POPE WELCOMES METHODIST LEADERS
Benedict Encourages Signing of Declaration on Justification
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Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged leaders of the World Methodist Council to sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, which the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation finalized in 1999.

The Pontiff met a delegation of the council under the leadership of the President, the Nigerian Bishop Sunday C. Mbang, in the Vatican, December 9.

According to the text of the Pope’s address, published by the Vatican, Benedict welcomed a Methodist initiative to sign the Joint Declaration: “It would assist in contributing to the healing and reconciliation we ardently desire, and would be a significant step towards the stated goal of visible unity in faith”.

The Pope also spoke highly of the ongoing theological dialog between the Methodist World Council and the Vatican. Since 1967 they have addressed major theological topics such as revelation and faith, tradition and teaching authority in the church.

These efforts had been “candid” in addressing areas of difference, said the Pope. But there had also been “a considerable degree of convergence”. On occasion, both sides had been able to speak with a common voice in addressing social and ethical questions in en increasingly secularized world.

Before the meeting with the Pope, a member of the Methodist delegation, the retired German Bishop Walter Klaiber, announced in an interview with Radio Vatican that Methodists would indeed sign the Joint Declaration. The Methodist understanding of justification and sanctification was not far removed from the Roman Catholic interpretation, said Klaiber.

The Methodist World Council represents 70 million church members, and the Roman Catholic Church more than one billion.