Bishop: Luther fascinating'

Speaking of Martin Luther, Franz-Josef Bode, Roman Catholic bishop of Osnabrück, Germany, said: “It’s fascinating just how radically he puts God at the center.” Bode said Luther rightly denounced failures in the Roman Catholic Church, but today’s leaders would “deal with such a provocation in a different and a better way.” Since the Second Vatican Council (1962 to 1965), the church has understood Luther’s thinking in a new way, Bode said, though divisions still exist because of his understanding of the church, the priesthood and the sacraments.