German Catholic bishops invited to join in celebrating 500th anniversary of Reformation

November 1, 2012: Catholic bishops in Germany are weighing an appropriate response to an invitation to join in celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, which will be held in 2017.

Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, who heads an ecumenical-affairs committee for the German bishops’ conference, pointed out that the 500th anniversary observance will commemorate a tragic division in Christianity, and Catholics “do not think they can celebrate this merrily.”

Catholic participation in the anniversary observance, Bishop Feige said, is “not impossible in principle, but it depends on the character of the events planned.”