Read the whole story here... quotes below.
A Lutheran pastor has said he believes Pope Francis “opened the door”
to intercommunion when the Holy Father spoke to his church last month,
and that his parishioners generally have the same opinion. Pastor Jens Kruse of Rome’s Evangelical Lutheran Church said in a Dec. 12 interview with the Register
(see full transcript below) that he thinks his flock feel freer, in
accordance with their conscience, to receive the Eucharist in the
Catholic Church after Francis’ comments.
The Holy Father caused controversy during his visit to Pastor Kruse’s church Nov. 15 when he urged a
Lutheran woman married to a Catholic to "talk to the Lord" about
receiving holy Communion "and then go forward", but added that he
"wouldn’t ever dare to allow this, because it’s not my competence.” (The
video of the exchange with English subtitles can be seen here). Some felt the Pope, although his comments were not immediately clear, had by no means allowed intercommunion.
But in this interview, Pastor Kruse says he believes a door has been
opened to celebrate the Eucharist together — a door that Lutherans had
thought had been closed “for an eternity.” He also says he feels there
is “no danger” of a Lutheran receiving the Eucharist “in the wrong way”
because he would be “receiving Jesus Christ and not the teachings of the
Catholic Church.” He further states that the Pope had introduced a new
approach to the Eucharist, no longer viewing it as the end of ecumenism,
but rather a “gift on the way to unity”.
His comments in support of Lutherans receiving the Eucharist run
contrary to those of Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who, in a Nov.
30 interview with Aleteia,
stressed “there is no intercommunion” between Catholics and Protestants
and that it wouldn't create unity but rather “promote profanation”.
Though we do not always treat it that way, the language of theology and the language of the ecumenical conversation is carefully chosen so that misunderstandings do not occur. It is pretty clear that either Rome has misunderstood the Pope or the Lutheran Pastor misunderstood him. Either that or the world is upside down and the Pope with the magisterium of Rome is forgetting the Reformation conflict and judging Augustana a catholic confession. But I am pretty sure that this is not the case. This interview took place Dec. 12 and it will not take long for the machinery of the Vatican to start printing a more carefully worded and nuanced statement of what the Pope meant to say or should have said. Either way it shows what a problem Rome has when Popes begin to wing it while the world is listening. And this Pope has a habit of it. Which may or may not be his intention but it does not help the ecumenical conversation one bit!
12 comments:
Interesting. Perhaps the Pope has a point. Lutherans and Catholics recognize each others baptisms as valid. Both believe the body and blood of Christ are truly present in the Eucharist. They both confess the identical ancient creeds. Both believe Christ is the Messiah who died to save sinners. Perhaps allowing intercommunion is not a wild idea.
Raised in the LCMS, my home church practiced closed communion. Basically, one must be in total agreement with all Lutheran doctrine before being granted access to the communion rail. And I certainly respected that. However, as I've aged, I realized just how inconsistent and varying the worship form and beliefs are within the LCMS. Many Lutheran churches are really wannabe evangelical churches. I'd argue these Lutheran churches are not in agreement with all the LCMS teaches. But access to Holy Communion is granted because they are "members" of the LCMS. Before one condemns the idea of intercommunion between Catholics and Lutherans, the LCMS needs to clean up it's own house regarding "total agreement with all Lutheran doctrine."
Interesting post. Thank you.
James
When Dr. Jens Kruse stated that he feels there is "no danger" of a Lutheran receiving the Eucharist "in the wrong way" because he would be "receiving Jesus Christ and not the teachings of the Catholic Church," Kruse is simply mouthing a Lufauxran fairy tale.
In addition to the previously quoted excerpts against the Roman Mass (Drachenschwanz) from the Smalcald Articles, here is an excerpt from Christian Dogmatics: A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen (St. Louis: CPH, 1934, p. 531) in which J.T. Mueller stated:
"Because it is solely the institution and command of Christ which makes the Lord's Supper a Sacrament, a means of grace, it follows also that neither the papists nor the Calvinists have that true Holy Communion which our Savior instituted. Their 'supper' lies entirely outside the institution of our Lord (extra usum a Christo institutum) since it is neither based upon it nor is in accord with it."
James: Before one condemns the idea of intercommunion between Catholics and Lutherans, the LCMS needs to clean up it's own house regarding "total agreement with all Lutheran doctrine."
Rather than an afterthought, condemning the idea of intercommunion between papists and Lutherans, along with censuring Tiber-waders, is part of cleaning up the LCMS house regarding total agreement with all Lutheran doctrine.
Dr. Strickert, can you define what makes one a Tiber-wader?
Mr. Strickert,
What is the confessional authority of Mueller's work?
My thoughts exactly, "What is the confessional authority of Mueller's work?"
If confessional Lutherans want their flock to be in to total theological agreement before communing, clearly define what that is. I know the official answer is the Book of Concord. But many Lutheran's couldn't even tell you what the book is. I was taught from Luther's Small Catechism. I was confirmed as a child based on the Catechism - not the Book of Concord. It's kind of a bait and switch. Teach with the Catechism but expect total agreement with the BOC. I would argue if one is taught with and agrees with Luther's Small Catechism, give them Holy Communion.
James
I don't see it as bait and switch as when you join you are simply asked if you agree with the small catechism. Expectation of complete agreement with the Book of Concord doesn't come from the text but is imported by people with agendas.
Paul: "what makes one a Tiber-wader?"
A Lutheran who converts to Romanism is described as "swimming the Tiber."
A Tiber-wader is one who appears to like the water but is afraid to swim it.
David Gray: "What is the confessional authority of Mueller's work?"
You are the one who associated "confessional authority" with Mueller's work. Why?
I quoted from Mueller's book because the statements appear congruent with Holy Scriptures, as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice, and the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God.
The flatulent statements of Dr. Kruse are not.
James: "I was confirmed as a child based on the Catechism - not the Book of Concord. It's kind of a bait and switch. Teach with the Catechism but expect total agreement with the BOC."
Perhaps the confirmation age should be raised higher than that of a child so that confirmands are educated enough to read and understand when they publicly "confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from them, as you have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true," that includes the entire doctrine contained in all, not just one, of the Lutheran Symbols, and when they agree to become communicant members of their LCMS congregation they agree to the confessional standard in the Constitution of their congregation, which is the same as the confessional standard of the Missouri Synod.
Of course the catechumens should have been instructed in such understanding by their Lutheran parents, teachers, and pastors. Making sure this is properly done is also part of cleaning up the LCMS house regarding total agreement with all Lutheran doctrine. Elsewhere I have suggested the following revised, more thoroughly-stated question asked of confirmands, congruent with the confessional standards of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Missouri Synod, and its member congregations:
“Do you hold the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testament as the written Word of God and the only rule and norm of faith and of practice; and do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as it is contained in the Book of Concord of 1580 as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God, to wit: the three Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed), the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Primacy and Power of the Pope, the Large Catechism of Luther, the Small Catechism of Luther, and the Formula of Concord?"
Dr. Strickert, do you have any numbers on Lutheran pastors converting to Romanism? Certainly, I am aware of a very small number, some high profile, but it seems to me that the men who are labeled 'too catholic' or 'Tiber-waders' in our synod are not afraid to take the swim but rather are unafraid to preach, teach, and administer the sacraments according to our Symbols and the fullness of catholic doctrine and practice, which is what our churches have always maintained is our confession before the world.
I do not have any numbers on Lutheran pastors converting to Romanism. Such data are not the kind that the Synod HQ keeps on its public websites. Perhaps Roman sites have more information on the numbers you are looking for.
Paul, I provided a definition to my previous use of "Tiber-waders," as part of cleaning up the LCMS house. Yet you use the term "Tiber-waders" with a nonsensical phrase, "too catholic," which means "too universal." Perhaps you meant to write "too Catholic" (i.e., too Romanish).
The doctrine and practices exposited in the Lutheran Confessions are the fullness of catholic doctrine and practice, which is what Lutheran churches have always maintained. Roman doctrine and practices which contradict this are not.
"Does not help the commercial conversation one bit"
I must disagree. I took the course "Ecumenical Theology from a Roman Catholic Perspective" in the Summer of 2003 at the Centro Pro Unione in Rome. Spending 3 weeks in what ended up being a Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue between the faculty and participants (2 of us were Lutheran Pastors, myself LCMS and the other ELCA.
The fact that I derived from this experience is that the personality of the current Pope at any given time has a GREAT influence on the ecumenical climate of the Roman Church. John Paul II's Ut Unum Sint had a great influence, though his death has largely buried its current influence. Near the end of that document, JPII wrote that the Roman Pontiff was an obvious obstacle to the goal of Christian unity, and he stated that the time should come when ecumenical dialogue should focus on the role of the Pope in Church unity. When I brought this document up to our faculty, they looked at each other and smiled. Asking what that meant, they replied "we're not at all sure of what this means for the future, but it will be up to a future pope to initiate the called for dialogue" or words to that effect. It was both a welcome invitation and a very uncomfortable concept because it was so radically different from what earlier popes had written.
Perhaps Francis is the one who will initiate such dialogue with the Churches of the Reformation, which evidently interest him, I see this interest by his visits to the Lutheran Church in Rome, his naming of Piazza Martin Lutero in Rome and his unassuming style and manner as pope.
As a former Roman Catholic, whose theology was bolstered by my debates with the faculty at Centro Pro Unione and the Congregation for Christian Unity of the Vatican, I am thoroughly enjoying the papacy of this Argentinian man. May God use him as His instrument for peace amongst the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in this world!
Post a Comment