La comunione possibile

La «Dichiarazione congiunta sulla dottrina della giustificazione» come tappa fondamentale nel dialogo fra le Chiese

Abstract

Justification by faith constitutes the theological question in relation to which the division between Luther and the Catholic Church was brought about. From the second half of the last century a wide range of opportunities for dialogue have been set up between various Christian confessions with the purpose of establishing the (numerous) points of agreement around the theme and to clarify the points of contention. The ‘mature fruit’ of this noble intention is the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification”, signed by the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church on the 31st of October 1999. The article, after having rapidly outlined the steps of ecumenical dialogue under examination, offers a substantial presentation of the document, of its contents and its methodology.