Her white clergy robes flowing behind her, Sandra Signarsdotter walks down the aisle of Stockholm’s Gustaf Vasa church greeting parishioners, a ritual of hers and a familiar sight in Sweden, where women now outnumber men as priests. In the Scandinavian country, often hailed as a champion of gender equality, the statistics are clear. As of Read more
If you’re a Protestant married to a Catholic in Germany, you might be able to receive Communion along with your spouse in the Catholic Church. Then again, you may not be welcome to do so, or you could find yourself simply unsure. This confusing situation, created by a proposed change to the tradition that the Read more
A letter to the German bishops from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says Pope Francis has asked the German Catholic bishops’ conference not to publish nationwide guidelines for allowing Protestants married to Catholics to receive Communion at Mass. The letter signed by Congregation’s prefect, Cardinal-designate Luis Ladaria, says Pope Francis has concluded Read more
A Swedish Lutheran cathedral is about to host a Catholic Mass for the first time since the Reformation. The Lutheran Church of Sweden has offered the cathedral as a temporary place of worship to the Catholic parish of St Thomas. St Thomas’s will be closed for major renovation for several months. Read more
There have been at least 12 attacks on women in Enga this year in cases related to sorcery, according to American Lutheran church missionary Anton Lutz. “That’s just in Enga and not counting the border areas of Hewa and Paiela,” he said. “And the number of sorcery-related cases might in fact be higher.” Lutz said Read more
The World Communion of Reformed churches (WCR) representing about 80 million Christians signed a “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification” with Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist leaders last week in Wittenberg, Germany. It was in Wittenberg in 1517 that Martin Luther unveiled the 95 Theses that launched the Reformation. Centuries of dispute followed about whether Read more
Hundreds packed Wellington’s Sacred Heart Cathedral on Sunday to witness what could be described as a second Reformation. The crowd was witnessing New Zealand’s formal commitment to healing the divisions of the Reformation: the 500 year-long separation of Lutherans and Catholics. The atmosphere was joyful, positive and affirming as Lutheran Bishop Mark Whitfield and Cardinal Read more
Lutheran-Catholic unity is high on the Pope’s agenda during his official trip to Sweden this week. “My hope and expectation is that of coming closer to my brothers and sisters,” he said. Being close “does all of us good. Distance, on the other hand, makes us bitter.” Francis says distance makes us “close within ourselves Read more
Martin Luther was a “teacher of the faith.” In a new report Germany’s bishops say the 500th anniversary of the Reformation must involve repentance on both sides. Germany’s Catholic bishops have praised Martin Luther as a “Gospel witness and teacher of the faith” and called for closer ties with Protestants. In a 206-page report, “The Read more
Putting aside centuries of hostility and prejudice, Lutherans and Catholics have agreed to celebrate together the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. In a joint document — entitled From Conflict to Communion — the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation said there is little purpose in dredging up centuries-old disagreements. The lengthy text Read more