Response of the Catholic Church to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification
The Holy See’s official reply to the Joint Declaration. It accepts that there is a consensus in basic truths of the doctrine of justification and lists points on which it holds that Catholic and Lutheran positions still diverge.
A closing note says that the text was prepared by common agreement between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and is signed by the president of the council. The date, 25 June 1998, is given in the Official Common Statement by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church, with its Annex.
The response has a short declaration followed by eight numbered points. The first five set out the difficulties it sees, chiefly in the declaration’s account of the justified person as at the same time righteous and sinner; the sixth raises the question of the authority of a consensus reached through Lutheran synods; the last two look to further study. It is the primary source for the reservations stated on the Catholic side before the declaration was confirmed, and the Annex of 1999 was written partly in answer to it.
Cited in
- 31 October 1999, firm date