Reform and Reformation: Ecumenical Approaches in Light of the Document From Conflict to Communion

This article begins by recalling the path that Catholic and Lutheran theological and historical research has taken over the last century to liberate the image of Martin Luther from one-sided interpretations and distortions. The dialogue between the two churches demonstrates how much Luther and his theology are rooted in the great tradition of the church, although his approach differs somewhat from that of scholastic theology, especially late scholasticism. This way of proceeding proved ultimately fruitful in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ratified by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church on October 31, 1999. The article then explains how the document From Conflict to Communion, achieved through the same historical-critical- hermeneutic method, has addressed four topics that traditionally have been in dispute: first, the relationship of grace/ freedom and faith/works in justification and sanctification; second, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the sacrifice of the Mass; third, the divine origin of the ordained ministry and its relationship to the common priesthood of all the faithful; and fourth, the relationship among scripture, tradition, and the magisterium. Beginning from these insights, the document shows how the different doctrinal emphases of Lutherans and Catholics, freed from polemical emphases, should not be mutually exclusive and therefore should not preclude consensus on fundamental truths. Giving birth to a different church was not Luther’s original intent. Hence it can be argued that in these days the condemnations against Martin Luther ought to be re-examined, making the figure of Luther available to being discovered beyond the regrettable historical events. Here we find his true ecclesiology and ultimately his “Catholicity.

Foundations for spirituality : a 'hermeneutic of reform' for a church facing crises inspired by St Francis of Assisi

Either relational contact with God is seen to be existentially attainable or God will become increasingly irrelevant to contemporary society. For Church identity and effectiveness as she serves the world, it is vital that God's initiating power can be seen to impact on this world. As response to fourteen symptoms the Church faces as 'crises,' an inclusive hermeneutic seeks fresh categories for a foundational spirituality capable of catalysing reform and transformation. This comprehensive foundational hermeneutic hypothesised is grounded on three foundational categories of experience, relationality and spiritual intuition. Any reception of such transcendence has to occur subjectively ‘in experience.’ Evasive as it is, experience is posited as a foundational category that needs to be rehabilitated through fundamental philosophy and theology, as well as interdisciplinary explorations. It will be shown that the challenges facing the contemporary Church are rooted in lost experience of transcendence. However the entry point experience provides is never to become narcissistically selfreferential but aims to establish a reciprocal relationship in faith. As an overarching category, dynamic relationality will need to be socially transformative. The deep 'God-person' relational mode, as it synthesises both human capacities and spiritual faculties, is experienced interiorly and as such is called spiritual intuition. It is argued that the notion of, and capacity for, intuition has been widely ignored and eroded. It is demonstrated that a 'reasonable intuition' is a more synthetic faculty 'naturally' open to illumination and infusion by the Spirit than an excessive traditional Church reliance on the workings of reason-intellect. Here the witness of the life of St Francis of Assisi allows simpler and accessible entry into the categories of affective experience and spiritual intuition under overarching relationality. Francis as model, when compared to other Saints, substantiates the three foundational categories. The conclusion chapter tests the foundational theory as it is applied to the fourteen challenges the Church faces. The results of this study, and its applications, offer a promising, fruitful humble metaphysic as 'solution' for the ‘Church in the world’ much in line with Pope Francis' recent approaches.Christian Spirituality, Church History and MissiologyD. Th. (Christian Spirituality