WHO IS MARTIN LUTHER FOR CATHOLICS - 1

(PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS

WILL JOINTLY COMMEMORATE

THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REFORMATION

IN 2017)

I entered into a pastoral quiz among some of my friends, all of them Catholics. In an informal survey by text, Facebook and Viber, I asked the question: What comes to your mind when you hear the name Martin Luther?

The minority reply revealed a certain ignorance and nonchalance. One respondent said, “Who is that?”, and another wrote simply, “Nothing.” 

Another set of replies showed confidence but sadly, also that of a mistaken identity.  Martin Luther was “the great American civil rights advocate.” He fought “for racial equality among black and white peoples.” He was “the assassinated human rights activist.” They were clearly referring to the American Martin Luther King, Jr., than the German founder of the Reformation. A most interesting answer simply said that Luther was the “father of Communism.”

More than those who manifested mistaken notions were the set of answers that reveal standard Catholic replies from old books or old catechisms. These answers pointed more to the sad events that resulted in church disunity. Some respondents said, “He was the first Protestant,” or “He was the founder of Protestantism.” “He left the (Catholic) Church.” “He caused division.” “He was a church rebel.” “He disagreed with our (Catholic) doctrines.” “He established his own church, Protestantism.” One person said, he was “the second lucifer.”  These replies reflect the truth that with Martin Luther, but not only his fault, a truly lamentable event happened in the past, a disunity that persists in the present as a constant challenge to all the churches.

However the majority of responses I received indicates that the paradigm shift  that Vatican II initiated has filtered through the minds and hearts of some Catholics in the country. Surprised but also satisfied, I found positive evaluation of Luther among ordinary Catholics, many of them lay people, some of them priests and religious sisters.

These responses said, Luther started a “lifestyle revolution in the Church.” He “made us think how to make things right.” He was “a revolutionary.” He was “an outstanding leader and preacher, who lived what he preached.” He was “a good man, an agent of change.” He brought “change” into the church. He initiated “reform.” His “burning desire” was “to serve the Church.” He “loved the Catholic Church by challenging her to thinking in and outside of the box.” His reformation was one “that requires journeying into the deepest self, into his relationship with God and with others.” He was “an enlightened one.” Luther reminded us “that salvation is a free gift of God in Jesus Christ his Son.” And as if to reclaim Luther as one of our own, one text sender, an Augustinian friar said, he was “an Augustinian.”

From the result of this friendly survey, there is a confirmation of that fact that Luther is a multifaceted historical figure, combining in his person diverse, even opposed aspects of character. It also shows that his image today is not pegged to the unfortunate language of the past as many Catholics discover in him the good and the inspiring, the uplifting and commendable virtues in both spiritual and ecclesial life. Surely, an increased knowledge of Luther can still produce deeper appreciation of the man and the cause to which his life was totally devoted.