Pope, in Denmark, Seeks to Ease Rift With Lutherans, Condemns Abortion
ROSKILDE, Denmark — Pope John Paul II sought to make peace with Scandinavia’s dominant Lutheran Church on Tuesday and challenged sexual and family mores in this liberal nation.
During a Mass attended by 13,000 people, John Paul condemned abortion and divorce as ravages of sin.
It was the first time he raised the issues on his 10-day tour of Nordic countries, where attitudes on sex clash sharply with Roman Catholic teaching.
Later, he attended a prayer service in the 12th-Century Lutheran cathedral in Roskilde, where he was not allowed to speak. Some of Denmark’s Lutheran bishops had threatened a boycott if the Pope addressed the congregation.
Afterward, he met with the Lutheran bishops and told them the excommunication of Martin Luther should not be considered an obstacle to collaboration and dialogue between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
He acknowledged the years have not healed the “deep wounds” caused by the 16th-Century excommunication of the German priest who sparked the Protestant Reformation.
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