September 11, 2000
Vatican says Catholicism only way to God
___VATICAN CITY (RNS)--In a declaration carrying the full authority of an infallible teaching, the Vatican said Sept. 5 the Roman Catholic Church is the only "instrument for the salvation of all humanity."
___The assertion met a cold response from other religious leaders, including Baptists.
___The 36-page "Declaration Dominus Iesus" ("On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church") expressed "sincere respect" for other religions but attacked "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 Vatican said of non-Christian religions.
___It called non-Catholic Christian bodies "defective."
___The declaration gave a special status to the Orthodox churches, saying that "the church of Christ is present and operative also" in them although they are not in full communion with the Catholic Church and do not accept the doctrine of papal primacy.
___Referring to the Anglican and Protestant churches, the document said, "The ecclesial communities which have not preserved valid episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense."
___But, it said, "those who are baptized in these communities are, by baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the church."
___Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued the document at a Vatican news conference.
___Ratzinger said in a letter to bishops' conferences throughout the world that the Catholic Church is the "mother" of all Christian churches, and he told them to stop referring to the Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant churches as "sister" churches.
___The Vatican declaration on salvation raised concern among other churches.
___In London, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, called Ratzinger's statements "unjustified" and said they did "not reflect the deep comprehension that has been reached (by Catholics and Anglicans) through ecumenical dialogue and cooperation during the past 30 years."
___In Geneva, the World Council of Churches warned that the growth of ecumenical dialogue could be "hindered or even damaged" by what it called "language which precludes further discussion of the issues."
___In the United States, Jerry Rankin, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, and Rudy Gonzalez, director of interfaith evangelism for the SBC's North American Mission Board, issued statements responding to the Vatican document.
___"I think most Southern Baptists would strongly agree that the trend toward religious relativism and pluralism should be rejected," Rankin said. "The way to salvation is a narrow path. We emphatically disagree with the Vatican, however, on the direction that path takes.
___"Salvation comes by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone--not through any institutional church body, be it Baptist, Catholic or otherwise," Rankin continued. "That's why we have always sent missionaries even to 'Catholic' countries, because people come to salvation only though personal faith in Jesus Christ.
___"That is the message of the Christian gospel according to Scripture, and that is the message shared worldwide by our missionaries."
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