Pope Francis traveled to Sweden to join with the World Lutheran Federation to mark the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting the 95 thesis, which started the Reformation. Along with noting the great strides that Catholics and Lutherans had made in reconciling over the past 50 years, Pope Francis also noted how Luther took great steps in putting scripture into the hands of the faithful.
Dr. Martin Junge, the General Secretary of the World Lutheran Federation, noted that local Catholic and Lutheran churches carry different memories and different experiences of the Reformation. Junge acknowledged that some of them are painful. But Dr. Junge expressed optimism for future cooperation between believers of Christianity.
Hans Fiene, the driving force behind Lutheran Satire, took a tongue-in-cheek to marking the Quintcentennial of the Protestant Reformation.
It would seem that not all Protestants are the same.
While it can be a cathartic to chuckle about the past, this should be a short reprieve because of what faces Christendom. This is a time of great peril throughout the world for religious liberty as the faith is under attack by secular and sectarian forces. Thus, it is imperative that believers in Christianity recognize the commonality of our faith and work for Confident Pluralism. There may be aspects upon which we disagree, but we should apply the principles espoused by the Sixteenth Century Lutheran theologian Peter Meirdelin on "Unity on essential things, liberty on dubious things and charity in all things."
