Lutheran – Roman Catholic dialogue

• Gospel
• Church
• Eucharist
• Ministry
• Justification
• Apostolicity of the Church
• Baptism

• Phase I (1967-1972)
  Published reports of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
  • 1972 – The Gospel and the Church (Malta report)
• Phase II (1973-1984)
  Published reports of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
  • 1978 – The Eucharist
  • 1980 – All Under One Christ
  • 1980 – Ways to Community
  • 1981 – The Ministry in the Church
  • 1983 – Martin Luther – Witness to Christ
  • 1984 – Facing Unity – Models, Forms and Phases of Catholic-Lutheran Church Fellowship
• Phase III (1986-1993)
  Published reports of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
  • 1993 – Church and Justification
• Phase IV (1995-2006)
  Published reports of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
  • 1999 – The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ)
  • 2006 – The Apostolicity of the Church
• Phase V (2009-present)
  Published reports of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue
  • 2012 – From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017 -  Published by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity in the context of the 2017 commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, and the 50th anniversary of dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics
  • 2016 – Joint Commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation on 31 October, the LWF and Roman Catholic Church jointly held an ecumenical commemoration of the Reformation in Lund, Sweden. Observed in two parts—a common prayer service and a public event—it highlighted the solid developments and joint gifts received through the dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, particularly in anticipation of the 500th Reformation anniversary in 2017.

Significant regional relations between Lutherans and Roman Catholics exist in different parts of the world.

• Germany – Dialogue between the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and the German Bishops’ Conference of the Roman Catholic Church has focused on a number of central theological themes. A major study was undertaken on the doctrinal condemnations of the Reformation era regarding justification, ministry and the sacraments, and whether they still apply.
• United States of America – Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue here has focused on theological areas central to the common faith - justification by faith -, the status of Mary, the saints, and the Petrine ministry. The dialogue also has discussed the question of baptism.

Both of these regional dialogues have contributed substantially to the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

LWF and Caritas Internationalis (CI), the global confederation of Catholic aid and development agencies, are increasingly working together to serve the world’s most marginalized communities. Nepal, Syria and Venezuela are among the countries where the two organizations have recently stepped-up fruitful cooperation.

During a June 2021 meeting in the Vatican, the director of LWF World Service (WS) and the Secretary General of the Caritas network presented a Common Vision statement, affirming that the two organizations stand together for the sake of the neighbor – a call that is rooted in faith.

The statement also affirms the hope that by strengthening their humanitarian work for justice, peace and dignity for all people, their commitment may serve as a catalyst that can shape the doctrinal dialogues. It says that the projects of CI and WS go beyond humanitarian aid, leading to a discovery of the spiritual dimension of the work of service. 

The Common Vision is the continuation of a process begun in the Swedish cities of Lund and Malmö in 2016 during the Joint Commemoration of the Reformation. During those events, LWF and Caritas signed a ‘Declaration of Intent’ to step up their shared commitment to joint witness and service.