Vatican position saddens Church of Ireland bishop

The retired Church of Ireland Bishop of Connor, Dr Samuel Poyntz, has said he regrets "the chilling and insensitive harping back" of the Vatican's Dominus Iesus document.

He regretted that "after 30 years of dialogue there was no acknowledgement of the impressive work of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, only the chilling and insensitive harping back to [infallible] teaching about the single Church of Christ subsisting in the Roman Catholic Church".

Dr Poyntz represented the Church of Ireland at the first joint Anglican-Roman Catholic International Episcopal Consultation in Toronto last May. It was attended by Anglican and Catholic bishops from 13 countries and chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, and Cardinal Edward Cassidy of the Vatican's Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Dr Poyntz thought it "deeply ironic" that the Dominus Iesus document, published by Cardinal Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), "raised a crescendo of criticism" just a few months after the Toronto meeting.

It had ended with a joint statement outlining "the new stage of communion" recognised at the meeting. The bishops had "quickly realised that we were not `out of communion' but already experiencing a considerable degree, grounded in a common baptism and shared faith", Dr Poyntz said.

He regretted this "has not percolated to the CDF from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity".

He also regretted that "the heady days of Vatican II appear to be forgotten where we read that `among those in which the Catholic traditions and institutions in part continue to exist the Anglican Communion occupy a special place' " (from the Decree on Ecumenism). He recalled Pope Paul VI describing the Anglican Communion as "our beloved sister".

Those who had attended the Toronto meeting recognised the continuing differences but also claimed that "striking advances were made over a range of issues including the establishment of a Unity Commission".

It had also recommended formal consultation before decisions on faith and morals. Had that been observed before Dominus Iesus was published, "we might not now have voices united against this recent declaration", Dr Poyntz said.

The President of the Irish Council of Churches (ICC), Dr Ian Ellis, has said the churches in Ireland must continue to work "towards closer co-operation and a deepening of relationships" despite the Vatican document.

He described it as "this challenge to ecumenism" which "appears to go no further than to restate the position of the Roman Catholic Church as enunciated at the Second Vatican Council in the mid-60s".

"So much theological work over the past 30 years could have led to a more creative approach," he said. He hoped representatives of the 11 churches in the ICC would be able to discuss the documents soon with representatives of the Catholic Church.

However, he "wholeheartedly" welcomed those elements in the document which clearly affirmed "the uniqueness of the revelation found in Jesus Christ".