Papal trip disappointing to German Protestants

Pope Benedict xvi's recent visit to Germany featured an ecumenical
worship service in the town of Erfurt that was meant to reach out to
German Protestants, but for many it felt like a missed opportunity.

In
his September 23 sermon, Benedict said that "there was some talk of an
'ecumenical gift' which was expected from this visit. . . . Here I would
only say that this reflects a political misreading of faith and of
ecumenism." The Christian faiths, he said, could not negotiate and
compromise as if they were political states.

"Faith is not
something we work out intellectually or negotiate between us," he said.
"It is the foundation for our lives. Unity grows not by the weighing of
benefits and drawbacks but only by entering ever more deeply into the
faith in our thoughts and in our lives."