THE VATICANS restatement of its position was outlined in a complex theological document, which repeated

Church teachings that non-Christians were in a gravely deficient situation regarding salvation. It said that other
Christian churches had defects, partly because they did not recognize the primacy of the Pope.
The declaration, a complex theological document, was titled On the Unity and Salvific Universality of Jesus
Christ and the Church. It underlined that it was only reiterating long-held teaching, citing a Second Vatican Council
declaration that We believe that this one true religion continues to exist in the Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The 36-page document, which was bound to spark fresh debate, was prepared by the Vaticans Congregation of
the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II.
It said the restatement of the official Catholic position was necessary to contest relativistic theories which seek
to justify religious pluralism as a principle rather than a de facto practice.
NBCs Stephen Weeke reported from Rome that the document, while expected from the church, has proved
paradoxical. The pope has spent his papacy crisscrossing the globe preaching religious tolerance by reaching out to
Jewish and Muslim faiths. But the document released Tuesday stated that the Catholic faith was the mother of all
beliefs.
REVELATION OF CHRIST
The document said only the revelation of Jesus Christ was definitive and complete. Asserting that Christian
revelation could be complementary to that found in other religions was contrary to the Churchs faith.
The document was addressed primarily to Catholic theologians but it appeared destined to spark dialogue on all
levels with other Christian Churches and with non-Christians. At a news conference to present the document,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vaticans doctrinal head, said some theologians were manipulating and going beyond
the limits of tolerance when they put all religions on the same plane.
Ratzinger said this did not reflect what he called an objective and universal truth.
Walking a theological tightrope, the document said the Church of Christ was present and operative in other
Christian Churches today. But, in the Vaticans view, it subsists fully in the Roman Catholic Church because the pope
is the successor to St. Peter, whom Christ named as his first vicar on Earth. Papal primacy was divinely willed, it said.
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, it said.
DEFECTS OF OTHER CHURCHES
Some other Christian churches, while not in perfect union, remained united to Catholics by close bonds, it said.
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 pope) objectively has and exercises over the entire Church, it said.
While other Christian churches suffer from defects, the document said they had not been deprived of what it
called significance and importance in the mystery of salvation.
But it was the Catholic Church which possessed and had been entrusted with the fullness of grace and truth.
It said because Christ was the Son of God, non-Christians were at a disadvantage regarding salvation.
The 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...a religious relativism which leads to the belief that one religion is as good as another, it said.
If it is true that 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.
The lack of unity among Christians is certainly a wound for the church, the document said, saying it hindered the
complete fulfillment of her universality in history.
Pope John Paul II has made inter-religious dialogue one of the principal goals of his 22-year papacy, but the

document made clear that for the Vatican equality refers to the personal dignity of individuals and not to religious
doctrine.
The Vaticans missionary activity has come under fire in some parts of the world. During a trip to India last year,
where he faced protests by some Hindus, the pope called for religious tolerance but said the church had the right to
spread its message.