The Pope and Protestants

In a change from the norm of bad news only media, the Pope was recently in Germany and met with Protestants in a gesture of good will.  Benedict visited the monastery where Martin Luther lived up until he started the Reformation and talked with leaders of a large Protestant denomination.  The meeting did not highlight the things that separate Catholics and Protestants, but rather affirmed the vast amount of common ground that unites all Christians.

The Pope, in a great tightrope walk of politics, kept the balance by refusing to give "concessions" of certain dogmas of faith as a further act of good will while still keeping the dialogue warm in an effort to engage.  B-16 also noted that he should strive to work at Christian unity as it is "the Divine Master's supreme aspiration."  He stated that such a concession is not worthy of what we call faith, for faith is something our entire lives are grounded in.  They are truths that do not change, simply because truth itself cannot change.  They cannot be used as tokens in a theological trading game.  He probably worded it a little bit palatable then that, but oh well you get the point.

Overall, it is encouraging to see that people of different faith traditions can get together in a single room under the banner of Christian charity without regressing into a child-like political temper tantrum all too common on Fox News.  Yes, we can talk and the doorway of dialogue should always remain open.