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THE VATICAN
New document on role of Church in salvation
A step forward or a step backward for ecumenism?
The Vatican on September 5 published a new text from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the unique role of the Church in the economy of salvation.
Dominus Jesus is a 36-page statement signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, the prefect and secretary respectively of the Congregation. It is designed to answer a series of questions about the importance of the Catholic Church, questions that have arisen in the context of ecumenical activities. The document was approved by Pope John Paul II in June.
Addressed to “bishops, theologians, and all the Catholic faithful,” Dominus Jesus is structured as a response by the Holy See to theories that have been raised by contemporary theologians, particularly in Asia. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith warns against “shortcuts” in theology that tend to diminish the importance of the Catholic Church. Because it is primarily a response to such “erroneous or ambiguous opinions,” the document frequently uses phrases such as “it must be firmly believed” or “it is contrary to the faith of the Church.”
The text emphasizes the essential role of the Church, as opposed to “relativistic theories” that would suggest all religions are equal. The new Vatican statement also rejects an approach which would claim a “radical opposition” between “the logical mentality of the West and the symbolic mentality of the East.” That attitude, the text points out, could lead to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is not the best route to salvation for the people of Asia.
Dominus Jesus is divided into six chapters. The first chapter asserts that the “full revelation of divine truth” comes through Jesus Christ and his Church. Thus it is wrong to suggest that the Catholic Church is “complementary” to other religions.
Chapter Two refutes the views of theologians who say that the Holy Spirit has “a more universal breadth” than the Roman Catholic Church. Citing the teachings of Vatican II, Dominus Jesus points out that that there is only one economy of salvation, and “the action of the Spirit is not outside or parallel to the action of Christ.”
Chapter Three carries that message further, emphasizing that salvation can come to mankind only through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. The document rejects the notion that the Catholic Church should avoid claiming that Jesus is the “unique,” “universal,” or “absolute” means to salvation. The use of such language, the document says, is simply a matter of faithfulness to the message which has been entrusted by God to the Church.
In the fourth and fifth chapters, Dominus Jesus notes that the salvation promised by Jesus Christ comes through the Catholic Church, his “bride” and Mystical Body. The document warns against a relativistic approach, which would suggest that all religions contain some elements of God’s saving message, or that no institutional religion is a perfect representation of God’s will for mankind. The Catholic Church—defined as the Church that has maintained apostolic succession—is the one true Church, the document asserts.
Dominus Jesus acknowledges that some Orthodox churches, which have maintained apostolic succession but do not accept the primacy of Peter, remain united to the true Church, although they lack full communion. But other Christian bodies do not enjoy the same status. Through baptism, the members of these Christian ecclesial bodies maintain “a certain communion, albeit imperfect,” with the Church, the document says.
The final chapter of Dominus Jesus sketches the implications of these Church teachings for ecumenical dialogue. The Vatican statement upholds the ancient teaching that “the Church is necessary for salvation.” While Jesus opened the path to salvation for all mankind, the statement teaches, “the fullness of means to salvation” can be found only in the Catholic Church. For this reason, the Church has a special mission “ad gentes”—that is, to non-Catholics; the Church seeks to bring them into full communion and offer them the full opportunity for salvation.
In ecumenical dialogue, then, it is never accurate to suggest that “one religion is as good as another,” Dominus Jesus cautions. The Church engages in ecumenical dialogue, treating other partners with equal respect, out of recognition for “the equal personal dignity of the parties in dialogue, not the doctrinal contents” of their beliefs.
At the Vatican press conference introducing the new statement, Cardinal Ratzinger said the document was a necessary response to “the theology of religious pluralism,” which is growing “not only in theological circles, but also more generally in Catholic public opinion.”
The cardinal pointed out that many people today view the Church’s traditional claim to be the unique and universal means to salvation as “a bit of fundamentalism which is an attack on the modern spirit and a menace to toleration and liberty.” Because of that attitude, he continued, many people see ecumenical dialogue as an end in itself. “Dialogue—or rather the ideology of dialogue—becomes a substitute for missionary activity and for the urgency of an appeal to conversion.”
This mistaken notion of dialogue, Cardinal Ratzinger observed, emphasizes not a search for objective and absolute truth, but a desire to put all religious beliefs on the same plane. And such dialogue gives rise to a “false idea of tolerance,” which allows respect for other beliefs because it rejects the possibility of any objective truth.
Archbishop Bertone observed that Dominus Jesus does not contain any new teaching, but “reaffirms and restates the doctrine of the Catholic faith” in answer to contemporary problems and theories. He emphasized that because it comes from the Holy See, with the explicit authorization of the Pope, the document must be viewed as the teaching of the Magisterium, rather than just another theological opinion.
However, the document was not well-received in some circles, both inside and outside the Catholic Church.
The worldwide head of the Church of England sharply criticized the Catholic Church for suggesting that the Anglican Communion is not the one true Church.
Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was particularly offended by the statement, found in the new Vatican document, that “ecclesial communities that have not preserved the valid episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense.”
This statement, the Anglican archbishop said, fails to represent “the deeper understanding that has been achieved through ecumenical dialogue and cooperation during the past 30 years.” He added that the Anglican Church “believes itself to be part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ.”
Many news reports, often quoting unnamed bishops and priests, characterized Dominus Jesus as nothing more than a political power play by conservatives in the Vatican who are jockeying for position as they prepare for the future election of the next pope. However, the Vatican did indeed respond to an urgent pastoral need with a new statement affirming the unique role of the Catholic Church, according to the secretary of the Congregation for Evangelization.
Archbishop Marcello Zago, who himself worked as a missionary in Laos in the 1970s, told the Vatican news agency Fides that there is a growing trend toward religious relativism, particularly in Asia. Too many theologians, he told Fides, “question the need for evangelization, and refrain from suggesting conversion from another religion.”
Archbishop Zago pointed out that the Church’s claim to offer the unique and complete means to salvation has prompted sharp opposition from some Asian religions, particularly Hindus in India and Muslims in Indonesia and elsewhere. Some Christian missionaries respond to that opposition by watering down the content of the Catholic faith, he said, adding that this is a mistake.
Controversial beatifications
Popes John XXIII, Pius IX, and three others recognized
On September 3, Pope John Paul II presided at the beatification of five people: Popes Pius IX (1792-1878) and John XXIII (1881- 1963), the famous Irish Benedictine Dom Columba Marmion (1858-1923), the Italian Archbishop Tomaso Reggio (1818- 1901), and the Francisan Marianist priest Guillame-Joseph Chaminade (1761- 1850).
In an apparent reference to the protests that greeted the beatification of Pope Pius IX, the Holy Father noted that in exalting these men for their heroic virtue, the Church does not make any judgment on their responses to certain historical circumstances. “Sanctity lives in history, and no saint can escape from the limits and conditions of our humanity,” John Paul observed in his homily.
Pope Pius IX was a controversial pontiff because of his political role when the Italian republic was formed, and because of his relationships with Jews living in Rome. But Pope John Paul II emphasized that the beatification should not be seen in the light of recent polemical attacks. He remarked: “In beatifying one of her sons, the Church does not intend to celebrate the particular historical acts that he undertook, but rather his virtues, which are to be venerated and imitated.”
Pope Pius IX was “widely loved, but also widely hated and calumniated,” the current Pontiff said. “Caught up in the turbulent events of his time, he always gave first primacy to God and to spiritual affairs.” He said that the pontificate of Pius IX—the longest in the history of the papacy—was marked by the Pope’s suffering, but also by his serenity and faith. Among the most important landmarks of that papacy were the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) and the proclamation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in 1854.
The crowd of 100,000 people who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the beatification ceremonies cheered enthusiastically when the Pope proclaimed the beatification of John XXIII, “a pope who touched with world with his affability, which showed the singular good will of his soul.” He mentioned how the world has a clear memory of Pope John XXIII as a smiling pontiff, “with his two great arms open to embrace the entire world.” He also mentioned that John XXIII cherished a special veneration for Pius IX, and “ardently hoped for his beatification.”
“The winds of change” that were welcomed by John XXIII at the Second Vatican Council “certainly did not pertain to the doctrinal domain,” Pope John Paul II noted. He observed that John XXIII was traditional in his own piety, and energetic in his own practices of prayer and penance.
The life of Genoa’s former Archbishop Tomaso Reggio was marked by “truth and charity,” Pope John Paul II said as he proclaimed the next beatification. And he said that Father Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade played a heroic role in sustaining the life of French families during a period of turmoil in that country. Finally, the Benedictine abbot Dom Columba Marmion, one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century, “left us a true treasure-trove of spiritual teaching,” the Pope said.
On the following day, September 4, at an audience with pilgrims who had come to Rome for the beatifications, Pope John Paul II renewed his defense of Pope Pius IX against a spate of public criticism.
“Pius IX was beloved by the people because of his pastoral care,” the Holy Father said. “He loved to preach, like a simple priest, to administer the sacraments in churches and hospitals, to meet with the people on the streets of Rome.”
“The world did not always understand” this pontiff, John Paul continued. He was greeted with great enthusiasm when he first ascended Peter’s throne, but “accusations, attacks, and calumnies followed very soon.”
However, Pope Pius IX took the criticism in stride, the Pope continued, adding that his predecessor had shown a calm and loving regard for his critics. “The spirit of poverty, faith in God, and abandonment to divine Providence, as well as a keen sense of humor, helped him through the most difficult times,” he said.
John Paul II mentioned two particular ways in which the interior life of Pius IX nourished his public ministry. The first was his trust in God. “My political program is, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven,’” Pius once told an acquaintance. He also had a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, and was particularly enthusiastic when he was able to proclaim the dogma of her Immaculate Conception.
The beatification of Pius IX had been greeted with criticism by some Jewish groups around the world who contended, that because he took part in the “abduction” of a Jewish child from his family, he should not be so honored. The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations said in a letter to the Vatican that Pius IX “perpetuated centuries-old Church contempt and hatred of Jews.”
In about 1857, a six-year-old Jewish Italian boy, Edgardo Mortara, was taken from his parents because he had been baptized by a Catholic household servant when he fell gravely ill at the age of one year old. Two laws in effect in the Papal States required the removal. The first forbade Jewish families from employing Catholic servants, and that was to prevent application of the second law. That one said that if a gravely ill, non-Catholic child was baptized and recovered, he could not be raised by his non-Catholic parents unless they converted.
In Mortara’s case, the servant secretly baptized the child and, five years later, told officials of her act. The child was removed and Pius IX refused to return the child to the parents who refused to convert. The Pope believed God wanted him to safeguard the Christian formation of Edgardo, whom he raised as a son and who later became a priest, dying in 1940 at the age of 88.
Since the beginning of his pontificate, John Paul II has now presided at 123 beatification ceremonies, many of them involving more than one person. All in all, he has proclaimed the beatification of 994 people, including 756 martyrs and 238 confessors.
Yes to transplants; no to cloning
Pope addresses meeting of transplant researchers
Pope John Paul II has encouraged organ transplants while at the same time firmly condemning steps toward human cloning.
The Holy Father made a special trip from his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo to address a congress of the Transplantation Society, which had brought 4,000 scientists and medical practitioners to Rome. He told his audience that human cloning is “morally unacceptable,” especially insofar as present ventures in that field involve the destruction of human embryos.
Organ transplants, on the other hand, constitute “a great conquest of science in service to mankind,” the Pontiff said. Under proper circumstances, an organ transplant can encourage “the authentic culture of giving and of solidarity,” he said. However, if researchers contemplate the cloning of human beings as a means to obtaining organs for transplant, they should recognize that such plans are immoral “even if they are intended for a good end,” he continued. Scientists must pursue other, morally acceptable methods of reaching the same goal, the Pope said.
In particular, the Pope decried research involving stem cells taken from human embryos, which are then discarded. The proper means of pursuing such research, he said, would be to use cells obtained from living adults by non-destructive means. He added, “Research must go forward in this way, if it wants to be respectful of the dignity of every human being, even in the embryonic stage.”
Returning to the question of organ transplants, Pope John Paul also cautioned against “any tendency toward the commercialization of human organs, or any tendency to see them as units of exchange or items for sale.” Such uses of the human body would also violate the dignity of the person, he observed, as well as destroying the sense of the organ donation as “an authentic act of love.”
The Pope said potential organ donors, or their representatives, should be properly informed about all aspects of the transplant process, so that they might freely give their consent. And he said vital organs must not be removed while the donor is still living. However, he said that new definitions of medical death—based on brain function rather than cardio-pulmonary activity—were “morally acceptable” and could be used as a basis for an early recognition of natural death.
The day after the Pope spoke, Ian Willmut, a professor at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh and the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, told the conference that the embryos used for in vitro fertilization, which are now destroyed after a period of time, should be used for potentially lifesaving research. “It seems a waste, actually an immoral waste, to throw away embryos which could be used to develop a potential form of treatment,” Willmut said. “At present, embryos which are not required after fertility treatment are destroyed. Many people would think it better to use the embryos to produce cells than to destroy them.”
Possessed girl at papal audience
Exorcist confirms demon confronted Pope
Father Gabriele Amorth, the official exorcist of the Rome diocese, has confirmed stories circulating in Italian newspapers that Pope John Paul II performed an exorcism for a young woman attending his public audience September 6.
Father Amorth told the Italian daily Il Messagero that a 19-year-old girl from the town of Monza, Italy, had attended the Pope’s regular weekly audience, accompanied by her parents, to seek the Pontiff’s blessing. When the Pope arrived, she began to shout hysterically, and when police tried to calm her, she showed extraordinary strength in resisting them.
Bishop Gianni Danzi, who also tried to calm the young woman, formed the opinion that she might be the victim of demonic possession. He sent a message to the Holy Father, who met with the young woman and prayed with her privately for about 30 minutes. The young woman apparently experienced some relief after that session, but it was only temporary.
Father Amorth said that he had also performed an exorcism on the young woman the day before the papal audience. He repeated the ceremony on the day after the girl’s meeting with the Pope. Father Amorth reported that the young woman is afflicted by “a terrible case of demonic possession,” which he attributes to a curse. When the demon is not manifest, he reported, the victim “shows great virtue and acceptance of her sufferings,” which have now become so frequent that she can no longer attend school.
During his second exorcism, Father Amorth also reported, the demon had ridiculed the Pope, boasting, “Not even your boss can do anything about me!”
Back to Catholic World Report October 2000 Table of Contents