As Lutherans and Roman Catholics continued to dialogue around the theme of “The Hope of Eternal Life,” LCMS participants described the meetings as thorough and careful ways to listen to one another.
“It’s invaluable because we talk to one another, not talk about one another,” said Dr. Sa
muel Nafzger, executive director of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations. “This way we accurately represent what our churches believe, teach and confess.”
The study theme for the April 20-23 meetings in Phoenix focused on death, judgment and resurrection. Nafzger and Dr. Dean Wenthe, president of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, represented the Synod at the second meeting in Round XI o
f the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialog. Also attending were representatives from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“The issues were significant and they were addressed with great clarity,” Wenthe commented. “We were talking through them in a way that was positive at the same time recognizing areas where there are differences.”
The next meeting, Oct. 12-15 in Baltimore, will focus on prayers for the dead. Nafzger described the topic as “looking at our respective understanding of the Communion of Saints across the divide of death.”
Posted April 27, 2006
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