"Lutheran minister: Pope Francis told me Protestants and Catholics are ‘very close’ in how we ‘worship’ "

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If Lutherans do not believe the same things about the Mass and the Eucharist that Catholics do, they are not in communion, though, right? Further, by receiving the Eucharist at a Catholic Mass, the recipient is stating through his or her actions that the recipient believes what the RC Church teaches and believes, no? Finally, Catholic understanding is that one receiving Communion would have to be in a state of grace, which would almost certainly involve sacramental confession at some point in an adult’s life, at least; out of respect for Catholic belief, it seems that a Lutheran should not receive at a Catholic Mass.
 
choose_to_love said:
If Lutherans do not believe the same things about the Mass and the Eucharist that Catholics do, they are not in communion, though, right? Further, by receiving the Eucharist at a Catholic Mass, the recipient is stating through his or her actions that the recipient believes what the RC Church teaches and believes, no? Finally, Catholic understanding is that one receiving Communion would have to be in a state of grace, which would almost certainly involve sacramental confession at some point in an adult’s life, at least; out of respect for Catholic belief, it seems that a Lutheran should not receive at a Catholic Mass.
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I was not arguing the point that a Lutheran should receive Communion at a Catholic mass. As a Lutheran, I would not disrespect that fellowship by taking mass because we do not hold the same confession regarding justification and sanctification, just as a Catholic would not receive Holy Communion at a Lutheran service.
 
Hodos said:
I was not arguing the point that a Lutheran should receive Communion at a Catholic mass. As a Lutheran, I would not disrespect that fellowship by taking mass because we do not hold the same confession regarding justification and sanctification, just as a Catholic would not receive Holy Communion at a Lutheran service.
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Forgive me my lack of knowledge, but wasn’t there joint declaration between Catholic Church and Lutherans about sanctification/justification? I’ll try searching for it later.

Nevertheless, that would not invalidate your point, as Eucharist is sign of unity. Indifferentism should be combated and not supported, and as such receiving outside your communion is not necessarily a good idea. At the same time, we hold different beliefs on ordination and role of ministerial Priesthood, as well as on Liturgy. Catholic Church does not recognize Anglican Orders as valid because they reject Liturgy as sacrifice, hence out of respect for Catholic tradition, it would be wise to refrain from communion. Same way, even while Catholic Canon Law allows me to do so, I would refrain from receiving communion in Orthodox Church as they believe I shouldn’t. Lutheran Church in my area practices open communion, so that is why I am not using them as an example. It’s a common courtesy to acknowledge other communions and their beliefs, as well as to acknowledge unity is not there yet.
commenter said:
“Mass”. Note capital letter.
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May happen to anyone, I am sure Hodos meant no disrespect.
 
How is the Lutheran church faring in Germany in comparison to the Catholic church?
 
We can already see individual Lutherans and Anglicans entering the Catholic Church. And some Lutheran and Anglican masses are virtually identical to Catholic liturgy. Some Anglican churches have gone so far to put themselves under the authority of local Catholic bishops.

I am an RCIA Catholic raised in a fundamentalist sola scriptura denominations. Here, I see vast differences in worship and theology. The basis of their beliefs is to rid every Catholic influence.

The Holy Father knows of these wide differences. Pontiff comes from the Latin word pontifex, meaning bridge builder. And I believe the Holy Spirit is leading him to build bridges.

Let the Holy Spirit draw all of us to the Church Christ founded.
 
njlisa said:
The Holy Father knows of these wide differences. Pontiff comes from the Latin word pontifex, meaning bridge builder . And I believe the Holy Spirit is leading him to build bridges.
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That is neat…I didn’t know it meant bridge builder.
Thank you,njlisa!
 
OrbisNonSufficit said:
Forgive me my lack of knowledge, but wasn’t there joint declaration between Catholic Church and Lutherans about sanctification/justification? I’ll try searching for it later.
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When one says “Lutherans”, one sometimes presumes a coherent group. There was a declaration; but it was with one wing/subset of Lutheranism; not all agree.
 
mass/Mass capitalization: A quite common error here at CAF, so I don’t bother correcting anyone about it except for my children and my students.
 
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Given the German practice of capitalizing every noun, I would not correct a Lutheran about such a Nicety.
 
I see. I asked mainly because I believed that all of them share theology about justification and sanctification. It’s logical not all would agree with the declaration, though.
Dovekin said:
Given the German practice of capitalizing every noun, I would not correct a Lutheran about such a Nicety.
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Hah, in my language, Mass isn’t capitalized at all. I do think Latin doesn’t capitalize it either… but I am not sure.
 
Lets actually read the article and see what it says . Be right back after reading what the Pope actually said.

So after reading that article there is absolutely nothing sensationalist being presented here. It is simply a report about a meeting. LSN is not attempting anything insidious but is actually reporting well on an interview. Doing its job, being a reporter.

Reverend Jonas, when meeting with Pope Francis on January 10, also spoke about the refugee crisis in Europe, the importance of ecumenism, and the loss of faith in Europe. This he told Vatican News. Speaking about the rising secularism in Europe, the Pope said that it was important to learn to proclaim the Gospel in “very elementary forms,” Jonas explains and then continues: “He [the Pope] also made this for me very impressive statement: ‘The danger of the churches is the empty moralism.’ That we tell people how one should do things and that we erect big moral edifices of thought but then are defective when it comes to the concrete implementation and the witness. Here, we should perhaps return to simple signals of mercy that are understandable for all.”

When Jonas invited Pope Francis to come and visit the Lutheran Evangelical community in Rome again, the Pope answered: “I am always available to you!”
 
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