Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed Churches Discuss Indulgences VATICAN CITY (RNS) Representatives of the Roman
Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed churches have held a historic meeting in
Rome to exchange views on the divisive issue of indulgences, the Vatican
reported Wednesday (Feb. 14).
The Vatican said it was the first "ecumenical theological consultation
on the theme of indulgences" since the birth of Protestantism in the
Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The sale of indulgences by corrupt churchmen of the time was one of the
issues that Martin Luther protested in his theses of Oct. 31, 1517, and
which ultimately led to the Protestant breakaway from the Roman Catholic
Church.
Protestants reject the concept of indulgences, but Catholics have
continued to believe that an indulgence -- remission of temporal
punishment for sins -- can be gained through penitence and contrition.
The granting of indulgences was a key feature of last year's Holy Year
observances by Roman Catholics.
The Vatican said leaders of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, the Lutheran World Federation and the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches met in Rome last Friday and Saturday (Feb. 9 and 10).
"The purpose was to clarify historical, theological and pastoral issues
related to indulgences in order to come to a better understanding of each
other," the Vatican said. "It (the meeting) did not aim at an agreement on
indulgences."
While acknowledging "there have been long-standing differences between
the Roman Catholic Church and the churches of the Reformation" on the
issue of indulgences, the Vatican said the consultation "took place in a
positive atmosphere which lent itself to honest and constructive
discussion."
The participants prayed together and discussed papers presented by six
scholars, one of them a woman. The Vatican said the papers will be
published to serve as a basis for further discussion.
Gerhard L. Mueller of Munich and Jared Wicks, a Jesuit, presented the
Roman Catholic understanding of indulgences. Responding for the
Protestants were Michael Root, a Lutheran, of Columbus, Ohio; Ellen
Babinsky, Reformed, of Austin, Texas; Theodor Dieter, Lutheran, of
Strasbourg, France; and George Sabra, Reformed, of Beirut, Lebanon.
The sessions were chaired by Bishop Walter Kasper, the No. 2 prelate on
the Vatican council who will become a cardinal next week; the Rev. Ishmael
Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran federation; and the Rev. Setri
Nyomi, general secretary of the Reformed alliance. Cardinal Edward
Cassidy, president of the Vatican council, also took part.
-- Peggy Polk
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