Vatican Speaker Downplays Father Luther's "Rehabilitation"

This comment from EKD President Nikolaus Schneider is "a bit exaggerated", said Lombardi this Saturday for journalists in Freiburg.

Vatican City (kath.net/KNA) Vatican speaker Federico Lombardi [SJ] has admonished the interpretation, which suggested a >>de facto<< rehabilitation of Martin Luther by Pope Benedict XVI. This suggestion is >>a bit exaggerated<<, said Lombardi on Saturday for journalists in Freiburg. The Advisory President of the Evangelical Church in Germany, Nikolaus Schneider, had [also on FaithWorld] described the words of the Pope at an ecumenical meeting in Erfurt subsequently as >>a de facto rehabilitation<<.

Lombardi said, Benedict XVI. has underlined the >>depth of faith<< of the reformers. For the Pope, the visit to the place where Luther lived and believed, had been very significant. The Head of the Catholic Church had desired this meeting with representatives of the Evangelical Church right in Erfurt, because >>the divine questions of Luther were a central point of the entire trip<<, said the speaker.

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Additionally,

He also said the Faith can not be negotiated, here...

Two Lutheran Pastors Have Become Catholic

National Lutheran Priests from East Germany convert to the Catholic Church by assisting at Holy Eucharist and professing the Nicene Creed.  They are preparing themselves now for the priesthood.

Dresden (kath.net) Two National Lutheran pastors have used their summer vacations to convert to the Catholic Church.  Jochen Schubert, who is married and has a daughter, is leaving the Lutheran rectory of Seelinstädt and has settled in Dresden.  Also Jens Bulisch from Schmölln near Bischofswerda has completed the step.  The 39 year old is married and the father of two children.  This was reported in "Der Sonntag", the weekly paper for the Evangelical Lutheran National Church of Saxony.  Both theologians work as pastoral assistants of the Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen and are preparing also to become Catholic priests.

Bulisch had developed a growing coldness to Christian ritual according to the "Ostthüringer Zeitung".  "Are they celebrating the people themselves or God?",  so said the theologian found himself often asking.  And "Der Sonntag"  mentioned that there were still further theological considerations, some over the understanding of the priestly office, as well as personal experiences with the Catholic Church played a role,  to foster a decision "growing over the years".

Schubert was already known in the Evangelical Community for his love for Catholic traditions, noted the "Ostthüringer Zeitung".  He puts much value on the Liturgy, the use of a black instead of a white cassock and is said to have stressed Catholic feast days like All Saints, usually more than the inner-Evangelical ones.

The conversion to the Roman Catholic Church was consummated on the 25th of July this year, in which they assisted at a Catholic  Holy Mass and professed the Nicean Creed, reported, "Der Sonntag".

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Sex Abuse Rocks Lutheran Church in Germany

Editor: Last year, the world's first female Lutheran Bishop, Maria Jepsen, was forced to resign under suspicion that she had covered up abuse. The case received almost no coverage in the English speaking press at all

North Elba Lutheran Church struggles with accusations of covering up a serious case of sexual abuse.


Ahrensburg (kath.net/idea) In connection with the most serious case of sexual abuse in the North Elba Church, Heidi Emse the former Provost is defending herself against accusations that she had covered it up. She became aware of occurrences in the Church Community of Ahrensburg near Hamburg in 1999. From the seventies to the eighties, former Pastor Gert-Dietrich Kohl (73) had admitted to committing the crime in the meantime against 22 children and adolescents, among whom were three of his five stepsons. The crimes have passed the statute of limitations.

The president of the North Elba Church, Bishop Gerhard Ulrich (Schleswig)conceded a lapse in supervision, actually the church leadership followed the direction of their consultants, to introduce disciplinary action against Emse. This will now make certain that things will in no way be veiled. In retrospect they are viewing this solely as negligence, that the procedure had not been properly documented. They had been informed by the church office by telephone in 1999 about the suspicion before her time in office about the child abuse. Kohl was then reassigned. She's explained that it was dealt with administratively. A year later she learned that he was working in juvenile law enforcement. Thereupon she applied to the church office. Then Kohl was put on early retirement. Taking this into consideration, the Ahrensburger Church Board had expressed confusion about the decision of the Church leadership being directed against Emse. This could have been done with greater clarity.

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