Response to the Reformation Fractures

Abstract As a German, Ratzinger knew Martin Luther and Lutheranism better than most Catholics, and as an Augustinian, he appreciated the basic character of Luther’s theology. However, Ratzinger’s reading of Luther was conditioned by German neo-Kantian and existentialist scholarship, which created some unnecessary oppositions. In 1983, Ratzinger identified the fundamental difference between Catholicism and Protestantism in Luther’s doctrine of justification by faith alone, but in 1998, he worked to save the Catholic-Lutheran Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. He also proposed reinterpretations of indulgences and Purgatory. The most troublesome obstacle in Catholic–Protestant ecumenism is now related to ecclesiology: apostolic succession and the sacramental ministry. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI established a personal ordinariate for Anglican bishops, priests, and laypeople wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. In the absence of full unity, Christians should deepen their faith and strive to give common witness to the greatest extent possible.