Ales Rarus

Readers of Shaun Pierce's article on sola fide might find this interesting. In 1997, the Roman Catholic Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America produced this document:

JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION

The doctrine of justification was of central importance for the Lutheran Reformation of the sixteenth century. It was held to be the "first and chief article" and at the same time the "ruler and judge over all other Christian doctrines." The doctrine of justification was particularly asserted and defended in its Reformation shape and special valuation over against the Roman Catholic Church and theology of that time, which in turn asserted and defended a doctrine of justification of a different character. From the Reformation perspective, justification was the crux of all the disputes. Doctrinal condemnations were put forward both in the Lutheran Confessions and by the Roman Catholic Church's Council of Trent. These condemnations are still valid today and thus have a church-dividing effect.