-german-bishops/
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