Methodists Join Declaration on Justification
Agree to 1999 Statement Signed by Catholic Church and Lutherans
 

SEOUL, South Korea, JULY 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The World Methodist Conference meeting in South Korea signed the joint declaration on justification that the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation had signed in 1999.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, attended the July 20-24 meeting, and said that the gesture is "a gift from God" and "one of the principal successes of ecumenical dialogue," reported Vatican Radio.

According to George Freeman, secretary of the Council of World Methodists, the agreement "opens the door to new ecumenical relations."

Ishmael Noko, secretary-general of the World Lutheran Federation, also expressed his appreciation, and expressed his desire that other Christian communities, such as the Reformed churches, the Anglicans and the Orthodox, could also agree to this common position.

The joint declaration, expressing a consensus between the Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church on the doctrine of justification, was signed in Augsburg, Germany, in 1999.

Late last year, Benedict XVI received a delegation of the World Methodist Council, led by its president, Bishop Sunday Mbang of Nigeria.

At the time, the Holy Father said: "Should the World Methodist Council express its intention to associate itself to the joint declaration, it would contribute to the reconciliation that we ardently desire and would be a significant step toward the objective of full and visible unity in the faith."

Englishman John Wesley (1703-1791) founded the Methodists as a movement of spiritual, missionary and social renewal.