Vatican City, Nov 6, 2005 / 22:00 pm
Pope Benedict announced this morning that a new document will soon be produced, marking the next step in an ongoing dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics seeking to find common ground.
Earlier today, the Pope met with Bishop Mark Hanson, president of the World Lutheran Federation, who was accompanied by a delegation from the group.
In his address to them, given in English, Pope Benedict affirmed that one of the results of the "fruitful dialogue" between the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation is "the Joint Declaration on Justification, which constitutes a significant milestone on our common path to full visible unity.”
“This is an important achievement,” he said. “In order to build on this accomplishment, we must accept that differences remain regarding the central question of justification; these need to be addressed, together with the ways in which God's grace is communicated in and through the Church."