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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “L’Osservatore Romano” has made it possible for Agenzia Fides to publish the entire text of the speech given by Archbishop Angelo Amato, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the opening of the Academic Year 2007-2008 in the Theological Institute of Assisi. Its theme was: “The document Dominus Iesus and the other religions.” The translations into other languages was made by Agenzia Fides and have not been revised by the author.
Ecclesiological doctrine: the Church, only sacrament of salvation
In correspondence with its Christological affirmations, the Declaration dedicates the following three chapters to the enunciation of ecclesiological doctrine, mentioning certain essential aspects of the mystery of the Church alcuni.
In correspondence with the unicity and universality of the slavific mystery of Christ, it affirms the existence of a single Church: «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”.» (n. 16).
With regard to the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of God it reasserts that the Church is the kingdom of Christ already present «seed and beginning » in history, although its completion and full realisation will come only at the end of time (n. 18).
In correspondence with the universality of the mystery of Christ, the necessity of the Church for the salvation of humanity is motivated. In God's plan the Church, «universal sacrament of salvation» (Lumen gentium, n. 48) and intimately united with Christ her head, has an unavoidable relation with the salvation of every human person.
With regard to modalities for the actuation of this salvific influence, the Declaration affirms: «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”» (DI n. 21). We will come back to this statement.
Therefore the Church cannot be considered one of several ways of salvation, constituted by other religions, thought to be complementary or equivalent to her. The unique function, peculiar to the Church, as the means of salvation for the whole of humanity cannot be levelled: «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» (DI n. 22).
Identity reasserted
So we see, the Declaration says nothing new. Everything is in fact taken from the Church's conciliar and post-conciliar magisterium. However it does clearly and precisely reassert certain central doctrinal elements of Catholic identity, often overlooked or denied by ambiguous or erroneous arguments. Theological research is not halted, indeed, it is frequently urged to continue its reflection.
In the chapter on the unicity and universality of the salvific mystery of Christ, for example, theology is expressly «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» (n. 14).
Moreover, careful study must be undertaken of the Council's statement (Lumen gentium, n. 62) with regard to the unique mediation of the Redeemer, which does not exclude, but rather gives rise to cooperation proper of human creatures: «The content of this participated mediation should be explored more deeply, but must remain always consistent with the principle of Christ's unique mediation» (DI n. 14).
Further, still to be adequately illustrated, the mysterious gift of grace given to non Christians: «the Second Vatican Council limited itself to the statement that God bestows it “in ways known to himself”. Theologians are seeking to understand this question more fully.» (DI n. 21).
Lastly, already in its introduction, the Declaration explained that the paths of interreligious dialogue and also ecumenical dialogue, must continue, since «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» (DI n. 3). The Declaration intended to close only those paths leading to a blind alley. In this way it frees interreligious dialogue from the danger of universal undifferentiated religiosity, with a minimum common denominator, and puts it back instead on the path of truth, with respect for personal identity and that of others: «the Church, guided by charity and respect for freedom, 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.» (DI n. 22) (4-to be continued) (Agenzia Fides 29/2/2008 righe 73, parole 858)
