Lutheran Catholic Commission meets in Rome

A delegation of the joint Lutheran Catholic Commission on Unity met in Rome from 5 to 8 October to prepare for its next plenary session scheduled for February 2027 in Augsburg, Germany. A key task of the Commission is to prepare a Joint Statement for the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030.

Participants discussed two questions during their meeting: firstly, exploring the unique historical situation of the Confession as it was presented in June 1530 and the subsequent engagement and reaction to the text. Secondly, they looked closely at two foundational documents of the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue: the 1980 joint statement ‘All Under One Christ’ and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999), defining the relationship between both texts and asking how a statement in 2030 could build on the work already accomplished.

The meeting was chaired by Bishop Patricia Lull (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) and Bishop Raimo Goyarrola (Catholic Diocese of Helsinki, Finland). The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity hosted the meeting at the Vatican.