CHAPTER 1: ECUMENICAL PROGRESS AND STAGNATION 55 discussion of ecumenical convergence concerning Eucharistic theology.138 At the same time, he suggests that some points will most likely fail to persuade Roman Catholic leadership, such as the differentiated view on apostolic succession with its more substantial reliance on the Holy Spirit and the implications of recognizing Protestant ordination in general, and of women in particular.139 The lack of reactions signaled by Van Dartel turned out to be a silence before the storm: in September 2020, one year after its publication, CDF prefect Cardinal Luis Ladaria sent a letter to Msgr. Georg Bätzing, co-president of the ÖAK on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church but addressed to him in his capacity as president of the German Bishops’ Conference, rejecting the votum of Gemeinsam am Tisch des Herrn. 140 This rejection was supported by the president of the PCPCU, Cardinal Kurt Koch, as he made clear in a letter to professor Volker Leppin, academic foreman of the ÖAK’s Protestant section.141 With the aftermath of the publication of Gemeinsam am Tisch des Herrn still unfolding, several observations are important for this study. Firstly, the document defends and promotes reciprocal Eucharistic hospitality as a valid next step. My study concerns unilateral Eucharistic hospitality as it studies the concrete practices of Taizé and Bose, as will be explained in more detail later. Secondly, Gemeinsam am Tisch des Herrn engages in classical consensus ecumenism to build its case for Eucharistic hospitality, presupposing theological convergence as a basis for renewed practice. Interestingly, it is Cardinal Koch in his response to Volker Leppin who refers most explicitly to the reality of the life of the church, claiming that the ÖAK has lost touch with this reality while drafting Gemeinsam am Tisch des Herrn.142 He confronts the 138 Dartel, 6. 139 Dartel, 8-9. 140 Luis Ladaria and Giacomo Morandi, “Letter to Georg Bätzing, 18 September 2020,” WWU Münster website, 2020, https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/fb2/ zentraleseiten/aktuelles/brief.glaubenskongregation.vorsitzender.dbk.pdf. They substantiate their response in an attachement: Luis Ladaria and Giacomo Morandi, “Lehrmäβige Anmerkungen zum Dokument Gemeinsam am Tisch des Herrn (GTH) des ökumenischen Arbeitskreis katholischer und evangelischer Theologen (Jäger-StahlinKreis),” WWU Münster website, 2020, https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/ fb2/zentraleseiten/aktuelles/glaubenskongregation.lehrma_igeanmerkungen.gath.pdf. 141 Kurt Koch, “Offener Brief an Professor Volker Leppin als Antwort auf sein Interview in Katholisch.de vom 3. Februar 2021,” Vatican website, 2021, http://www.christianunity.va/ content/dam/unitacristiani/Relazioni%20ecumeniche/Sezione%20occidentale/ Federazione%20luterana%20mondiale/2021%2002%2008%20Offener%20Brief%20an%20 Professor%20Volker%20Leppin.pdf. 142 Koch.
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