Protestants lead tributes to Catholic ecumenist who honoured Luther

-05/08/06

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Protestants lead tributes to Catholic ecumenist who honoured Luther

-05/08/06

Messages of gratitude and respect have poured in from the worldís Christian communities and from those of other faith traditions for Dutch Catholic ecumenist Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, who has died at the age of 96.

Cardinal Willebrands worked hard throughout his life to improve relations among Roman Catholics and other Christians, as well as with the Jewish community ñ and it was a senior Protestant ecumenical chief and the head of the world Lutheran body who led the tributes to him.

Declared World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, himself a Methodist from Kenya: ìWith the passing of Johannes Gerardus Maria Cardinal Willebrands the Catholic Church, and all churches, have lost an honourable and devoted servant of the Gospel and of the cause of Christian unity.î

For almost 30 years, Willebrands was a key Vatican figure in efforts to promote Christian unity, and was nicknamed ëthe Flying Dutchmaní on account of his travels to bring different denominations closer together, noted Ecumenical News International in Geneva.

He especially broke fresh ground in 1983, at celebrations in the then East Germany to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. There Cardinal Willebrands hailed the German theologian whose break with the papacy inaugurated the Protestant Reformation as ìa religious geniusî ñ though acknowledging wrongs on all sides, including the slaughter of Anabaptists.

In response, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, honoured the great contribution of the Dutch Cardinal this week.

In a letter of condolence to Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPU) President Walter Cardinal Kasper, Dr Noko expressed his appreciation and respect for “the special quality of spiritual warmth and personal commitment to the cause of unity for which Cardinal Willebrands was so well known also in the Lutheran world.”

The Lutheran leaders particularly noted ìthe strong mutual confidenceî that has been established over the years between the PCPCU, and its predecessor bodies, and the LWF. ìIt is clear that our current ecumenical work stands in a tradition of more than forty years to which our predecessors have all contributed their parts,î he added.

Willebrands was born on 4 September 1909 in the Netherlands. He was ordained into priesthood in 1934, and was named bishop in 1964. He was created a Roman Catholic Cardinal in 1969, the same year he was appointed president of the then Vatican’s Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. He led the secretariat until his retirement in 1989, a year after Pope John Paul II renamed it the PCPCU.

The international bilateral dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics led to the October 1999 landmark signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by representatives of the LWF and the PCPCU.

Dr Noko said that his prayer was that the memory of Willebrands would serve ìas an inspiration for present and future ecumenists and leaders in the Church of Jesus Christî, reported Lutheran World Information (LWI), the LWFís news service.

Cardinal Johannes Gerardus Maria Willebrands, who was emeritus-president of the Vaticanís Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), died on 2 August 2006 in the Netherlands.


Protestants lead tributes to Catholic ecumenist who honoured Luther

-05/08/06

Messages of gratitude and respect have poured in from the worldís Christian communities and from those of other faith traditions for Dutch Catholic ecumenist Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, who has died at the age of 96.

Cardinal Willebrands worked hard throughout his life to improve relations among Roman Catholics and other Christians, as well as with the Jewish community ñ and it was a senior Protestant ecumenical chief and the head of the world Lutheran body who led the tributes to him.

Declared World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, himself a Methodist from Kenya: ìWith the passing of Johannes Gerardus Maria Cardinal Willebrands the Catholic Church, and all churches, have lost an honourable and devoted servant of the Gospel and of the cause of Christian unity.î

For almost 30 years, Willebrands was a key Vatican figure in efforts to promote Christian unity, and was nicknamed ëthe Flying Dutchmaní on account of his travels to bring different denominations closer together, noted Ecumenical News International in Geneva.

He especially broke fresh ground in 1983, at celebrations in the then East Germany to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. There Cardinal Willebrands hailed the German theologian whose break with the papacy inaugurated the Protestant Reformation as ìa religious geniusî ñ though acknowledging wrongs on all sides, including the slaughter of Anabaptists.

In response, the general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, honoured the great contribution of the Dutch Cardinal this week.

In a letter of condolence to Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPU) President Walter Cardinal Kasper, Dr Noko expressed his appreciation and respect for “the special quality of spiritual warmth and personal commitment to the cause of unity for which Cardinal Willebrands was so well known also in the Lutheran world.”

The Lutheran leaders particularly noted ìthe strong mutual confidenceî that has been established over the years between the PCPCU, and its predecessor bodies, and the LWF. ìIt is clear that our current ecumenical work stands in a tradition of more than forty years to which our predecessors have all contributed their parts,î he added.

Willebrands was born on 4 September 1909 in the Netherlands. He was ordained into priesthood in 1934, and was named bishop in 1964. He was created a Roman Catholic Cardinal in 1969, the same year he was appointed president of the then Vatican’s Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. He led the secretariat until his retirement in 1989, a year after Pope John Paul II renamed it the PCPCU.

The international bilateral dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics led to the October 1999 landmark signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification by representatives of the LWF and the PCPCU.

Dr Noko said that his prayer was that the memory of Willebrands would serve ìas an inspiration for present and future ecumenists and leaders in the Church of Jesus Christî, reported Lutheran World Information (LWI), the LWFís news service.

Cardinal Johannes Gerardus Maria Willebrands, who was emeritus-president of the Vaticanís Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), died on 2 August 2006 in the Netherlands.