Church as Koinonia of Salvation is Theme of Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue

WASHINGTON (December 6, 1999) -- The Church as Koinonia of Salvation: Its Structures and Ministries was the theme of the latest meeting of theUS Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue. The third meeting of Round X in the Dialogue was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, December 2-5.

At this meeting, papers were given on Canon Law and Communion in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americaby Bertram Griffin and Lowell Almen. The Dialogue's earlier work on Eucharist and ordained ministry was reviewed in papers by Margaret O'Gara and Winston Persaud. The Council of Trent's doctrine of the priesthood and the identity of priest and bishop in early Lutheran thinking were analyzed in papers by George Tavard and Scott Ickert. Joseph Fitzmyer developed the understanding of ministry in the Pastoral Epistles.

Participants in the Dialogue worshiped at Resurrection Catholic Church on Saturday evening and at Christ Lutheran Church on Sunday morning. The Dialolgue is co-chaired by Auxiliary Bishop Richard Sklba of Milwaukee and Bishop Charles Maahs, Lutheran Bishop of Kansas and Missouri.

Considerable time during the meeting was devoted to the October 31 signing of the Joint Declaration of Justification by Faith and its implications for the churches and for the dialogue.