Joint Declaration On The Doctrine Of Justification
A gesture of unity: the Vatican and Lutheran World Federation sharing common understanding
On 31 October 1999, representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) signed a Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, as a gesture of unity. The document states that the churches now share "a common understanding of our justification by God's grace through faith in Christ." To the parties involved, this essentially resolves the conflict over the nature of justification which was at the root of the Protestant . In the declaration, both sides acknowledge that the excommunications relating to the doctrine of justification set forth by the Council of Trent do not pertain to the teachings of the Lutheran churches set forth in the text; likewise, the churches acknowledged that the condemnations set forth in the Lutheran Confessions do not apply to the Catholic teachings on justification declared in the document.
