Sir, - May I add some significant details to Mr/Ms G. Glennon's letter (July 14th)?
At the meeting with representatives of the Council of the German Evangelical Churches, in Mainz (Germany), in 1980, November 17th, the Pope quoted a text published by Martin Luther in 1522, i.e. two years after he was excommunicated. (The papal bull "Exsurge Domine" of Leo X, which announced the excommunication, was dated 1520).
As a matter of fact, Pope John Paul II no longer considered him as excommunicated, because some years later, during a visit to the Scandinavian countries, he stated: "Excommunication ends with the death of the individual." (Copenhagen, June 6, 1989). This statement was reported in the Vatican daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on July 7th, 1989. -Yours, etc., Hanna Dangel-Dowling,
Woodley Park, Dublin 14.