Q & A with Sr. Susan K. Wood, exploring the Catholic-Lutheran relationship

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Pope Francis will be in Lund, Sweden, on Oct. 31 to help launch the observance of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Welcoming him at the Lund Cathedral will be Archbishop Antje Jackelén of the Church of Sweden, pictured with the pope on the cover of Sr. Susan K. Wood's new book published by Paulist Press. (Provided photo)

by Dan Stockman
Oct. 25, 2016

Sr. Susan K. Wood has no desire to become a Lutheran. She doesn't want to see the Lutheran church "give up" and become Catholic. She doesn't want Catholics to turn into Lutherans. But she does want unity.

Wood, a theologian and Sister of Charity of Leavenworth, is the co-author of A Shared Spiritual Journey: Lutherans and Catholics Traveling Toward Unity, published August 1 by Paulist Press. Her co-author, Timothy J. Wengert, is a Lutheran historian who recently authored a commentary and study guide to Martin Luther's 95 theses.

Wood has been working on ecumenism since 1994, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops appointed her to the committee to review the "Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification," which was a step forward for Lutheran-Catholic relations. She has been involved in Lutheran-Catholic dialogue ever since.

She is a professor of theology at Marquette University in Milwaukee and gave the concluding lecture at a Catholic-Lutheran international seminar in Rome in May. As a member of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission on Unity, she will attend the October 31 launch of the 500th anniversary observance of the Lutheran Reformation in Lund, Sweden, where Pope Francis will be welcomed by Lutheran Archbishop Antje Jackelén, who is pictured with Pope Francis on the cover of Wood's new book.

http://globalsistersreport.org/blog/q/spirituality/q-sr-susan-k-wood-exploring-catholic-lutheran-relationship-42856