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Catholic declarations such as Dominus Jesus are written for Catholic priests and theologians. They make difficult reading for the lay person, especially one neither familiar with the central concepts of the Catholic Church nor in possession Of a copy of the Unabridged Oxford English Dictionary. The Latin title, “Dominus Jesus” means “Lord Jesus,” “Jesus is-Lord,” or even “Jesus Rules.” Following are excerpts from the document which is available in full at www.cin.org/docs/dominus-jesus.html. Our own explanations of some terms and concepts are included in brackets.
“The Church’s constant missionary proclamation is endangered today by relativistic theories which seek to justify religious pluralism. As a consequence, it is held that certain truths have been superseded; for example, the definitive and complete character of the revelation of Jesus Christ, the nature of Christian faith as compared with that of belief in other religions, the inspired nature of the books of Sacred Scripture, the unicity and salvific universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ [that is, salvation is only possible through Jesus], the universal salvific mediation of the Church [that is, the salvation through Jesus is only provided by the Catholic Church].
“The roots of these problems are to be found [in] the eclecticism of those who, in theological research, uncritically absorb ideas from a variety of philosophical’ and theological contexts without regard for consistency, systematic connection, or compatibility with Christian truth.
“As a remedy for this relativistic mentality, which is becoming ever more common, it is necessary above all to reassert the definitive and complete character of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, the theory of the limited, incomplete, or imperfect character of the revelation of Jesus Christ, which would be complimentary to that found in other religions, is contrary to the Church’s faith. Such a position is in radical contradiction with the foregoing statements of Catholic faith according to which the full and complete revelation of the salvific mystery of God is given in Jesus Christ.
“This distinction is not always borne in mind in current theological reflection Thus, [Catholic] theological faith is often identified with belief in other religions, which is religious experience still in search of the absolute truth and still lacking assent to God who reveals himself.
“Those solutions that propose a salvific action of God beyond the unique mediation of Christ would be contrary to Christian and Catholic faith.
“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 [which includes the Anglicans, Presbyterians and all other Protestants]. They suffer from defects. [section 17]
“It would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions, seen as complementary to the Church or substantially equivalent to her.
“Some prayers and rituals of the other religions may assume a role of preparation for the Gospel ... One cannot attribute to these, however, a divine origin.... Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked that other rituals, insofar as they depend on superstitions or other errors, constitute an obstacle to salvation.
“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 characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that one religion is as good as another.
“Followers of other religions [are], objectively speaking,... in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation.
“Inter-religious dialogue, therefore, as part of her evangelizing mission, is just one of the actions of the Church in her mission ad gentes [that is, the Church’s efforts to convert all non-Christians]. Equality, which is a presupposition of Interreligious dialogue, refers to the equal personal dignity of the parties in dialogue, not to doctrinal content, nor even less to the position of Jesus Christ in relation to the founders of the other religions.
“The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul
II, at the Audience of June 16, 2000, granted to the undersigned Cardinal
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with sure knowledge
and by his apostolic authority, ratified and confirmed this Declaration,
adopted in Plenary Session and ordered its publication.”
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