Francis Blocks the Document by the German Bishops in Favor of Intercommunion. The Complete Text of the Letter

Dll, 4/06/2018 URL article: http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2018/06/04/francis-blocks-the-…

> Italiano > English > Español > Français

> All the articles of Settimo Cielo in English

*

In receiving this morning, Monday June 4, a delegation of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, Pope Francis cautioned against the “eagerness to run ahead” and was at pains to say that “some issues, I think of the Church, the Eucharist and the ecclesial ministry, deserve detailed and thoroughly shared reflection.”

In these words there can be glimpsed a veiled allusion to the controversy, which has exploded among the Catholic bishops of Germany, of whether or not to admit Protestant spouses as well to Eucharistic communion.

But that’s not all. Because this same morning the German bishops received a letter from newly created cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer (in the photo), prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, which establishes firm guidelines on this very question.

The letter is reproduced in its entirety further below, translated from the original German. It bears the date of May 25. And the day before, on May 24, Francis had met with Ladaria to compose the definitive draft.

The background to this letter is the document approved last February by a majority vote in the German episcopal conference, headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich, which says how and when to allow communion for

1 Protestant spouses.

An appeal against this document was made to Rome, to the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, by seven bishops including the cardinal of Cologne, Rainer Maria Woelki:

> One Cardinal, Seven Bishops, and Four New "Dubia." This Time on Intercommunion

After this a summit was convened in Rome by the pope on May 3, with the Vatican authorities in charge of doctrine and ecumenism and German representatives of the two conflicting sides.

The summit had concluded with a statement informing that Ladaria had communicated to the German bishops Pope Francis’s request that they “find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a unanimous result if possible.”

And this made the dispute continue in an even more heated way, not only in Germany but all over the world:

> Communion For Protestants. The Bomb Went Off In Germany, But It's Shaking the Whole Church

Now, however, this letter from the prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith, written and sent “with the explicit approval of the pope,” blocks the publication of the document of the German bishops that ignited the controversy and reassigns the question to a more mature reflection at the level of the “universal” Church and of ecumenical relations with other Churches, apart from the Protestants.

So here is the letter. On the first of whose two pages Pope Francis put the initials: “F.25.5.18.”

*

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Prot. N. 212/2018 - 64727

Vatican City Palace of the Sant’Uffizio

May 25 2018

To His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Reinhard Marx Archbishop of Munich and Freising President of the German Episcopal Conference Kardinal-Faulhaber Str. 7 D-80333 München Bundesrepublik Deitschland

Your Eminence, Most Illustrious President!

At the end of our fraternal conversation on May 3, 2018 on the document "Mit Christus gehen…" [“Walking with Christ. On the path of unity. Interconfessional

2 marriages and joint participation in the Eucharist. A pastoral guide from the German episcopal conference"] we determined together that I would inform the Holy Father about the meeting.

Already in our audience of May 11 2018 I spoke with Pope Francis about our meeting and gave him a summary of the conversation. On May 24 2018 I again discussed the question with the Holy Father. Following these meetings I would like to bring to your attention the following points, with the explicit approval of the pope.

1. The multiple ecumenical efforts of the German episcopal conference, in a particular way the intense collaboration with the council of the Evangelical Church of Germany, deserve recognition and appreciation. The joint commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 has shown that in recent years and decades a foundation has been found that allows bearing witness together to Jesus Christ, the savior of all men, and working together in an effective and decisive way in many areas of public life. This encourages us to move forward with trust on the road of an ever deeper unity.

2. Our conversation of May 3 2018 showed that the text of the guide raises a series of problems of noteworthy significance. The Holy Father has therefore reached the conclusion that the document is not ready for publication. The essential reasons for this decision can be summarized as follows: a. The question of admission to communion for evangelical Christians in interconfessional marriages is an issue that touches on the faith of the Church and has significance for the universal Church. b. This question has effects on ecumenical relations with other Churches and other ecclesial communities that are not to be underestimated. c. The issue concerns the law of the Church, above all the interpretation of canon 844 CIC. Since in a few sectors of the Church there are open questions in this regard, the dicasteries of the Holy See concerned have already been instructed to produce a timely clarification of these questions at the level of the universal Church. In particular it appears opportune to leave to the diocesan bishop the judgment on the existence of “grave and urgent necessity.”

3. For the Holy Father it is of great concern that in the German episcopal conference the spirit of episcopal collegiality should remain alive. As Vatican Council II has emphasized, “the Episcopal bodies of today are in a position to render a manifold and fruitful assistance, so that this collegiate feeling may be put into practical application” (Dogmatic Constitution “Lumen Gentium” no. 23).

Bringing this to Your attention, I send You fraternal greetings and wishes of blessing.

Yours in the Lord,

Luis F. Ladaria, S.I. Titular bishop of Thibica Prefect

Copied to:

3 His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki Archbishop of Cologne

His Most Reverend Excellency Felix Genn Bishop of Münster

His Most Reverend Excellency Karl-Heinz Wiesemann Bishop of Speyer

His Most Reverend Excellency Rudolf Voderholzer Bishop of Regensburg

His Most Reverend Excellency Gerhard Feige Bishop of Magdeburg

(English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.)

4