An unnecessary and importunate document

Years of effort and common cooperation in benefit of the ecumenical movement and a mature dialogue that has been developed by different religious denominations suffered a serious impact with the document “Dominus Jesus”, in which the Vatican denies the condition of Christ Church to the Anglican Church and others originated from the Protestant Reformation.

Although it has been signed by the Pope John Paul II, its text has been prepared by the cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the chief of the Vaticanian Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at that time, later elected Pope in the succession of John Paul II.

According to the document mentioned, for Vatican, there is “only one Christ Church, which perpetuates itself, governed by the successor of Peter (the Pope) and the bishops, in communion with him”. Given this, the Church communities which have neither conserved the episcopate valid, that is, the bishops named by other Catholic bishops, nor the substance of the Eucharistic Mystery would not be proper churches themselves.

On the Catholic studies, the main concern of the “Dominus Jesus” was to warn about the opinions of some theologians, especially the ones from Asia, that, in their attempt to establish a dialogue between Christianism and other religions, sometimes seem to put in doubt some fundamental principles of the Christian Doctrine as the reality of Christ, only humankind’s savior and the definitive character of revelation in Jesus Christ. Simplifying the theme, such theologians came to the point of saying: “all religions are equal”, fact the would jeopardize the missionary action of the Catholic Church, which presents itself as the only one truly authorized to announce Christ to all nations.

The papal document directly affected the ecumenical question for having confronted the Catholic Church with other churches. But, what hurt the protestant evangelists the most was the fact of applying the word “Church” only to the Catholic and Orthodoxy ones. The other churches would be mere ecclesiastical communities, an expression used by the II Vatican Concilium, which, however, has not defined what “ecclesiastical communities” actually are.

Although having admitted that different religions contain religious elements derived from God, the text understands that they do not have the “effectiveness of salvation” as the Christian sacraments do and many of them have even proposed superstitions or mistakes which would end up becoming and obstacle to salvation.

The episode comes on the top of a series of unnecessary and importunate acts from the same source – given that it has created an embarrassment that seemed to be overcome among the various western religions – and, besides, it is completely useless since the conditions of salvation have already been defined by Jesus and have nothing to do with rites or dogmas established by those who supposedly speak in his name.

Two well-know passages of the Gospel of Matthew cover this subject.

The first one, known by the Parable of the Final Judgment (chapter 25, versicles 31 on) is absolutely clear. And, like if it would not suffice, Matthew also registers in his Gospel (chapter 7, versicles 21 on) the famous warning given by Jesus in the following text: “Not every one that saith unto me: ‘Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity’.”