July 6, 2010

CHICAGO – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), extended congratulations and best wishes to the newly appointed president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Bishop Kurt Koch of Switzerland.

Pope Benedict XVI's appointment of Koch was announced July 1. Koch is the bishop emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel. He was bishop there from 1995 to 2010.

"We welcomed the announcement of your appointment by the Holy Father," Hanson wrote in a July 1 letter to Koch. "Your commitment to ecumenical dialogue and relations are well known and deeply appreciated."

"A central focus of our life as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is our deep commitment to ecumenism. As a part of our governing documents, we state that "the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seeks in its faith and life to manifest the unity given to the people of God by living together in the love of Christ and by joining with other Christians in prayer and action to express and preserve the unity which the Spirit gives," Hanson wrote.

Hanson noted that Koch is a member of the Catholic-Lutheran international dialogue. "With your knowledge of Protestant and Orthodox traditions, your background will be a blessing for the Council's promotion of Christian unity," Hanson wrote. He wrote that "tables of dialogue" continue to promote understanding and direction "for the ecumenical agenda of unity that we share with you."

"It is our prayer and commitment that we may continue to move toward the unity that our Lord wills for His followers. In our oneness in Jesus Christ, we look forward to supporting your leadership on behalf of all Christians to address opportunities for dialogue and sharing that moves us toward unity and the continuation of deepened spiritual ecumenism on all levels," Hanson's letter continued.

Koch succeeded Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany, who retired after reaching a mandatory age limit. Hanson and other ELCA leaders met with Kasper many times in recent years. Most recently Hanson and an ELCA delegation met Kasper in Rome in February during the 2010 Ecumenical Journey. The ELCA delegation hosted a dinner during the visit at which Kasper was honored.

Kasper became president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in March 1999, a few months before the October 1999 signing of the landmark document, the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in Augsburg, Germany. Kasper addressed the ELCA Conference of Bishops in Chicago in October 2004 during the fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration's signing by representatives of The Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation.

Information about the ELCA's ecumenical relationships, including Roman Catholics, is at http://www.ELCA.org/ecumenical/, on the Web.

Information and photographs about the 2010 Ecumenical Journey is at http://tinyurl.com/3aedfra/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service