500 years after reformation, Pope knocks on Lutherans door

Pope Francis will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by attending an ecumenical service in Sweden as a guest of the Lutheran church, the Vatican said Monday.In a highly symbolic act of reconciliation that would even recently have been unthinkable for a Catholic pontiff, Francis will visit the Swedish city of Lund on October 31 for a commemoration jointly organised by his own inter-faith agency and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).The surprise move will see the head of the worlds Catholics worship alongside the heirs to a religious tradition founded in opposition to the church of Rome and which once regarded the pope as the anti-Christ.The modern-day Lutheran church in Sweden continues to uphold principles that are anathema to all but the most radical Catholic theologians: it has had a female archbishop, Antje Jackelen, since 2013; has ordained women pastors since 1960 and embraces homosexuality to the point of having both lesbian and gay bishops.Jackelen said Monday she hoped the commemoration would “contribute to Christian unity in our country and throughout the world.”In a joint statement, the two churches said the event would “highlight the solid ecumenical developments between Catholics and Lutherans.”

 

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