Joint Statement on the Occasion of the Joint Catholic–Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation
The statement signed in Lund Cathedral on 31 October 2016 at the opening of the year marking five hundred years since the Reformation, in which Catholics and Lutherans give thanks, lament their divisions and commit themselves to common witness.
The text is headed “Lund, 31 October 2016” and has five headed sections: “With thankful hearts”, “Moving from conflict to communion”, “Our commitment to common witness”, “One in Christ” and “Calling upon Catholics and Lutherans worldwide”. The Holy See’s page does not print the signatures; the Lutheran World Federation’s report of the day records that Francis and Munib Younan signed it during the service (Lutherans and Catholics gather in Lund for joint service to overcome past divisions).
It is a joint text and makes no doctrinal agreement of its own. It names the wish of many to receive the Eucharist at one table and calls the present inability to do so a wound, without proposing a remedy. See Catholics and Lutherans Mark 500 Years of the Reformation Together.
Cited in
- 31 October 2016, firm date