Protestant friend and seminary

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Cle_GDP_10

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My friend is entering a Lutheran seminary. When he told me, I didn’t know how to react, because congratulating him might give him the impression that I believe all religions are equal/lead to Heaven. My response was a mix of silence and a simple “God bless you,” which was more so towards the end… What do you think? Is it false ecumenism to congratulate someone like this? On the one hand, not even faith related, yes, it is a life accomplishment. At the same time, I’m not sure how you can separate the religious dimension from this situation.

How would you have responded?
 
Cle_GDP_10 said:
My friend is entering a Lutheran seminary. When he told me, I didn’t know how to react, because congratulating him might give him the impression that I believe all religions are equal/lead to Heaven. My response was a mix of silence and a simple “God bless you,” which was more so towards the end… What do you think? Is it false ecumenism to congratulate someone like this? On the one hand, not even faith related, yes, it is a life accomplishment. At the same time, I’m not sure how you can separate the religious dimension from this situation.

How would you have responded?
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Maybe going through seminary will lead him Home to the CC. Bible study classes in a baptist church lead me through many different denominations until, it all ended right at the Roman Catholic Church. Now there is no way I could be anything else.
 
Larryk113 said:
Maybe going through seminary will lead him Home to the CC. Bible study classes in a baptist church lead me through many different denominations until, it all ended right at the Roman Catholic Church. Now there is no way I could be anything else.
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While there are always exceptions I can’t imagine Lutheran or baptist seminaries churn out a lot of Catholics…
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
While there are always exceptions I can’t imagine Lutheran or baptist seminaries churn out a lot of Catholics…
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It will always depend on if the individual will listen to someone without searching for themselves. Taking someone’s opinion as fact is the biggest problem I see.
 
I’d have offered to pray for him, perhaps even keeping him in mind while you offer a Rosary toward his ministry
 
If he’s not Catholic and going Protestant, but has always been Protestant, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with congratulating him on this and participating in any celebration (within reason).
 
I think your response of “God bless you” is spot on. Congratulatory without giving the impression the difference in denomination between you are of no import.
 
Cle_GDP_10 said:
My friend is entering a Lutheran seminary. When he told me, I didn’t know how to react, because congratulating him might give him the impression that I believe all religions are equal/lead to Heaven. My response was a mix of silence and a simple “God bless you,” which was more so towards the end… What do you think? Is it false ecumenism to congratulate someone like this? On the one hand, not even faith related, yes, it is a life accomplishment. At the same time, I’m not sure how you can separate the religious dimension from this situation.

How would you have responded?
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I have been involved in the ongoing dialogue for decades. I have many friends who are Lutheran clerics and whom I look upon with great regard for their ministry.

I look forward to the joint Catholic Lutheran Commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, which will be inaugurated in Lund, Sweden, next month by Pope Francis and Bishop Younan of the Lutheran World Federation. From that start, services of common prayer will be held dioceses around the world…co-presided by a Catholic cleric and a Lutheran cleric. I look forward to being a Catholic co-presider at one of these services of common prayer, because of my work on the dialogue.

In my day, I was always pleased to be invited to come to give a lecture to Lutheran seminarians and I always extended an invitation to them to come for a special lecture I would organise.

All that to say I would have no hesitancy to congratulate your friend and to wish him all the best as he prepares to become a witness to Jesus Christ and a proclaimer of the Gospel of the Lord.

As the Holy See has reminded us, we are in a very different place today than we were even just before the last ecumenical council. Thanks be to God.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...doc_2013_dal-conflitto-alla-comunione_en.html
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Cle_GDP_10 said:
My friend is entering a Lutheran seminary. When he told me, I didn’t know how to react, because congratulating him might give him the impression that I believe all religions are equal/lead to Heaven. My response was a mix of silence and a simple “God bless you,” which was more so towards the end… What do you think? Is it false ecumenism to congratulate someone like this? On the one hand, not even faith related, yes, it is a life accomplishment. At the same time, I’m not sure how you can separate the religious dimension from this situation.

How would you have responded?
Click to expand...
If your friend is Catholic, then I understand your surprise and hesitation. If he is Lutheran or similar, what is the issue ?
 
If it’s a decently academic sort of seminary, then I’m sure your friend will be studying many things like biblical languages and church history that are praiseworthy from a Catholic perspective.
 
Bran_Stark said:
If it’s a decently academic sort of seminary, then I’m sure your friend will be studying many things like biblical languages and church history that are praiseworthy from a Catholic perspective.
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I suspect that all Lutheran seminaries are “decently academic.”
 
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