“The cacophony of the past cannot be transformed into a harmonious symphony today” but “we have taken important steps to learn how to play together”. Cardinal Walter Kasper, former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, used a musical metaphor to describe the ecumenical season that the Catholic Church and the Churches born of the Protestant Reformation are living today. The Cardinal introduced the concert that was held yesterday in Turin within the framework of the Ecumenical Congress promoted by the Office for Ecumenism of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI), in cooperation with the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, 500 years after the Reformation. A journey to discover the bonds, even “musical”, that the Catholic and Protestant traditions have kept also thanks to the music, despite theological disagreements.
The concert took place in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, which at the time of the Council of Trent had been the venue for the theological discussions that led to the condemnation of Luther’s theses and the separation of the Churches. Today, though, the ecumenical dialogue and theological research – the Cardinal said – have led to a “turning point in the understanding of the figure of Luther”, which was received and welcomed by John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and now by Pope Francis. Luther, who has been “demonised” for centuries, is now seen as a “religious man”, a “witness to Christ who did not want to build a Reformed Church, but rather start a reformation, an evangelical renewal of the whole Church. Today – Card. Kasper went on to say – we could speak of a new evangelisation”. In light of this progress in the understanding of history, we have come to realise that some condemnations were born and developed as “misunderstandings”. 2017 will mark 50 years of dialogue, a dialogue that has progressed, with agreements such as that on the Doctrine of Justification which are now seen as a “milestone”. Even on the document that is being drafted on the “Church, the Eucharist and Ministry” – Card. Kasper added – “we hope to reach broad, if not full, consensus”. In other words, “the symphonic concert goes on, and like a symphony, it goes on at different paces”. “The grand final will be a polyphony” intended as a “communion of reconciled diversities” on “the basis of the common foundation which is the Word of God”. It is a journey that will only find its fulfilment in “Heaven”. Christians today – Card. Kasper concluded – are called to live an “evolving communion”, an “ecumenism on the move, because, as Pope Francis says, ecumenism is made on the journey, walking together”.