Lutheran Bishop becomes Catholic Priest

Joseph Jacobson, a Lutheran bishop in Western Canada has Crossed the Tiber in 2000 and will be ordained as a Catholic priest this fall 2006. He is married and the father of two children and five grandchildren. His wife has also converted and his adult children are in the process. He has joined the ranks of a growing number of denominational ministers who are coming home to Rome. What made this sincere devout Lutheran convert after 4o years in Lutheran ministry?

"There was a long process leading up to it and a long process that followed after it. But the key moment was in Ireland in 1997 when I realized that the teaching authority of the Church is something Jesus gave to Peter and the bishops and no other Church really can duplicate what Jesus gave," he explained in a recent interview in Camrose.

"You can't substitute for it. You can't find something better. You can't do without it. The Church needs a rock and the rock is the one Jesus gave us and it's the holy father with the bishops and without that there is no rock.

"Any Church that tries to live without that is subject to the shifting sands. Most churches function by a majority vote of members and that means they are very vulnerable to the popular culture. In fact they are exposed to all kinds of extremes with the result that there is no safeguards that we are going to stay on the rock, stay on the foundation of Christ."

"Oh, good Lord! I have been trying to reinvent something Jesus made right the first time."

Let's keep Rev. Jacobson in our prayers as he will soon be called Father Jacobson!