Lutheran Hailed Cardinal Ratzinger as Expert on Luther
�Cardinal Invited Protestants to Read Pre-Reformation Writings
ROME, MAY 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- A leading Lutheran in Germany said in
1998
that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, was one of the few
who
really understood Martin Luther.
The Protestant leader's statements were communicated to ZENIT by Sigrid
Spath, a German Lutheran, who at times has been Cardinal Ratzinger's
interpreter and who, for more than 30 years, has worked in the general
curia
of the Society of Jesus and collaborates with the Holy See.
Spath revealed details of the public meeting she witnessed between the
then
prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Wolfgang
Huber, former Lutheran Evangelical Bishop of Berlin and now president
of the
Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
During the debate on the encyclical "Fides et Ratio," which took place
in
Rome in October 1998, Cardinal Ratzinger revealed that before entering
university he had already read all of Luther's works written before the
Reformation.
"That is, the reflections of Catholic Luther," Spath told ZENIT.
"Ratzinger invited those present to read those writings again, as they
express the great battle that Luther had with himself to live and
accept the
teachings of the just and good God," she added. "'Dear Protestant
friends,
rediscover the Luther of those years,'" recommended Cardinal Ratzinger
at
the time.
"The debate lasted several hours," she recalled. "Bishop Huber was
impressed
by the intervention of the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of
the Faith and commented that Ratzinger is one of the few who really
know
Luther."
Cardinal Ratzinger's knowledge of Luther made possible the historic
signing
of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, approved by
the
Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation.
Some points of the proposal for the declaration presented in 1998 were
rejected both by the Holy See as well as the federation.
When it seemed that the project would fail, the difficulties were
surmounted
by Bishop Johannes Hanselmann, former president of the World Lutheran
Federation, and Cardinal Ratzinger, thanks to their long-standing
friendship, which made possible a private meeting between them in
November
1998.
After Dr. Hanselmann's death on Oct. 2, 1999, Cardinal Ratzinger
revealed in
a public address: "We had a very important meeting in my brother's
house, in
Germany, as it seemed that the consensus on the Doctrine of
Justification
had failed. In this way, in the course of a debate that lasted a whole
day,
we found the formulas that have clarified the points that still present
difficulties. .
"With the formula elaborated in those days, both by the Lutheran
Federation
as well as the Catholic magisterium, they have been able to acknowledge
that
a consensus has been reached on some fundamental points of the Doctrine
of
Justification. It is not a global agreement, but with this formula it
is
possible to proceed to the signing of a document of consensus in the
basic
contents."