The ball surrounding the Pope’s intended “honorary head” for all churches is being kept relatively flat. Evangelical voices are clearly trying to keep up appearances using alibi arguments.
Inhalt / Content
Honorary head viewed with (pseudo-)skepticism
Pope Francis’ “humbly” written proposal to recognize him as honorary head by all (partial) churches has caused quite a stir. The waves are far from smoothed over, even if there is no media hype. The (formerly) Protestant churches still seem to view the recognition of the Pontifex Maximus as honorary head with skepticism. After all, there are still differences of opinion and serious differences in the teachings represented between the “Reform Churches” and the Roman Catholic Church.
The editor-in-chief of the Protestant online magazine “Sonntagsblatt”, Helmut Frank, questions whether Protestants should accept the Pope’s proposal and whether this would end the Reformation (Source).
Advocates are significantly louder
Anyone who could very well imagine the Pope as an honorary head is the former Bavarian regional bishop and current chairman of the World Council of Churches, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. It would be no surprise that, one could almost assume, he would be enthusiastic about the Pope as the “honorable ruler” of the Protestant churches. In any case, Bedford-Strohm can no longer wait to celebrate the Eucharist together with the Church of Rome (Info).
The chairman of the World Council of Churches sees the Pope as a necessary voice for the “massive need for orientation” with the necessary media attention. For the editor-in-chief of the evangelical magazine, this is even plausible, since Christianity is losing importance because it speaks with a large voice.
Another advocate of a pope as a central voice for all churches was the former regional bishop Johannes Friedrich. He spoke of a “spokesman of world Christianity” accepted by the ecumenical participants.
There is a lack of women
According to the editor-in-chief, it is not a betrayal of the Reformation if Protestants think about the papacy. However, the papal office would have to change fundamentally in its self-image and with it the Roman Church. The separation between Catholics and Protestants is mainly due to the Catholic understanding of the church as a “hierarchical and male-dominated institution” and less due to the papacy.
Another “wish” of the Protestant churches is the lifting of Martin Luther’s excommunication of January 3, 1521. This would not be an end to the Reformation, because the constant mission of the Reformation is to reflect on Jesus Christ as its true head.
Reasons for separation remain unmentioned
It’s amazing what priorities are set when it comes to the reasons for the separation (“revolution”) from the Roman Catholic Church. There was a lack of women, according to the editor-in-chief of the Protestant online magazine. Not a word about the justification of man (Info), not a word about the difference between the biblical Lord’s Supper and the Catholic Eucharist, not a word about the special Catholic teachings such as the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Purgatory and (of course) indulgences.
Similarly, the editor-in-chief did not mention the strangeness of the Catholic priesthood’s ability to forgive sins. The deviations of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church from the Gospel are serious (Info).
Naive childish wish
The Church of Rome sees all the particular churches as her daughters; she herself is the mother. The editor-in-chief also “articulates” accordingly to commemorate the lifting of Martin Luther’s excommunication. This is on the “wish list” of the Protestant churches. Just a “wish list” like this one written by a child shortly before Christmas. Daughters are allowed to wish but not demand. A pretty naive wish.
Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther using the bull “Decet Romanum Pontificem”. A step that the Roman Catholic Church will never take back. The reasons are obvious. Luther was branded a heretic because of his deviations from church dogmas. The only changes made by the Roman Church since then have only concerned expansions and the dogmatization of previous traditions, but not a departure from previous teachings by even a millimeter.
The reason at that time is history and this is unchangeable. There is absolutely no reason to lift the excommunication. In any case, one only wants to look forward for ecumenism. Purely formally, the exclusion from the church ended with Luther’s death anyway. The “mother of all churches” will certainly not “humble herself” for a purely symbolic withdrawal..
Pure alibi comment
This comment made by the editor-in-chief is merely an alibi statement. The train left long ago. Rome, the snorting train engine, and the dilapidated wagons in tow. The same track driven with the same destination. The protests from the churches that are still abusing Martin Luther for their own purposes have long since died down (Info). What is described as an ongoing reformation concerns only the role backwards, back to the mother. Without a voice of her own, fully occupied with keeping up appearances.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Revelation 19:20
Bible verses from King James Version
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