Ecumenism and Church

Just over twelve years ago, precisely in September 2000, it became public the document "Dominus Jesus", which denied the condition of the church of Christ Anglican Church and other religions that emerged from the Reformation.

It was signed by then-Pope John Paul II, the declaration impressed by its conservatism, worthy of the time that prevailed in the West the Inquisition and its unmentionable methods.

According to the text released by the Vatican, there would be "only one church of Christ, which is perpetuated in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter (the pope) and the bishops in communion with him." On the face of it, all the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate, ie other bishops ordained by other Catholic bishops, neither the substance of the Eucharistic mystery, would not be churches themselves. Religions Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and all other Evangelical and Protestant denominations would thus be compared to such a view, demoted to mere sects.

The papal document understood as "clearly contrary to the Catholic faith" consider the Catholic Church "as a way of salvation among others." While admitting that religions in general contain religious elements coming from God, the document stated that these religions do not possess the "efficiency saving" of the Christian sacraments and many of them would propose even superstitions or errors that would eventually become an obstacle to salvation.

It was resurrected itself, thus the motto "Outside the Church there is no salvation" nonsense that has no support in either the text of the Gospels.

The author of the statement signed by the pope was, in fact, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which replaced in 1965 the Holy Office. Ratzinger, a great theologian regarded by his peers, would be sometime later elected pope and took office with the title of Benedict XVI.

The Catholic community, already familiar with the proposal of ecumenism, has received with astonishment and surprise the document. Imagine then the disappointment felt by the Protestant community and the Ecumenical Council of Churches, which, besides lamenting the content of the document, it has expressed concern with the losses that the fact inevitably produce in relationships among Christian religions.

More than a decade has passed and the sad statement seems, thankfully, filed with the new ideas that the pope Francisco has been printing to driving the Church.

Met recently with representatives of various churches and Christian communities, the Catholic Pontiff stressed the need to continue the ecumenical dialogue and promised to empower it.

To Christians of all faiths Pope urged the dialogue, so that "all Christians are one thing that can testify freely, cheerful and brave the Gospel."

The news is certainly auspicious and even timelier because in a world of so many divisions and rivalries, it is a pressing need that religious of all stripes come together for the good of humanity and the very world we live in.