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INTRODUCTION
1. The Lord
Jesus, before ascending into heaven, commanded his disciples
to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world and to baptize all
nations: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to
every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be
saved; he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk
16:15-16); "All power in heaven and on earth has been given
to me. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the
world" (Mt 28:18-20; cf. Lk 24:46-48; Jn 17:18,20,21; Acts
1:8).
The Church's universal mission is born from the command
of Jesus Christ and is fulfilled in the course of the
centuries in the proclamation of the mystery of God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, and the mystery of the incarnation of
the Son, as saving event for all humanity. The fundamental
contents of the profession of the Christian faith are
expressed thus: "I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from
Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one
being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For
us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by
the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the
Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On
the third day he rose again in accordance with the
Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the
right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to
judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no
end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of
life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the
Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through
the prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic
Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of
sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life
of the world to come".1
2.
In the course of the centuries, the Church has proclaimed
and witnessed with fidelity to the Gospel of Jesus. At the
close of the second millennium, however, this mission is
still far from complete.2 For that reason, Saint Paul's
words are now more relevant than ever: "Preaching the Gospel
is not a reason for me to boast; it is a necessity laid on
me: woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Cor 9:16).
This explains the Magisterium's particular attention to
giving reasons for and supporting the evangelizing mission
of the Church, above all in connection with the religious
traditions of the world.3
In considering the values which these religions
witness to and offer humanity, with an open and positive
approach, the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the
relation of the Church to non-Christian religions states:
"The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and
holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the
manner of life and conduct, the precepts and teachings,
which, although differing in many ways from her own
teaching, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth
which enlightens all men".4
Continuing in this line of thought, the Church's
proclamation of Jesus Christ, "the way, the truth, and the
life" (Jn 14:6), today also makes use of the practice of
inter-religious dialogue. Such dialogue certainly does not
replace, but rather accompanies the missio ad gentes,
directed toward that "mystery of unity", from which "it
follows that all men and women who are saved share, though
differently, in the same mystery of salvation in Jesus
Christ through his Spirit".5
Inter-religious dialogue, which is part of the
Church's evangelizing mission,6 requires an attitude of
understanding and a relationship of mutual knowledge and
reciprocal enrichment, in obedience to the truth and with
respect for freedom.7
3.
In the practice of dialogue between the Christian faith and
other religious traditions, as well as in seeking to
understand its theoretical basis more deeply, new questions
arise that need to be addressed through pursuing new paths
of research, advancing proposals, and suggesting ways of
acting that call for attentive discernment.
In this task, the present Declaration seeks to recall
to Bishops, theologians, and all the Catholic faithful,
certain indispensable elements of Christian doctrine, which
may help theological reflection in developing solutions
consistent with the contents of the faith and responsive to
the pressing needs of contemporary culture.
The expository language of the Declaration
corresponds to its purpose, which is not to treat in a
systematic manner the question of the unicity and salvific
universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Church,
nor to propose solutions to questions that are matters of
free theological debate, but rather to set forth again the
doctrine of the Catholic faith in these areas, pointing out
some fundamental questions that remain open to further
development, and refuting specific positions that are
erroneous or ambiguous. For this reason, the Declaration
takes up what has been taught in previous Magisterial
documents, in order to reiterate certain truths that are
part of the Church's faith.
4.
The Church's constant missionary proclamation is endangered
today by relativistic theories which seek to justify
religious pluralism, not only de facto but also de iure (or
in principle). 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 personal unity between the Eternal Word and
Jesus of Nazareth, the unity of the economy of the Incarnate
Word and the Holy Spirit, the unicity and salvific
universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ, the universal
salvific mediation of the Church, the inseparability —
while recognizing the distinction — of the kingdom of
God, the kingdom of Christ, and the Church, and the
subsistence of the one Church of Christ in the Catholic
Church.
The roots of these problems are to be found in
certain presuppositions of both a philosophical and
theological nature, which hinder the understanding and
acceptance of the revealed truth. Some of these can be
mentioned: the conviction of the elusiveness and
inexpressibility of divine truth, even by Christian
revelation; relativistic attitudes toward truth itself,
according to which what is true for some would not be true
for others; the radical opposition posited between the
logical mentality of the West and the symbolic mentality of
the East; the subjectivism which, by regarding reason as the
only source of knowledge, becomes incapable of raising its
"gaze to the heights, not daring to rise to the truth of
being";8
the difficulty in understanding and accepting the presence
of definitive and eschatological events in history; the
metaphysical emptying of the historical incarnation of the
Eternal Logos, reduced to a mere appearing of God in
history; 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; finally, the tendency to read and to
interpret Sacred Scripture outside the Tradition and
Magisterium of the Church.
On the basis of such presuppositions, which may
evince different nuances, certain theological proposals are
developed — at times presented as assertions, and at
times as hypotheses — in which Christian revelation and
the mystery of Jesus Christ and the Church lose their
character of absolute truth and salvific universality, or at
least shadows of doubt and uncertainty are cast upon
them.
I.
THE FULLNESS AND DEFINITIVENESS OF THE REVELATION OF JESUS
CHRIST.
5.
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. In fact, it must be firmly
believed that, in the mystery of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate
Son of God, who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn
14:6), the full revelation of divine truth is given: "No one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal
him" (Mt 11:27); "No one has ever seen God; God the only
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, has revealed him"
(Jn 1:18); "For in Christ the whole fullness of divinity
dwells in bodily form" (Col 2:9-10).
Faithful to God's word, the Second Vatican Council
teaches: "By this revelation then, the deepest truth about
God and the salvation of man shines forth in Christ, who is
at the same time the mediator and the fullness of all
revelation".9
Furthermore, "Jesus Christ, therefore, the Word made
flesh, sent 'as a man to men', 'speaks the words of God' (Jn
3:34), and completes the work of salvation which his Father
gave him to do (cf. Jn 5:36; 17:4). To see Jesus is to see
his Father (cf. Jn 14:9). For this reason, Jesus perfected
revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making
himself present and manifesting himself: through his words
and deeds, his signs and wonders, but especially through his
death and glorious resurrection from the dead and finally
with the sending of the Spirit of truth, he completed and
perfected revelation and confirmed it with divine
testimony... The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the
new and definitive covenant, will never pass away, and we
now await no further new public revelation before the
glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Tim
6:14 and Tit 2:13)".10
Thus, the Encyclical Redemptoris missio calls the
Church once again to the task of announcing the Gospel as
the fullness of truth: "In this definitive Word of his
revelation, God has made himself known in the fullest
possible way. He has revealed to mankind who he is. This
definitive self-revelation of God is the fundamental reason
why the Church is missionary by her very nature. She cannot
do other than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the fullness of
the truth which God has enabled us to know about
himself".11
Only the revelation of Jesus Christ, therefore, "introduces
into our history a universal and ultimate truth which stirs
the human mind to ceaseless
effort".12
6.
Therefore, the theory of the limited, incomplete, or
imperfect character of the revelation of Jesus Christ, which
would be complementary to that found in other religions, is
contrary to the Church's faith. Such a position would claim
to be based on the notion that the truth about God cannot be
grasped and manifested in its globality and completeness by
any historical religion, neither by Christianity nor by
Jesus Christ.
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. Therefore, the words, deeds,
and entire historical event of Jesus, though limited as
human realities, have nevertheless the divine Person of the
Incarnate Word, "true God and true
man"13
as their subject. For this reason, they possess in
themselves the definitiveness and completeness of the
revelation of God's salvific ways, even if the depth of the
divine mystery in itself remains transcendent and
inexhaustible.
The truth about God is not abolished or reduced
because it is spoken in human language; rather, it is
unique, full, and complete, because he who speaks and acts
is the Incarnate Son of God. Thus, faith requires us to
profess that the Word made flesh, in his entire mystery, who
moves from incarnation to glorification, is the source,
participated but real, as well as the fulfilment of every
salvific revelation of God to
humanity,14
and that the Holy Spirit, who is Christ's Spirit, will teach
this "entire truth" (Jn 16:13) to the Apostles and, through
them, to the whole Church.
7.
The proper
response to God's revelation is "the obedience of faith (Rom
16:26; cf. Rom 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) by which man freely
entrusts his entire self to God, offering 'the full
submission of intellect and will to God who reveals' and
freely assenting to the revelation given by him".15 Faith is
a gift of grace: "in order to have faith, the grace of God
must come first and give assistance; there must also be the
interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and
converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and gives
'to everyone joy and ease in assenting to and believing in
the truth'".16
The obedience of faith implies acceptance of the
truth of Christ's revelation, guaranteed by God, who is
Truth itself:17
"Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God.
At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to
the whole truth that God has
revealed".18
Faith, therefore, as "a gift of God" and as "a supernatural
virtue infused by him",19
involves a dual adherence: to God who reveals and to the
truth which he reveals, out of the trust which one has in
him who speaks. Thus, "we must believe in no one but God:
the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit".20
For this reason, the distinction between theological
faith and belief in the other religions, must be firmly
held. If faith is the acceptance in grace of revealed truth,
which "makes it possible to penetrate the mystery in a way
that allows us to understand it
coherently",21
then belief, in the other religions, is that sum of
experience and thought that constitutes the human treasury
of wisdom and religious aspiration, which man in his search
for truth has conceived and acted upon in his relationship
to God and the Absolute.22
This distinction is not always borne in mind in
current theological reflection. Thus, theological faith (the
acceptance of the truth revealed by the One and Triune God)
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. This is
one of the reasons why the differences between Christianity
and the other religions tend to be reduced at times to the
point of disappearance.
8. The
hypothesis of the inspired value of the sacred writings of
other religions is also put forward. Certainly, it must be
recognized that there are some elements in these texts which
may be de facto instruments by which countless people
throughout the centuries have been and still are able today
to nourish and maintain their life-relationship with God.
Thus, as noted above, the Second Vatican Council, in
considering the customs, precepts, and teachings of the
other religions, teaches that "although differing in many
ways from her own teaching, these nevertheless often reflect
a ray of that truth which enlightens all
men".23
The Church's tradition, however, reserves the
designation of inspired texts to the canonical books of the
Old and New Testaments, since these are inspired by the Holy
Spirit.24
Taking up this tradition, the Dogmatic Constitution on
Divine Revelation of the Second Vatican Council states: "For
Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic
age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old
and New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts,
on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 20:31; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21;
3:15-16), they have God as their author, and have been
handed on as such to the Church
herself".25
These books "firmly, faithfully, and without error, teach
that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished
to see confided to the Sacred
Scriptures".26
Nevertheless, God, who desires to call all peoples to
himself in Christ and to communicate to them the fullness of
his revelation and love, "does not fail to make himself
present in many ways, not only to individuals, but also to
entire peoples through their spiritual riches, of which
their religions are the main and essential expression even
when they contain 'gaps, insufficiencies and
errors'".27
Therefore, the sacred books of other religions, which in
actual fact direct and nourish the existence of their
followers, receive from the mystery of Christ the elements
of goodness and grace which they contain.
II.
THE INCARNATE LOGOS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF
SALVATION.
9. In
contemporary theological reflection there often emerges an
approach to Jesus of Nazareth that considers him a
particular, finite, historical figure, who reveals the
divine not in an exclusive way, but in a way complementary
with other revelatory and salvific figures. The Infinite,
the Absolute, the Ultimate Mystery of God would thus
manifest itself to humanity in many ways and in many
historical figures: Jesus of Nazareth would be one of these.
More concretely, for some, Jesus would be one of the many
faces which the Logos has assumed in the course of time to
communicate with humanity in a salvific way.
Furthermore, to justify the universality of Christian
salvation as well as the fact of religious pluralism, it has
been proposed that there is an economy of the eternal Word
that is valid also outside the Church and is unrelated to
her, in addition to an economy of the incarnate Word. The
first would have a greater universal value than the second,
which is limited to Christians, though God's presence would
be more full in the second.
10.
These theses are in profound conflict with the Christian
faith. The doctrine of faith must be firmly believed which
proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, and he alone,
is the Son and the Word of the Father. The Word, which "was
in the beginning with God" (Jn 1:2) is the same as he who
"became flesh" (Jn 1:14). In Jesus, "the Christ, the Son of
the living God" (Mt 16:16), "the whole fullness of divinity
dwells in bodily form" (Col 2:9). He is the "only begotten
Son of the Father, who is in the bosom of the Father" (Jn
1:18), his "beloved Son, in whom we have redemption... In
him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through
him, God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself, on
earth and in the heavens, making peace by the blood of his
Cross" (Col 1:13-14; 19-20).
Faithful to Sacred Scripture and refuting erroneous
and reductive interpretations, the First Council of Nicaea
solemnly defined its faith in: "Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, the only begotten generated from the Father, that is,
from the being of the Father, God from God, Light from
Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in
being with the Father, through whom all things were made,
those in heaven and those on earth. For us men and for our
salvation, he came down and became incarnate, was made man,
suffered, and rose again on the third day. He ascended to
the heavens and shall come again to judge the living and the
dead".28
Following the teachings of the Fathers of the Church,
the Council of Chalcedon also professed: "the one and the
same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in
divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and
truly man..., one in being with the Father according to the
divinity and one in being with us according to the
humanity..., begotten of the Father before the ages
according to the divinity and, in these last days, for us
and our salvation, of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God,
according to the humanity".29
For this reason, the Second Vatican Council states
that Christ "the new Adam...'image of the invisible God'
(Col 1:15) is himself the perfect man who has restored that
likeness to God in the children of Adam which had been
disfigured since the first sin... As an innocent lamb he
merited life for us by his blood which he freely shed. In
him God reconciled us to himself and to one another, freeing
us from the bondage of the devil and of sin, so that each
one of us could say with the apostle: the Son of God 'loved
me and gave himself up for me' (Gal
2:20)".30
In this regard, John Paul II has explicitly declared:
"To introduce any sort of separation between the Word and
Jesus Christ is contrary to the Christian faith... Jesus is
the Incarnate Word — a single and indivisible person...
Christ is none other than Jesus of Nazareth; he is the Word
of God made man for the salvation of all... In the process
of discovering and appreciating the manifold gifts —
especially the spiritual treasures — that God has
bestowed on every people, we cannot separate those gifts
from Jesus Christ, who is at the centre of God's plan of
salvation".31
It is likewise contrary to the Catholic faith to
introduce a separation between the salvific action of the
Word as such and that of the Word made man. With the
incarnation, all the salvific actions of the Word of God are
always done in unity with the human nature that he has
assumed for the salvation of all people. The one subject
which operates in the two natures, human and divine, is the
single person of the Word.32
Therefore, the theory which would attribute, after
the incarnation as well, a salvific activity to the Logos as
such in his divinity, exercised "in addition to" or "beyond"
the humanity of Christ, is not compatible with the Catholic
faith.33
11.
Similarly, the doctrine of faith regarding the unicity of
the salvific economy willed by the One and Triune God must
be firmly believed, at the source and centre of which is the
mystery of the incarnation of the Word, mediator of divine
grace on the level of creation and redemption (cf. Col
1:15-20), he who recapitulates all things (cf. Eph 1:10), he
"whom God has made our wisdom, our righteousness, and
sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor 1:30).
In fact, the mystery of Christ has its own intrinsic
unity, which extends from the eternal choice in God to the
parousia: "he [the Father] chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before
him in love" (Eph 1:4); "In Christ we are heirs, having been
destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes
all things according to his counsel and will" (Eph 1:11);
"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be
the firstborn among many brothers; those whom he predestined
he also called; and those whom he called he also justified;
and those whom he justified he also glorified" (Rom
8:29-30).
The Church's Magisterium, faithful to divine
revelation, reasserts that Jesus Christ is the mediator and
the universal redeemer: "The Word of God, through whom all
things were made, was made flesh, so that as perfect man he
could save all men and sum up all things in himself. The
Lord...is he whom the Father raised from the dead, exalted
and placed at his right hand, constituting him judge of the
living and the dead".34
This salvific
mediation implies also the unicity of the redemptive
sacrifice of Christ, eternal high priest (cf. Heb 6:20;
9:11; 10:12-14).
12.
There are also those who propose the hypothesis of an
economy of the Holy Spirit with a more universal breadth
than that of the Incarnate Word, crucified and risen. This
position also is contrary to the Catholic faith, which, on
the contrary, considers the salvific incarnation of the Word
as a trinitarian event. In the New Testament, the mystery of
Jesus, the Incarnate Word, constitutes the place of the Holy
Spirit's presence as well as the principle of the Spirit's
effusion on humanity, not only in messianic times (cf. Acts
2:32-36; Jn 7:39, 20:22; 1 Cor 15:45), but also prior to his
coming in history (cf. 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 1:10-12).
The Second Vatican Council has recalled to the
consciousness of the Church's faith this fundamental truth.
In presenting the Father's salvific plan for all humanity,
the Council closely links the mystery of Christ from its
very beginnings with that of the
Spirit.35
The entire work of building the Church by Jesus Christ the
Head, in the course of the centuries, is seen as an action
which he does in communion with his
Spirit.36
Furthermore, the salvific action of Jesus Christ,
with and through his Spirit, extends beyond the visible
boundaries of the Church to all humanity. Speaking of the
paschal mystery, in which Christ even now associates the
believer to himself in a living manner in the Spirit and
gives him the hope of resurrection, the Council states: "All
this holds true not only for Christians but also for all men
of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For
since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact
called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must
hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of
being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal
mystery".37
Hence, the connection is clear between the salvific
mystery of the Incarnate Word and that of the Spirit, who
actualizes the salvific efficacy of the Son made man in the
lives of all people, called by God to a single goal, both
those who historically preceded the Word made man, and those
who live after his coming in history: the Spirit of the
Father, bestowed abundantly by the Son, is the animator of
all (cf. Jn 3:34).
Thus, the recent Magisterium of the Church has firmly
and clearly recalled the truth of a single divine economy:
"The Spirit's presence and activity affect not only
individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures
and religions... The Risen Christ 'is now at work in human
hearts through the strength of his Spirit'... Again, it is
the Spirit who sows the 'seeds of the word' present in
various customs and cultures, preparing them for full
maturity in Christ".38
While recognizing the historical-salvific function of
the Spirit in the whole universe and in the entire history
of humanity,39
the Magisterium states: "This is the same Spirit who was at
work in the incarnation and in the life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus and who is at work in the Church. He
is therefore not an alternative to Christ nor does he fill a
sort of void which is sometimes suggested as existing
between Christ and the Logos.
Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and
in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions, serves
as a preparation for the Gospel and can only be understood
in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power
of the Spirit 'so that as perfectly human he would save all
human beings and sum up all
things'".40
In conclusion, the action of the Spirit is not
outside or parallel to the action of Christ. There is only
one salvific economy of the One and Triune God, realized in
the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of
the Son of God, actualized with the cooperation of the Holy
Spirit, and extended in its salvific value to all humanity
and to the entire universe: "No one, therefore, can enter
into communion with God except through Christ, by the
working of the Holy Spirit".41
III.
UNICITY AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE SALVIFIC MYSTERY OF JESUS
CHRIST.
13.
The thesis which denies the unicity and salvific
universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ is also put
forward. Such a position has no biblical foundation. In
fact, the truth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord and only
Saviour, who through the event of his incarnation, death and
resurrection has brought the history of salvation to
fulfilment, and which has in him its fullness and centre,
must be firmly believed as a constant element of the
Church's faith.
The New Testament attests to this fact with clarity:
"The Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world" (1
Jn 4:14); "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world" (Jn 1:29). In his discourse before the Sanhedrin,
Peter, in order to justify the healing of a man who was
crippled from birth, which was done in the name of Jesus
(cf. Acts 3:1-8), proclaims: "There is salvation in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given among
men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). St. Paul adds,
moreover, that Jesus Christ "is Lord of all", "judge of the
living and the dead", and thus "whoever believes in him
receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:
36,42,43).
Paul, addressing himself to the community of Corinth,
writes: "Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in
heaven or on earth — as in fact there are many gods and
many lords — yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one
Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through
whom we exist" (1 Cor 8:5-6). Furthermore, John the Apostle
states: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only
Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but
may have eternal life.
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him" (Jn 3:16-17). In the New Testament, the
universal salvific will of God is closely connected to the
sole mediation of Christ: "[God] desires all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and
men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for
all" (1 Tim 2:4-6).
It was in the awareness of the one universal gift of
salvation offered by the Father through Jesus Christ in the
Spirit (cf. Eph 1:3-14), that the first Christians
encountered the Jewish people, showing them the fulfilment
of salvation that went beyond the Law and, in the same
awareness, they confronted the pagan world of their time,
which aspired to salvation through a plurality of
saviours.
This inheritance of faith has been recalled recently
by the Church's Magisterium: "The Church believes that
Christ, who died and was raised for the sake of all (cf. 2
Cor 5:15) can, through his Spirit, give man the light and
the strength to be able to respond to his highest calling,
nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by
which they can be saved (cf. Acts 4:12). The Church likewise
believes that the key, the centre, and the purpose of the
whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and
Master".42
14.
It must therefore be firmly believed as a truth of Catholic
faith that the universal salvific will of the One and Triune
God is offered and accomplished once for all in the mystery
of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of
God.
Bearing in mind this article of faith, theology
today, in its reflection on the existence of other religious
experiences and on their meaning in God's salvific plan, is
invited to explore if and in what way the historical figures
and positive elements of these religions may fall within the
divine plan of salvation. In this undertaking, theological
research has a vast field of work under the guidance of the
Church's Magisterium.
The Second Vatican Council, in fact, has stated that:
"the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude, but
rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a
participation in this one
source".43
The content of this participated mediation should be
explored more deeply, but must remain always consistent with
the principle of Christ's unique mediation: "Although
participated forms of mediation of different kinds and
degrees are not excluded, they acquire meaning and value
only from Christ's own mediation, and they cannot be
understood as parallel or complementary to
his".44
Hence, those solutions that propose a salvific action of God
beyond the unique mediation of Christ would be contrary to
Christian and Catholic faith.
15.
Not
infrequently it is proposed that theology should avoid the
use of terms like "unicity", "universality", and
"absoluteness", which give the impression of excessive
emphasis on the significance and value of the salvific event
of Jesus Christ in relation to other religions.
In reality, however, such language is simply being
faithful to revelation, since it represents a development of
the sources of the faith themselves. From the beginning, the
community of believers has recognized in Jesus a salvific
value such that he alone, as Son of God made man, crucified
and risen, by the mission received from the Father and in
the power of the Holy Spirit, bestows revelation (cf. Mt
11:27) and divine life (cf. Jn 1:12; 5:25-26; 17:2) to all
humanity and to every person.
In this sense, one can and must say that Jesus Christ
has a significance and a value for the human race and its
history, which are unique and singular, proper to him alone,
exclusive, universal, and absolute. Jesus is, in fact, the
Word of God made man for the salvation of all. In expressing
this consciousness of faith, the Second Vatican Council
teaches: "The Word of God, through whom all things were
made, was made flesh, so that as perfect man he could save
all men and sum up all things in himself. The Lord is the
goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of
history and civilization, the centre of mankind, the joy of
all hearts, and the fulfilment of all aspirations.
It is he whom the Father raised from the dead,
exalted and placed at his right hand, constituting him judge
of the living and the dead".45
"It is precisely this uniqueness of Christ which gives him
an absolute and universal significance whereby, while
belonging to history, he remains history's centre and goal:
'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the
beginning and the end' (Rev 22:13)".46
IV.
UNICITY AND UNITY OF THE
CHURCH
16.
The Lord Jesus, the only Saviour, did not only establish a
simple community of disciples, but constituted the Church as
a salvific mystery: he himself is in the Church and the
Church is in him (cf. Jn 15:1ff.; Gal 3:28; Eph 4:15-16;
Acts 9:5).
Therefore, the fullness of Christ's salvific mystery
belongs also to the Church, inseparably united to her Lord.
Indeed, Jesus Christ continues his presence and his work of
salvation in the Church and by means of the Church (cf. Col
1:24-27),47
which is his body (cf. 1 Cor 12:12-13, 27; Col
1:18).48
And thus, just as the head and members of a living body,
though not identical, are inseparable, so too Christ and the
Church can neither be confused nor separated, and constitute
a single "whole Christ".49
This same inseparability is also expressed in the New
Testament by the analogy of the Church as the Bride of
Christ (cf. 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25-29; Rev
21:2,9).50
Therefore, in connection with the unicity and
universality of the salvific mediation of Jesus Christ, the
unicity of the Church founded by him must be firmly believed
as a truth of Catholic faith. Just as there is one Christ,
so there exists a single body of Christ, a single Bride of
Christ: "a single Catholic and apostolic
Church".51
Furthermore, the promises of the Lord that he would
not abandon his Church (cf. Mt 16:18; 28:20) and that he
would guide her by his Spirit (cf. Jn 16:13) mean, according
to Catholic faith, that the unicity and the unity of the
Church — like everything that belongs to the Church's
integrity — will never be
lacking.52
The Catholic faithful are required to profess that
there is an historical continuity — rooted in the
apostolic succession53
— between the Church founded by Christ and the Catholic
Church: "This is the single Church of Christ... which our
Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's
pastoral care (cf. Jn 21:17), commissioning him and the
other Apostles to extend and rule her (cf. Mt 28:18ff.),
erected for all ages as 'the pillar and mainstay of the
truth' (1 Tim 3:15).
This Church, constituted and organized as a society
in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the
Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by
the Bishops in communion with
him".54
With the expression subsistit in, the Second Vatican Council
sought to harmonize two doctrinal statements: on the one
hand, that the Church of Christ, despite the divisions which
exist among Christians, continues to exist fully only in the
Catholic Church, and on the other hand, that "outside of her
structure, many elements can be found of sanctification and
truth",55
that is, in those Churches and ecclesial communities which
are not yet in full communion with the Catholic
Church.56
But with respect to these, it needs to be stated that "they
derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and
truth entrusted to the Catholic
Church".57
17.
Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which
subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor
of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with
him.58
The Churches which, while not existing in perfect
communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by
means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession
and a valid Eucharist, are true particular
Churches.59
Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and
operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full
communion with the Catholic Church, since they do not accept
the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy, which, according to
the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and
exercises over the entire
Church.60
On the other hand, the ecclesial communities which
have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and
integral substance of the Eucharistic
mystery,61
are not Churches in the proper sense; however, 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.62
Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of
life in Christ, through the integral profession of faith,
the Eucharist, and full communion in the
Church.63
"The Christian faithful are therefore not permitted
to imagine that the Church of Christ is nothing more than a
collection — divided, yet in some way one — of
Churches and ecclesial communities; nor are they free to
hold that today the Church of Christ nowhere really exists,
and must be considered only as a goal which all Churches and
ecclesial communities must strive to
reach".64
In fact, "the elements of this already-given Church
exist, joined together in their fullness in the Catholic
Church and, without this fullness, in the other
communities".65
"Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as
such, though we believe they suffer from defects, have by no
means been deprived of significance and importance in the
mystery of salvation. For the spirit of Christ has not
refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive
their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth
entrusted to the Catholic
Church".66
The lack of unity among Christians is certainly a
wound for the Church; not in the sense that she is deprived
of her unity, but "in that it hinders the complete
fulfilment of her universality in
history".67
V.
THE CHURCH: KINGDOM OF GOD AND KINGDOM OF
CHRIST.
18.
The mission
of the Church is "to proclaim and establish among all
peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God, and she is on
earth, the seed and the beginning of that
kingdom".68
On the one hand, the Church is "a sacrament — that is,
sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of unity
of the entire human race".69
She is therefore the sign and instrument of the
kingdom; she is called to announce and to establish the
kingdom. On the other hand, the Church is the "people
gathered by the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit";70
she is therefore "the kingdom of Christ already present in
mystery"71
and constitutes its seed and beginning.The kingdom of God,
in fact, has an eschatological dimension: it is a reality
present in time, but its full realization will arrive only
with the completion or fulfilment of
history.72
The meaning of the expressions kingdom of heaven,
kingdom of God, and kingdom of Christ in Sacred Scripture
and the Fathers of the Church, as well as in the documents
of the Magisterium, is not always exactly the same, nor is
their relationship to the Church, which is a mystery that
cannot be totally contained by a human concept.
Therefore, there can be various theological
explanations of these terms. However, none of these possible
explanations can deny or empty in any way the intimate
connection between Christ, the kingdom, and the Church. In
fact, the kingdom of God which we know from revelation,
"cannot be detached either from Christ or from the Church...
If the kingdom is separated from Jesus, it is no longer the
kingdom of God which he revealed.
The result is a distortion of the meaning of the
kingdom, which runs the risk of being transformed into a
purely human or ideological goal and a distortion of the
identity of Christ, who no longer appears as the Lord to
whom everything must one day be subjected (cf. 1 Cor 15:27).
Likewise, one may not separate the kingdom from the Church.
It is true that the Church is not an end unto herself, since
she is ordered toward the kingdom of God, of which she is
the seed, sign and instrument. Yet, while remaining distinct
from Christ and the kingdom, the Church is indissolubly
united to both".73
19.
To state the inseparable relationship between Christ and the
kingdom is not to overlook the fact that the kingdom of God
— even if considered in its historical phase — is
not identified with the Church in her visible and social
reality. In fact, "the action of Christ and the Spirit
outside the Church's visible boundaries" must not be
excluded.74
Therefore,
one must also bear in mind that "the kingdom is the concern
of everyone: individuals, society and the world. Working for
the kingdom means acknowledging and promoting God's
activity, which is present in human history and transforms
it. Building the kingdom means working for liberation from
evil in all its forms. In a word, the kingdom of God is the
manifestation and the realization of God's plan of salvation
in all its fullness".75
In considering the relationship between the kingdom
of God, the kingdom of Christ, and the Church, it is
necessary to avoid one-sided accentuations, as is the case
with those "conceptions which deliberately emphasize the
kingdom and which describe themselves as 'kingdom centred.'
They stress the image of a Church which is not concerned
about herself, but which is totally concerned with bearing
witness to and serving the kingdom. It is a 'Church for
others,' just as Christ is the 'man for others'...
Together with positive aspects, these conceptions
often reveal negative aspects as well. First, they are
silent about Christ: the kingdom of which they speak is
'theocentrically' based, since, according to them, Christ
cannot be understood by those who lack Christian faith,
whereas different peoples, cultures, and religions are
capable of finding common ground in the one divine reality,
by whatever name it is called. For the same reason, they put
great stress on the mystery of creation, which is reflected
in the diversity of cultures and beliefs, but they keep
silent about the mystery of redemption.
Furthermore, the kingdom, as they understand it, ends
up either leaving very little room for the Church or
undervaluing the Church in reaction to a presumed
'ecclesiocentrism' of the past and because they consider the
Church herself only a sign, for that matter a sign not
without ambiguity".76
These theses are
contrary to Catholic faith because they deny the unicity of
the relationship which Christ and the Church have with the
kingdom of God.
VI.
THE CHURCH AND THE OTHER RELIGIONS IN RELATION TO SALVATION.
20.
From what has been stated above, some points follow that are
necessary for theological reflection as it explores the
relationship of the Church and the other religions to
salvation.
Above all else, it must be firmly believed that "the
Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation:
the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he
is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself
explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (cf.
Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the
necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as
through a door".77
This doctrine must not be set against the universal salvific
will of God (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); "it is necessary to keep these
two truths together, namely, the real possibility of
salvation in Christ for all mankind and the necessity of the
Church for this salvation".78
The Church is the "universal sacrament of
salvation",79
since, united always in a mysterious way to the Saviour
Jesus Christ, her Head, and subordinated to him, she has, in
God's plan, an indispensable relationship with the salvation
of every human being.80
For those who are not formally and visibly members of
the Church, "salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of
a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the
Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but
enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their
spiritual and material situation.
This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his
sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy
Spirit";81
it has a relationship with the Church, which "according to
the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the
Son and the Holy Spirit".82
21.
With respect to the way in which the salvific grace of God
— which is always given by means of Christ in the
Spirit and has a mysterious relationship to the Church
— comes to individual non-Christians, the Second
Vatican Council limited itself to the statement that God
bestows it "in ways known to
himself".83
Theologians are seeking to understand this question
more fully. Their work is to be encouraged, since it is
certainly useful for understanding better God's salvific
plan and the ways in which it is accomplished. However, from
what has been stated above about the mediation of Jesus
Christ and the "unique and special
relationship"84
which the Church has with the kingdom of God among men
— which in substance is the universal kingdom of Christ
the Saviour — it is clear that 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, even if these are said to be converging with the Church
toward the eschatological kingdom of God.
Certainly, the various religious traditions contain
and offer religious elements which come from
God,85
and which are part of what "the Spirit brings about in human
hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures, and
religions".86
Indeed, some prayers and rituals of the other
religions may assume a role of preparation for the Gospel,
in that they are occasions or pedagogical helps in which the
human heart is prompted to be open to the action of
God.87
One cannot attribute to these, however, a divine
origin or an ex opere operato salvific efficacy, which is
proper to the Christian
sacraments.88
Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked that other
rituals, insofar as they depend on superstitions or other
errors (cf. 1 Cor 10:20-21), constitute an obstacle to
salvation.89
22.
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 (cf. Acts
17:30-31).90
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'".91
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.92
However, "all the children of the Church should
nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results,
not from their own merits, but from the grace of Christ. If
they fail to respond in thought, word, and deed to that
grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they shall be
more severely judged".93
One understands then that, following the Lord's
command (cf. Mt 28:19-20) and as a requirement of her love
for all people, the Church "proclaims and is in duty bound
to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the way, the truth,
and the life (Jn 14:6). In him, in whom God reconciled all
things to himself (cf. 2 Cor 5:18-19), men find the fullness
of their religious life".94
In inter-religious dialogue as well, the mission ad
gentes "today as always retains its full force and
necessity".95
"Indeed, God 'desires all men to be saved and come to the
knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4); that is, God wills the
salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the
truth.
Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the
promptings of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of
salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been
entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring
them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan
of salvation, the Church must be
missionary".96
Inter-religious dialogue, therefore, as part of her
evangelizing mission, is just one of the actions of the
Church in her mission ad
gentes.97
Equality, which is a presupposition of inter-religious
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 — who is God himself
made man — in relation to the founders of the other
religions.
Indeed, the Church, guided by charity and respect for
freedom,98
must be primarily committed to proclaiming to all people the
truth definitively revealed by the Lord, and to announcing
the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of adherence
to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in
order to participate fully in communion with God, the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, the certainty of the
universal salvific will of God does not diminish, but rather
increases the duty and urgency of the proclamation of
salvation and of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
23.
The intention of the present Declaration, in reiterating and
clarifying certain truths of the faith, has been to follow
the example of the Apostle Paul, who wrote to the faithful
of Corinth: "I handed on to you as of first importance what
I myself received" (1 Cor 15:3). Faced with certain
problematic and even erroneous propositions, theological
reflection is called to reconfirm the Church's faith and to
give reasons for her hope in a way that is convincing and
effective.
In treating the question of the true religion, the
Fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught: "We believe
that this one true religion continues to exist in the
Catholic and Apostolic Church, to which the Lord Jesus
entrusted the task of spreading it among all people. Thus,
he said to the Apostles: 'Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you' (Mt 28: 19-20).
Especially in those things that concern God and his
Church, all persons are required to seek the truth, and when
they come to know it, to embrace it and hold fast to
it".99
The revelation of Christ will continue to be "the
true lodestar" 100
in history for all humanity: "The truth, which is Christ,
imposes itself as an all-embracing authority".
101
The Christian mystery, in fact, overcomes all barriers of
time and space, and accomplishes the unity of the human
family: "From their different locations and traditions all
are called in Christ to share in the unity of the family of
God's children... Jesus destroys the walls of division and
creates unity in a new and unsurpassed way through our
sharing in his mystery. This unity is so deep that the
Church can say with Saint Paul: 'You are no longer strangers
and sojourners, but you are saints and members of the
household of God' (Eph 2:19)". 102
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