Press release:
As we approach the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s revolt against the Church, Pope Francis and the representatives of the Lutheran World Federation will participate in a joint liturgy in the Lutheran Cathedral in Lund, Sweden, followed by an ecumenical gathering in the nearby town of Malmö. This deeply troubling event, presided over by Pope Francis and Lutheran “bishops”, has the ostensible purpose of celebrating an event that led to centuries of bloodshed and the ultimate wreck of Christendom. These questions need to be asked: Why celebrate? Why should we be joyful about an event that led to the eventual demise of Western civilization? How can the Pope participate in such a scandalous event?
Representatives from The Fatima Center are in Lund and Malmö to remind Catholics, and the world, that there can be no reconciliation between truth and error. We will hold a press conference (details below) to set out our grave concerns and to invite all who share them to join us in our protest of this travesty, which confounds reason and insults the Catholic Faith and all who fought and died for it in the bloody revolution begun by Martin Luther. (For more about Luther and his beliefs, please see our daily news releases at www.fatima.org.) We will distribute literature that explains in simple and clear language the differences that separate Catholics and Lutherans. We will offer Rosaries in reparation for this scandalous event and for the conversion of those who have fallen away from the Faith. Let us all appeal to Our Blessed Mother to shower us with the graces we need to come together again under Her mantle as one family, united in the truth.
We hold no enmity toward Lutherans, but we cannot pretend that contradictory beliefs can both be true, or that no contradiction exists, when it clearly does. Nothing can be built on a foundation of lies, no matter how many sweet words are poured forth and how many ecumenical embraces occur. Through Luther’s cry of “Faith Alone” and his rejection of the dogmatic and sacramental theology of the Catholic Church, Europe was shaken to its foundation and we live among the ruins. The only way to put the pieces together again is to invite those who have left the One True Church to return to Her loving embrace and receive the graces waiting for them in the sacraments instituted by Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What is at stake is the salvation of souls. Since there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, we must do all we can, in the spirit of fraternal charity, to help those who have left their spiritual home to return to it. Love demands the truth, and the truth will set us free.
