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An Outline of Evagrian Mysticism CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

DECLARATION

"DOMINUS IESUS"

ON THE UNICITY AND SALVIFIC UNIVERSALITY

OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

 

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

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.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, August

6, 2000, the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Joseph Card. Ratzinger

Prefect

Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B.

Archbishop Emeritus of Vercelli

Secretary

(1) First Council of Constantinople, Symbolum Constantinopolitanum: DS 150.

(2) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 1: AAS 83 (1991),

249-340.

(3) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes and Declaration Nostra aetate;

cf. also Paul VI Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi: AAS 68 (1976), 5-76;

John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio.

(4) Second Vatican Council, Declaration Nostra aetate, 2.

(5) Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Congregation for the

Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction Dialogue and Proclamation, 29: AAS 84

(1992), 424; cf. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes,

22.

(6) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 55: AAS 83 (1991),

302-304.

(7) Cf. Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Congregation for

the Evangelization of Peoples, Instruction Dialogue and Proclamation, 9: AAS 84

(1992), 417ff.

(8) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 5: AAS 91 (1999), 5-88.

(9) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei verbum, 2.

(10) Ibid., 4.

(11) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 5.

(12) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 14.

(13) Council of Chalcedon, Symbolum Chalcedonense: DS 301; cf. St. Athanasius,

De Incarnatione, 54, 3: SC 199, 458.

(14) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei verbum, 4.

(15) Ibid., 5.

(16) Ibid.

(17) Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 144.

(18) Ibid., 150.

(19) Ibid., 153.

(20) Ibid., 178.

(21) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 13.

(22) Cf. ibid., 31-32.

(23) Second Vatican Council, Declaration Nostra aetate, 2; cf. Second Vatican

Council, Decree Ad gentes, 9, where it speaks of the elements of good present

"in the particular customs and cultures of peoples"; Dogmatic Constitution Lumen

gentium, 16, where it mentions the elements of good and of truth present among

non-Christians, which can be considered a preparation for the reception of the

Gospel.

(24) Cf. Council of Trent, Decretum de libris sacris et de traditionibus

recipiendis: DS 1501; First Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Filius,

cap. 2: DS 3006.

(25) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei verbum, 11.

(26) Ibid.

(27) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 55; cf. 56 and Paul VI,

Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 53.

(28) First Council of Nicaea, Symbolum Nicaenum: DS 125.

(29) Council of Chalcedon, Symbolum Chalcedonense: DS 301.

(30) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 22.

(31) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 6.

(32) Cf. St. Leo the Great, Tomus ad Flavianum: DS 294.

(33) Cf. St. Leo the Great, Letter to the Emperor Leo I Promisisse me memini: DS

318: "...in tantam unitatem ab ipso conceptu Virginis deitate et humanitate

conserta, ut nec sine homine divina, nec sine Deo agerentur humana". Cf. also

ibid. DS 317.

(34) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 45; cf. also

Council of Trent, Decretum de peccato originali, 3: DS 1513.

(35) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 3-4.

(36) Cf. ibid., 7; cf. St. Irenaeus, who wrote that it is in the Church "that

communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit"

(Adversus haereses III, 24, 1: SC 211, 472).

(37) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 22.

(38) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 28. For the "seeds of

the Word" cf. also St. Justin Martyr, Second Apology 8, 1-2; 10, 1-3; 13, 3-6:

ed. E.J. Goodspeed, 84; 85; 88-89.

(39) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Redemptoris missio, 28-29.

(40) Ibid., 29.

(41) Ibid., 5.

(42) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 10. Cf. St.

Augustine, who wrote that Christ is the way, which "has never been lacking to

mankind... and apart from this way no one has been set free, no one is being set

free, no one will be set free" De civitate Dei 10, 32, 2: CCSL 47, 312.

(43) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 62.

(44) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 5.

(45) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 45. The

necessary and absolute singularity of Christ in human history is well expressed

by St. Irenaeus in contemplating the preeminence of Jesus as firstborn Son: "In

the heavens, as firstborn of the Father's counsel, the perfect Word governs and

legislates all things; on the earth, as firstborn of the Virgin, a man just and

holy, reverencing God and pleasing to God, good and perfect in every way, he

saves from hell all those who follow him since he is the firstborn from the dead

and Author of the life of God" (Demonstratio apostolica, 39: SC 406, 138).

(46) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 6.

(47) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14.

(48) Cf. ibid., 7.

(49) Cf. St. Augustine, Enarratio in Psalmos, Ps. 90, Sermo 2,1: CCSL 39, 1266;

St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, Praefatio, 6, 14: PL 75, 525; St. Thomas

Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, III, q. 48, a. 2 ad 1.

(50) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 6.

(51) Symbolum maius Ecclesiae Armeniacae: DS 48. Cf. Boniface VIII, Unam

sanctam: DS 870-872; Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen

gentium, 8.

(52) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 4; John Paul II,

Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 11: AAS 87 (1995), 927.

(53) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 20; cf.

also St. Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, III, 3, 1-3: SC 211, 20-44; St. Cyprian,

Epist. 33, 1: CCSL 3B, 164-165; St. Augustine, Contra adver. legis et prophet.,

1, 20, 39: CCSL 49, 70.

(54) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 8.

(55) Ibid.; cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 13. Cf. also

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 15 and the Decree

Unitatis redintegratio, 3.

(56) The interpretation of those who would derive from the formula subsistit in

the thesis that the one Church of Christ could subsist also in non-Catholic

Churches and ecclesial communities is therefore contrary to the authentic

meaning of Lumen gentium. "The Council instead chose the word subsistit

precisely to clarify that there exists only one ‘subsistence' of the true

Church, while outside her visible structure there only exist elementa Ecclesiae,

which — being elements of that same Church — tend and lead toward the Catholic

Church" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Notification on the Book

"Church: Charism and Power" by Father Leonardo Boff: AAS 77 [1985], 756-762).

(57) Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3.

(58) Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium

Ecclesiae, 1: AAS 65 (1973), 396-398.

(59) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 14 and 15;

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Communionis notio, 17: AAS 85

(1993), 848.

(60) Cf. First Vatican Council, Constitution Pastor aeternus: DS 3053-3064;

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 22.

(61) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 22.

(62) Cf. ibid., 3.

(63) Cf. ibid., 22.

(64) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium

Ecclesiae, 1.

(65) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint, 14.

(66) Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3.

(67) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Communionis notio, 17;

cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 4.

(68) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 5.

(69) Ibid., 1.

(70) Ibid., 4. Cf. St. Cyprian, De Dominica oratione 23: CCSL 3A, 105.

(71) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 3.

(72) Cf. ibid., 9; cf. also the prayer addressed to God found in the Didache

9,4: SC 248, 176: "May the Church be gathered from the ends of the earth into

your kingdom" and ibid. 10, 5: SC 248, 180: "Remember, Lord, your Church... and,

made holy, gather her together from the four winds into your kingdom which you

have prepared for her".

(73) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 18; cf. Apostolic

Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, 17: L'Osservatore Romano (November 7, 1999). The

kingdom is so inseparable from Christ that, in a certain sense, it is identified

with him (cf. Origen, In Mt. Hom., 14, 7: PG 13, 1197; Tertullian, Adversus

Marcionem, IV, 33,8: CCSL 1, 634.

(74) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 18.

(75) Ibid., 15.

(76) Ibid., 17.

(77) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14; cf. Decree

Ad gentes, 7; Decree Unitatis redintegratio, 3.

(78) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 9; cf. Catechism of the

Catholic Church, 846-847.

(79) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 48.

(80) Cf. St. Cyprian, De catholicae ecclesiae unitate, 6: CCSL 3, 253-254; St.

Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, III, 24, 1: SC 211, 472-474.

(81) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 10.

(82) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes, 2. The famous formula extra

Ecclesiam nullus omnino salvatur is to be interpreted in this sense (cf. Fourth

Lateran Council, Cap. 1. De fide catholica: DS 802). Cf. also the Letter of the

Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston: DS 3866-3872.

(83) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes, 7.

(84) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 18.

(85) These are the seeds of the divine Word (semina Verbi), which the Church

recognizes with joy and respect (cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes,

11; Declaration Nostra aetate, 2).

(86) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 29.

(87) Cf. ibid.; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 843.

(88) Cf. Council of Trent, Decretum de sacramentis, can. 8, de sacramentis in

genere: DS 1608.

(89) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 55.

(90) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 17; John

Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 11.

(91) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 36.

(92) Cf. Pius XII, Encyclical Letter Mystici corporis: DS 3821.

(93) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14.

(94) Second Vatican Council, Declaration Nostra aetate, 2.

(95) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad gentes, 7.

(96) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 851; cf. also 849-856.

(97) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, 55; Apostolic

Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, 31.

(98) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Declaration Dignitatis humanae, 1.

(99) Ibid.

(100) John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et ratio, 15.

(101) Ibid., 92.

(102) Ibid., 70.