Pope Francis refers to Martin Luther to spread important message for the Church

'The gathering there gave us the courage and strength, in our Lord Jesus Christ...'

Speaking to a delegation of pilgrims led by Lutheran Archbishop Kari Makinen of Turku, Pope Francis shared a special message, in which he quoted Martin Luther.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the Catholic Herald, Pope Francis spoke of the his October visit to Sweden last year, which marked 5 centuries since the start of the Reformation.

He said it was a "significant step" that "gave us courage" for the ecumenical journey that continues to this day.

"This joint commemoration of the Reformation was important on both the human and theological-spiritual levels," His Holiness stated.

"After 50 years of official ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, we have succeeded in clearly articulating points of view which today we agree on. For this we are grateful.

"At the same time we keep alive in our hearts sincere contrition for our fathers. In this spirit, we recalled in Lund that the intention of Martin Luther 500 years ago was to renew the Church, not divide Her.

"The gathering there gave us the courage and strength, in our Lord Jesus Christ, to look ahead to the ecumenical journey that we are called to walk together."

The pontiff thanked Archbishop Makinen for bringing his grandchildren to the audience and said: "We need the simplicity of children: they will show us the path that leads to Jesus Christ."

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