Ecumenism
A meeting that “would have been impossible to imagine” fifty years ago, which allows Catholics and Lutherans to overcome traditions “developed over the centuries as the result of our different histories” to “recognise the presence of Christ in one another”. Bishop Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, delivered this homily yesterday at the prayer service in St George’s Cathedral in London that brought together Catholics and Lutherans to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and 50 years of ecumenical dialogue. It was also an opportunity to pray for the victims of the terrorist attack in Westminster last week. Also attending the joint prayer service were Rev. Martin Lind, Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, and Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark. Both Catholics and Lutherans gave thanks for the Gospel they share, asked for forgiveness for the sad divisions of the Reformation, and committed themselves to bear witness to the Christian message in a divided and wounded world. Having recalled the common history of Catholics and Lutherans in the UK and the key Bishops who have shaped it, Archbishop Longley said that today our two faiths offer “us an opportunity to re-commit ourselves to work and pray for Christian unity”. “The pathway towards that unity is to be found in obedience to the call of Christ, as expressed in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘You are the salt of the earth’”.
