The Chairman of the EKD Council, Bishop Klaus Engelhardt, appealed to the Pope to allow ecumenical worship services on Sunday mornings as a matter of course. Bishop Engelhardt pointed out that Protestants are waiting with patient hope for an open invitation from Rome to participate in the Eucharist. According to this doctrine, which was the subject of fierce arguments during the Reformation, the sinner is justified by God's grace alone and not by his or her good works. This does not mean, he went on to say, that all differences have been overcome. There is a need for further dialogue particularly on the Catholic understanding of Baptism and the Church.
Some questions are still unresolved.
The EKD has made a statement to the same effect. At an ecumenical worship service held in Paderborn Cathedral the Pope pointed out to a congregation of 1,000 that in view of the decline of spiritual values in Europe Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians must redouble their efforts to evangelise.