(Berlin) "With Luther to the Pope" describes itself as an unusual "pilgrim action." The Center for Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Magdeburg has organized, together with the youth organizations of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany and the Evangelical Church in Anhalt is an "ecumenical journey to Rome".
"With Luther to the Pope" leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, the "Christian pilgrims" of Catholic and Protestant confession are not intending to pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles in Rome. They want to present "Theses and wishes for ecumenism" to Pope Francis, says Vatican Radio .
With its own website, they advertised for the 800 located participants. "There are at least as many conceptions of God as there are people, and that's good," says the website of the 9th Ecumenical thesis, "Honouring Diversity". What the Catholic and Protestant organizers want to say is that each "idea" of God is indifferent. The bizarre 1st Ecumenical thesis is: "You're different, and that's my luck: I am only, because we are."
These "theories and desires" Although are not fixed yet, but are in "draft". Anyway, they should be 95 theses, in accordance with the obviously idealized model.
Catholic Diocese wants to bring "With Luther" demands to Rome
The Bishop of Magdeburg is Msgr. Gerhard Feige, one of the last appointments of bishops by Pope John Paul II. In 2014 Feige appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Feige supported in 2015 the demand of Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier to change Catholic moral teaching. Feige said it was "finally time to stand open to the unvarnished reality and in the spirit of Jesus Christ, sensibly and fairly to struggle for responsible and life-serving solutions." What was meant was the recognition of homosexuality, divorce, remarriage, and premarital sex.
This eccentric pilgrim action by a Catholic diocese, which wants to bring the "with Luther" demands to Rome, finds a parallel to another controversial ecumenical initiative. On October 31, Pope Francis is to participate in a Catholic-Lutheran Reformation commemoration in Sweden. Pilgrims will also travel in autumn from all over Germany "With Luther to the Pope."
The patronage for the action has been assumed by the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Holy See, the former Education Minister Annette Schavan (CDU). Schavan belongs to the progressive ZdK milieu. From 1991 to 2008 she was a member of the Central Committee of German Catholics [We Are Church types] and held from 1994 to 2005 the office of Vice President. The Forum of German Catholics designated the Schavan appointment as ambassador to the Holy See as an "affront to the Catholic Church".
The German Bishops' Conference has established in 2013 its own project site "Reformation commemoration".
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image. pixabay
image. pixabay
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
This reminds me of Mgr Ronald Knox's very amusing essay "The Man who tried to convert the Pope". It is a summary of "Journey of a Tour in Italy in 1850" by the Anglican Rev George Townsend a Canon of Durham Cathedral who set out to Rome to convert the Pope to Protestantism. He and his wife actually got a 40 minute interview with Pius IX at which he proposed a General Council of the Church to convert Rome to Protestantism! It really is worth reading not just very funny but does show there is nothing new under the sun.
ReplyDelete"...he proposed a General Council of the Church to convert Rome to Protestantism.". They almost did it at VII. Thank God that the gates of hell will never prevail. (Mt. 16)
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