Martin Luther to be honored in Rome

[Fish and Bread]

Link:

http://www.kansascity.com/living/religion/article32629113.html

Admittedly, someone in another forum found this article and posted it about a month ahead of me. So, credit where credit is due, but I thought folks here might be interested in reading and discussing it as well.

 

[Fish and Bread]

I thought it was interesting that the Vatican spokesman referred to Vatican II as "the ecumenical council". Do you think that was purely a nod to the council's importance in re-centering the way the Church interacts with other churches, denominations, and religions; or a way of implicitly trying to downplay or limit the Council's scope in other areas while recognizing the above, kind of like a backhanded compliment?

I often watch these things, because there is certainly some push and pull in the Church with the Spirit of Vatican II folks who believe the council let a holy wind in through the newly opened doors and windows of the Church and revitalized it and pushed it forward in a progressive way, or at least *should* have done so, versus reductionists who try to make the council mean the bare minimum possible and rely mostly on an older framework for their theology (Often these folks will use the words "pastoral council" or "heuristic of continuity"). Sometimes the language can be so identical, or nearly so, that it's hard to know just what someone means when they described it with words like "the ecumenical council", which could go either way. Perhaps the spokesperson was just saying it because of the context of making a square in Rome after Luther. That *might* have had a little bit to do with it.

Edit: Of course, he could also have just been saying "the ecumenical council" because Vatican II was in fact 1 of the 21 ecumenical councils recognized by the Church. But the way he said "the" so many years later conjured images of it as the ecumenical ecumenical (that word is used twice in a row intentionally here) council (ie the council that ushered in a new era of ecumenism and had representives present but not voting from other churches and religions for the first time), which it was, among many, many other things.

 

[Fish and Bread]

I have to say that it is amazing to see Rome recognize Luther's pivotal trip to Rome that is thought of in some ways as sparking the Protestant Reformation, in a positive way. It's a good symbol, another brick on the journey toward reconciliation of some sort.

That trip changed Luther's perspective forever, and in doing so changed the course of history. Perhaps we're now far away from it that our corporate perspective has changed and we can recognize the historical significance of things without calling each other heretics, and just recognize that the times were significant and important.

 

[Tallguy88]

Is this the city of Rome, or the Vatican honoring Luther? I thought it was just the city.

 

[Fish and Bread]

Is this the city of Rome, or the Vatican honoring Luther? I thought it was just the city.

The article starts with:

The Vatican has given its backing to a central Rome square being named after Martin Luther

But, then, later:

“It’s a decision taken by Rome city hall which is favorable to Catholics in that it’s in line with the path of dialogue started with the ecumenical council,” said the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesma

I'm interpreting it as the city of Rome doing it with the Vatican's backing or support (Whether this backing came before or after the decision was made seems unclear). The delay in doing it when it was "supposed" to be done by 2010 is unclear, but it is possible that Benedict was opposed and Francis is for it, or they had underlings making those feelings known to city officials because they thought it would reflect each Pontiff's wishes, but that part is sheer speculation.