DIFFERENTIATED CONSENSUS IN ANTHROPOLOGY AS THE BASIS OF "ECUMENICAL ETHICS"?: CATHOLIC-LUTHERAN EXAMPLE

Background: This paper explores the issues related to the dynamics between ecumenism and ethics. The author discusses the joint statement of the German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany on human dignity, issued on the occasion of the Reformation's Anniversary in 2017. This document is first put into the context of the local ecumenical dialogue between German Catholics and Lutherans as well as the public discussion currently going on within German society. Special attention is dedicated to the method of differentiated consensus that was for the first time applied to the field of ethics when the text was drafted. This method enables a qualitatively new approach to the traditionally controversial points of departure for the confessional understandings of Catholic and Protestant moralities. The offered reading of the document provides a basis for the commonly-shared and biblically rooted pillars of an ecumenically envisioned Christian anthropology. In addition, the focus is also on the hot issues in bioethics on which there is disagreement between the two parties. Conclusion: The paper has shown that the application of the method of differentiated consensus to the field of ethics represents a legitimate approach to the search for unity in reconciled diversity. Further theoretical research in this area should focus on the role played not only by agreement but also by the persisting "qualified disagreement" as part of this dynamic.