Rome to beatify anti-Nazi priests, but not a Lutheran

Residents of the northern German city of Lübeck have long taken pride
in four native sons—three Catholic priests and a Lutheran pastor—who
were beheaded in quick succession on November 10, 1943, by the Nazi
regime.

The commingled blood of Catholic priests Johannes Prassek,
Hermann Lange and Eduard Müller and Luth­eran pastor Karl Friedrich
Stell­brink spawned an ecumenical cooperation between the city's
majority Luth­erans and minority Catholics that still lasts.

The
Vatican's decision to beatify the three priests on June 25—but not
Stellbrink—is testing that ecumenical spirit, and some religious leaders
worry that the event could drive a wedge between the two communities.