Francis: Address to Lutherans

Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Original article found here, TB comments in blue.  Formatting added, italics removed.

I warmly welcome you, the members of the Lutheran World Federation and the representatives of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission on Unity. This meeting follows upon my very cordial and pleasant meeting with you, dear Bishop Younan ("Bishop" Younan is a protestant, and they don't have valid orders), and with the Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, the Reverend Junge, during the inaugural celebration of my ministry as the Bishop of Rome.

It is with a sense of profound gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ that I think of the many advances made in relations between Lutherans and Catholics in these past decades (Which advances are those?), not only through theological dialogue (Like this?), but also through fraternal cooperation in a variety of pastoral settings, and above all, in the commitment to progress in spiritual ecumenism (Above all?  Wouldn't the most important thing for someone who rejects the authority of the Church be to submit to it?)

In a certain sense, this last area constitutes the soul of our journey towards full communion, and permits us even now a foretaste of its results, however imperfect (Yes, heresy is delicious.  Mmmm!). In the measure in which we draw closer to our Lord Jesus Christ in humility of spirit (Except that protestants, insofar as they reject the authority of the Church, are not humble in spirit-- in fact, they are incessantly prideful in spirit by invoking private interpretations and "personal relationships" with Jesus Christ over the authority of the Magisterium), we are certain to draw closer to one another (Which is an ultimately meaningless bond if it does not include the bond of faith). And, in the measure in which we ask the Lord for the gift of unity (True unity is a unity of faith, mind you.  A unity between disagreeing faiths is a false unity.  It is as efficacious and meaningful as a unity between oil and water), we are sure that he will take us by the hand and be our guide.

This year, as a result of a now fifty year old theological dialogue and with a view to the commemoration of the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation (Oh boy, can you bear the anticipation?), the text of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission on Unity was published, with the significant title: From Conflict to Communion. Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017.

I believe that it is truly important for everyone to confront in dialogue the historical reality of the Reformation, its consequences and the responses it elicited (This is a wonderful idea.  Let's encourage Lutherans to abandon their heretical views on justification, their denial of more than half the sacraments instituted by Christ, their rejection of the Church's teaching authority, their contempt for sacred images and their practical concessions to modern evils like contraception). Catholics and Lutherans can ask forgiveness for the harm they have caused one another (Oh, I guess he meant something else.  Sorry, Marty!) and for their offenses committed in the sight of God (Dear Lord, forgive me for the sins of my ancestors who were martyred for their faith during The Pilgrimage of Grace.  I would go to confession for it but I'm forgiven anyways). Together we can rejoice in the longing for unity which the Lord has awakened in our hearts, and which makes us look with hope to the future (Can't wait for that brave, new world!).

In light of this decades-long journey (Reader, note that this is an allusion to VII, which opened the ecumenical flood-gates for a false union between Catholics and protestants.  Only after VII-- which occurred "decades" ago-- could such a "dialogue" occur) and of the many examples of fraternal communion between Lutherans and Catholics which we have witnessed, and encouraged by faith in the grace given to us (Us?  as in, Catholics and Lutherans?  Does Francis understand that only Catholics can enjoy Sanctifying Grace?) in the Lord Jesus Christ, I am certain that we will continue our journey of dialogue and of communion (obligatory youtube link), addressing fundamental questions as well as differences in the fields of anthropology and ethics. Certainly, there is no lack of difficulties (For a Catholic, there is no difficulty.  A Catholic has the truth, and does not barter with someone who is in error or heresy.  The difficulty is on the part of the Lutheran, who must find a true humility and co-operate with God's graces that will lead him to the True Faith), and none will lack in the future.

They will continue to require patience, dialogue and mutual understanding. But we must not be afraid! We know well - as Benedict XVI often reminded us - that unity is not primarily the fruit of our labors, but the working of the Holy Spirit, to whom we must open our hearts in faith, so that he will lead us along the paths of reconciliation and communion (Unity of faith is the only unity worth pursuing.  The fraternal unity that is being pursued by Francis and the Conciliar Church is a goal of freemasonry, not a goal of the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church seeks only to serve Her Divine Groom, Christ Our Lord, Whose wish is to have all men united to Him in His Church by the bond of faith).