Synet på Peters-embedet i luthersk-katolske dialoger
Jeg «forsvarte» min oppgave på Angelicum i dag, og legger den ut på nettet så alle interesserte kan lese den. Oppgaven dreier seg som overskriften sier om: Synet på Peters-embedet i luthersk-katolske dialoger. Med andre ord: Hvor langt har lutheranere og katolikker kommet i enighet om selve paveembedet?
Man er vel ikke kommet så veldig langt skulle man tro – siden paven ekskommuniserte Luther, og lutheranerne (i alle fall) på reformasjonstiden kalte paven noe så uhyrlig som anti-Krist – men dette er faktisk bare delvis riktig. Hele oppgaven min kan leser HER, og konklusjonen min er disse fem korte punktene:
* The issue of the Petrine office has been considered a very difficult problem in the Catholic-Lutheran dialogues.
* Lutherans have not quite ruled out the possibility of the Petrine office – even though they at one point called the pope the anti-Christ. Some Lutherans see the need of a unifying office in the church, though they are not really sure this office should be set up.
* There still seems to be two very important questions/problems between Catholics and Lutherans when they talk about this issue: a) Is the Petrine office necessary for the church and b) how should it be exercised?
* I have noticed a certain imbalance in this dialogue; the Lutherans seem to need to change a lot to accept the papacy, while for Catholics it is more a matter of presenting the papacy in a more open way.
* There is a certain openness among some Lutherans to accept the Petrine office, yet after the last 30-40 years of dialogue, this potential solution has remained just that; potential. And it is really very hard to say if or when Catholics and Lutherans will come closer to an agreement on the Petrine office.