Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, appeared to spell out the Vatican's definitive line on ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue yesterday with a vigorous reiteration of the Catholic Church's "infallible" teachings about the "single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church".
Cardinal Ratzinger was speaking at the publication his congregation's declaration, Dominus Iesus, On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.
The document comes just two days after the controversial beatification of Pope Pius IX and after media leaks that Cardinal Ratzinger has warned episcopal conferences not to use the expression "Sister Churches" in referring to Anglican and Protestant churches. Yesterday's document would appear to testify to a climate of ever-increasing ultra-orthodoxy under Pope John Paul II.
Introducing the declaration, Don Angelo Amato of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) pointed out that it contained no new teaching. "There is nothing new, merely we have thrown more light on the issues," he said.
The document, Dominus Iesus, however, appears to suggests that the true "Christian" identity is a "Catholic" identity. It says: "Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in Communion with him . . . [in accordance with] the Catholic doctrine of Primacy which, according to the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and exercises over the entire Church . . ."
"On the other hand", it says, "the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery, are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptised in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church".
In relation to non-Christian religions, Dominus Iesus seems to strike an equally hardline note, commenting: "With the coming of the Saviour Jesus Christ, God has willed that the Church founded by him be the instrument for the salvation of all humanity. This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect which the Church has for the religions of the world, but at the same time it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism `characterised by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that one religion is as good as another'.
"If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation."
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, said the declaration questioned the steps taken towards working together by the different churches and did not "reflect the deeper understanding that has been achieved through ecumenical dialogue and co-operation during the past 30 years". He added: "The idea that Anglican and other churches are not `proper churches' seems to question the considerable ecumenical gains we have made."