The "Dominus Ielus" declaration from the Vatican, has angered the Anglican Church, with the Arch Bishop of Canterbury
saying it has set back relations between the churches.
The document appears to say that the Catholic Church is the only true path to salvation, and other Churches are
inferior.
It has been suggested that the sternly worded document is an assertion of conservative values in the Vatican, and is
being seen as an endorsement that a conservative Pope should succeed Pope John Paul.
The New Zealand head of the church, Cardinal Tom Williams, said on the Kim Hill radio show that the declaration says the
Catholic Church is the only church to stay true to the teachings of Christ.
The Cardinal told Scoop that the New Zealand Catholic Church has no position on the superiority of the Catholic Church
other than what is in the declaration.
Here is the declaration:
Declaration
"Dominus Iesus"
On The Unicity And Salvific Universality Of Jesus Christ And The Church
Introduction
1. The Lord Jesus, before ascending into heaven, commanded his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world and
to baptize all nations: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:15-16); “All power in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end
of the world” (Mt 28:18-20; cf. Lk 24:46-48; Jn 17:18,20,21; Acts 1:8).
The Church's universal mission is born from the command of Jesus Christ and is fulfilled in the course of the centuries
in the proclamation of the mystery of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the mystery of the incarnation of the Son,
as saving event for all humanity. The fundamental contents of the profession of the Christian faith are expressed thus:
“I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. I believe in
one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God
from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for
our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and
became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he
rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He
will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and
glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one
baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come”.1
2. In the course of the centuries, the Church has proclaimed and witnessed with fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus. At the
close of the second millennium, however, this mission is still far from complete.2 For that reason, Saint Paul's words
are now more relevant than ever: “Preaching the Gospel is not a reason for me to boast; it is a necessity laid on me:
woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16). This explains the Magisterium's particular attention to giving
reasons for and supporting the evangelizing mission of the Church, above all in connection with the religious traditions
of the world.3
In considering the values which these religions witness to and offer humanity, with an open and positive approach, the
Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions states: “The Catholic
Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and
conduct, the precepts and teachings, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nonetheless often
reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men”.4 Continuing in this line of thought, the Church's proclamation of
Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), today also makes use of the practice of inter-religious
dialogue. Such dialogue certainly does not replace, but rather accompanies the missio ad gentes, directed toward that
“mystery of unity”, from which “it follows that all men and women who are saved share, though differently, in the same
mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ through his Spirit”.5 Inter-religious dialogue, which is part of the Church's
evangelizing mission,6 requires an attitude of understanding and a relationship of mutual knowledge and reciprocal
enrichment, in obedience to the truth and with respect for freedom.7
3. In the practice of dialogue between the Christian faith and other religious traditions, as well as in seeking to
understand its theoretical basis more deeply, new questions arise that need to be addressed through pursuing new paths
of research, advancing proposals, and suggesting ways of acting that call for attentive discernment. In this task, the
present Declaration seeks to recall to Bishops, theologians, and all the Catholic faithful, certain indispensable
elements of Christian doctrine, which may help theological reflection in developing solutions consistent with the
contents of the faith and responsive to the pressing needs of contemporary culture.
The expository language of the Declaration corresponds to its purpose, which is not to treat in a systematic manner the
question of the unicity and salvific universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Church, nor to propose
solutions to questions that are matters of free theological debate, but rather to set forth again the doctrine of the
Catholic faith in these areas, pointing out some fundamental questions that remain open to further development, and
refuting specific positions that are erroneous or ambiguous. For this reason, the Declaration takes up what has been
taught in previous Magisterial documents, in order to reiterate certain truths that are part of the Church's faith.