The Catholic and Lutheran communities of South Jersey came together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in Ausburg, Germany, which opened ecumenical dialogue and expressed unity in faith between the two churches. The event combined choirs from Catholic and Lutheran Churches. Bishop Joseph A. Galante gave the opening prayer, while Father Joseph D. Wallace, director of Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs for the Camden Diocese, presented the greeting. The 1999 document, signed by the Holy See and Lutheran World Federation, called the two churches “now able to articulate a common understanding of our justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ” and said that “the remaining differences…are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnation.”