This is Martin Luther’s centenary year – he nailed his notorious 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517 – and the Holy Father has enjoined us to see Luther in a positive light. Francis has been receiving Lutheran pilgrims from Finland and has himself visited Sweden as part of a Lutheran reconciliation.
The Pope underlines that Martin Luther was seeking to reform the Church, which surely needed a few reforms: the 95 Theses acted as a major point of debate over the corrupt selling of indulgences. Luther had a valid mission.
