The Pope in Germany

Benedict XVI visited the land of his birth for four intense days between 22 and 25 September. Even though the Masses – celebrated in the open at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, in the Square in front of the Cathedral in Erfurt, in Etzelsbach, the shrine of Thuringia, and in Freiburg, in the Black Forest – marked some of the high moments of his trip, the Pope gave clear testimony, through many additional encounters, that he had not only came for the 30% of Catholics. He also met representatives of the Jewish faith and of Islam, he gave a noteworthy speech at the German Camera of Deputies and entertained guests from Orthodox Churches. He had a meeting with representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in a very significant location: the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt where Martin Luther had studied theology; joined the Augustinian Order and was ordained a priest.

On this occasion the Pope clearly expressed his esteem for the spirituality of Luther and for his commitment in the search for an adequate answer to the question of God, Benedict XVI invited the Christians of both Churches to “witness together to the presence of the living God, offering the world in this way, the answer it needs. May we help each other in living it. This is a grand ecumenical task which introduces us into the very heart of the Prayer of Jesus.”

The President of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EK), Nikolaus Schneider showed appreciation and underscored what Benedict XVI said: The two Churches should “help each other in intensifying and in enlivening the life of the faith in our society – truly and ecumenical task.”

Those who had hoped that the Pope would take concrete steps in ecumenism, and those who had hoped that Benedict would have traced a new itinerary regarding a common concelebration – especially in view of the 500 years since the Reform, which will be celebrated in 2017 – were not contented. Even for couples of different confessions, who cannot approach the Eucharistic Table together, he did not offer anything “new.”

The faith is not something that you can bargain over, as you can with political agreements – this was his motivation: “Unity in the faith does not grow by weighing the advantages and disadvantages, but through a profound identification in life and in thought.”

Benedict XVI did not want to offer superficial answers or concrete solutions to the ecumenical field or to the underlying questions of the Catholics. He wanted to enter into the roots of the “crises of the Churches” upon which basis he sees a crisis of the faith. He had come to encourage trust in God and to reinforce the faith in Christ, which he considers to be fundamental to change and renewal.”