|
|
t
|
CONGREGATIO PRO DOCTRINA FIDEI DECLARATIO DOMINUS IESUS |
August 6, 2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
I. Introduction |
I. INTRODUCTIO |
|
|
|
|
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). |
1. Dominus Iesus, antequam in coelum ascenderet, suis discipulis mandatum contulit nuntiandi Evangelium cunctis hominibus omnesque populos baptizandi: “Euntes in mundum universum praedicate evangelium omni creaturae. Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit; qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur” (Mc 16,15-16) ; “Data est mihi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra. Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia, quaecumque mandavi vobis. Et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi” (Mt 28,18-20; cf. etiam Lc 24,46-48; Io 17,18; 20,21; Act 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 |
Universalis Ecclesiae missio oritur ex Iesu Christi mandato et per saeculorum decursum impletur in proclamatione mysterii Dei, Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, atque mysterii incarnationis Filii, quod universis hominibus salutis eventus exstat. Haec sunt capita fundamentalia quae in professione fidei christianae continentur: “Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, omnium visibilium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri : per quem omnia facta sunt; qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est, crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos : cuius regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi”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 |
2. Per saeculorum decursum Ecclesia fideliter proclamavit Iesu Christi Evangelium de eoque testimonium reddidit. Altero vero exeunte millennio, huius missionis exsecutio ab adimpletione procul adhuc abest 2, qua de causa hodie vim suam quam maxime servat Pauli apostoli exclamatio de uniuscuiusque fidelis baptizati officio missionario: “Nam si evangelizavero, non est mihi gloria; necessitas enim mihi incumbit. Vae enim mihi est, si non evangelizavero!” (1 Cor 9,16). Haec est profecto ratio ob quam Magisterium peculiari cura incubuit missioni evangelizatrici Ecclesiae declarandae ac promovendae, in iis praesertim quae attinent ad religiosas traditiones hominum totius orbis3. |
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 |
Attentis valoribus quos testantur et hominum consortioni conferre possunt, traditiones huiusmodi modo aperto ac positivo respiciuntur in Declaratione conciliari de Ecclesiae habitudine ad religiones non christianas, in qua legitur: “Ecclesia catholica nihil eorum, quae in his religionibus vera et sancta sunt, reicit. Sincera cum observantia considerat illos modos agendi et vivendi, illa praecepta et doctrinas, quae, quamvis ab iis quae ipsa tenet et proponit in multis discrepent, haud raro referunt tamen radium illius Veritatis, quae illuminat omnes homines”4. Haec premens vestigia, Ecclesia, ut munus suum adimpleat nuntiandi Iesum Christum, qui est “via et veritas et vita” (Io 14,6), utitur quoque dialogo interreligioso, qui quidem, nedum in locum missionis ad gentes substituatur, eam potius comitatur, propter illud “unitatis mysterium” ex quo “consequitur ut omnes viri ac mulieres, qui salvi effecti sunt, participes reddantur, modo licet differenti, eiusdem mysterii salutis in Christo Iesu per Spiritum eius”5. Hic dialogus, ad missionis Ecclesiae evangelizatricis partes pertinens6, secum fert dispositionem ad mente complectendum id quod alii tenent necnon impulsionem versus mutuam communicationem, ita ut alter ab altero locupletetur, in oboedientia erga verum et in observantia erga libertatem7. |
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. |
3. Peculiares autem exsurgunt quaestiones cum inter fidem christianam et alias traditiones religiosas dialogus ad effectum deducitur ipsiusve natura altius perscrutatur, quibus quaestionibus responsio quaeritur novas percurrendo vias, propositiones afferendo et modos agendi proponendo, quae quidem omnia accurato egent discrimine. Hac in expositione praesens Declaratio eo respicit, ut Episcopis, theologis universisque catholicis fidelibus quaedam doctrinae capita in memoriam reducantur, quae necessaria sunt omnino quaeque theologicam ratiocinationem iuvare possunt ad solutiones inveniendas quae et veritatibus fidei sint conformes et culturalibus exigentiis nostri temporis apte accommodentur. |
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. |
Stylus expositivus fini respondet propter quem praesens Declaratio lata est. Hoc enim documentum non ea de causa foras datur, ut organica tractatio tradatur quaestionum de mysterii Iesu Christi atque Ecclesiae unicitate et universalitate salvifica, utve solutiones proponantur theologicis controversiis liberae disputationi relictis, sed eo contra respicit, ut, patefactis nonnullis fundamentalibus problematibus altiori indagationi adhuc subiciendis atque confutatis quibusdam erroneis vel ambiguis sententiis, doctrina catholicae fidei hac de re iterum proponatur. Quamobrem Declaratio vestigia premit doctrinae traditae in praecedentibus Magisterii documentis, eum in finem ut veritates repetantur quae ad Ecclesiae fidei patrimonium pertinent. |
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. |
4. Perenne nuntium missionarium Ecclesiae in discrimine hodie ponitur a theoriis indolis relativisticae, quae comprobare conantur pluralismum religiosum, non solum de facto sed etiam de iure (vel de principio). Ideo superatae a quibusdam censentur veritates cuiusmodi sunt indoles definitiva et completa revelationis Iesu Christi, natura fidei christianae per respectum ad adhaesionem aliis religionibus, inspiratio librorum Sacrae Scripturae, unitas personalis inter Verbum aeternum et Iesum Nazarenum, unitas oeconomiae Verbi incarnati et Spiritus Sancti, unicitas et universalitas salvifica mysterii Iesu Christi, mediatio salvifica universalis Ecclesiae, inscindibilitas, quamvis in distinctione, inter Regnum Dei, Regnum Christi et Ecclesiam, subsistentia unicae Christi Ecclesiae in catholica Ecclesia. |
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. |
Harum asseverationum veluti radices quaedam praesupposita exstant, indolis cum philosophicae tum theologicae, quae intellectui ac receptioni veritatum revelatarum obstant. Ex iis praesuppositis haec, inter alia, recenseri queunt: persuasio de incomprehensibilitate et inexprimibilitate veritatis divinae etiam ex parte revelationis christianae; mentis habitus relativisticus relate ad veritatem, ita ut id quod verum est iuxta aliquos tale non sit iuxta alios; radicalis oppositio quae fingitur inter formam mentis logicam occidentalem et formam mentis symbolicam orientalem; subiectivismus eius qui, tenens rationem unicum esse cognitionis fontem, “minus intuitum suum attollere in altiora posset ut veritatem exsistentiae consequi auderet”8; difficultas intellegendi et accipiendi praesentiam in historia eventuum indolis definitivae atque eschatologicae; metaphysica exinanitio eventus historicae incarnationis Verbi aeterni, qui eventus reducitur ad meram apparitionem Dei in historia; eclectismus eorum qui, in theologica pervestigatione, ideas assumunt e diversis contextibus philosophicis et religiosis provenientibus, nulla facta quaestione de earum cohaerentia et conexione systematica deque earum congruentia cum christiana veritate; propensio, demum, ad sacram Scripturam legendam et intellegendam extra Ecclesiae Traditionem et Magisterium. |
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. |
Haec praesupposita, aspectus inter se differentes interdum induentia, quae quandoque ut assertiones quandoque vero ut hypotheses proponuntur, fundamentum constituunt quarundam theologicarum propositionum, iuxta quas christiana revelatio et mysterium Iesu Christi ac Ecclesiae suam amittunt indolem veritatis absolutae et universalitatis salvificae, vel saltem sub umbra dubii et diffidentiae collocantur. |
I. THE
FULLNESS AND DEFINITIVENESS |
I. De plenitudine et indole definitiva revelationis Iesu Christi |
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). |
5. Ut remedium afferatur huic formae mentis relativisticae, quae magis magisque grassatur, opus est imprimis ut affirmetur indoles definitiva ac completa revelationis Iesu Christi. Firmiter enim credendum est in mysterio Iesu Christi, Filii Dei incarnati, qui est “via et veritas et vita” (Io 14,6), haberi revelationem plenitudinis veritatis divinae: “nemo novit Filium nisi Pater, neque Patrem quis novit nisi Filius et cui voluerit Filius revelare” (Mt 11,27); “Deum nemo vidit umquam; Unigenitus Deus, qui est in sinu Patris, ipse enarravit” (Io 1,18); “in ipso inhabitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter et estis in illo repleti” (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 |
In fidelitate erga Dei verbum, Concilium Vaticanum II hoc docet: “Intima autem per hanc revelationem tam de Deo quam de hominis salute veritas nobis in Christo illucescit, qui mediator simul et plenitudo totius revelationis exsistit”9. Et idem Concilium asserit: “Iesus Christus ergo, Verbum caro factum, “homo ad homines” missus “verba Dei loquitur” (Io 3,34), et opus salutare consummat quod dedit ei Pater faciendum (cf. Io 5,36; 17,4). Quapropter Ipse, quem qui videt, videt et Patrem (cf. Io 14,9), tota Suiipsius praesentia ac manifestatione, verbis et operibus, signis et miraculis, praesertim autem morte sua et gloriosa ex mortuis resurrectione, misso tandem Spiritu veritatis, revelationem complendo perficit ac testimonio divino confirmat. [...] Oeconomia ergo christiana, utpote foedus novum et definitivum, numquam praeteribit, et nulla iam nova revelatio publica expectanda est ante gloriosam manifestationem Domini nostri Iesu Christi (cf. I Tim 6,14 et 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 |
Hac de causa in Litteris Encyclicis Redemptoris missio iterum Ecclesiae proponitur munus nuntiandi Evangelium ut veritatis plenitudinem: “Per hoc definitivum suae revelationis Verbum, Deus plenissimo modo se ostendit; hominum generi dixit quis Ipse sit. Et haec revelatio, qua Deus certe et definitive se patefecit, causa est praecipua cur Ecclesia “sit, sua natura, missionaria”; unde non potest non proclamare Evangelium, id est plenitudinem veritatis, quam Deus nobis de se significavit”11. Una ergo Iesu Christi revelatio “infert aliquam veritatem, universalem atque ultimam, quae hominis mentem incitat ne umquam consistat”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. |
6. Ecclesiae igitur fidei opponitur thesis de indole limitata, incompleta et imperfecta revelationis Iesu Christi, perinde ac si haec sit complementum revelationis aliis in religionibus exstantis. Ratio ultima huiusmodi asseverationis in eo inniteretur, quod a nulla historica religione Dei veritas percipi et manifestari posset in sua universalitate et plenitudine, nec ideo a christianismo, immo sed neque a Iesu Christo. |
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. |
Haec cogitandi ratio penitus contradicit praecedentibus affirmationibus fidei, iuxta quas in Iesu Christo salvifici Dei mysterii plena et completa exstat revelatio. Proinde verba, opera et integer eventus historicus Iesu Christi, quamvis limitibus subiciantur prout sunt humanae realitates, tamquam subiectum tamen habent Personam divinam Verbi incarnati, “veri Dei et veri hominis”13, quapropter notam induunt definitivae ac plenae revelationis viarum Dei ad hominum salutem, etiamsi altitudo ipsius divini mysterii maneat transcendens et inexhauribilis. Veritas circa Deum nequaquam aboletur vel extenuatur eo quod lingua humana exprimitur; remanet contra unica, plena et completa, quia qui loquitur et agit Filius est Dei incarnatus. Propterea fides postulat ut profiteamur Verbum carnem factum, in universo suo mysterio, ab incarnatione ad glorificationem, fontem esse, participatum sed realem, necnon consummationem omnis revelationis salvificae Dei ad homines14; profiteamur quoque necesse est Spiritum Sanctum, qui est Spiritus Christi, “in omnem veritatem” (Io 16,13) docturum esse Apostolos et, per ipsos, Ecclesiam universam in temporis decursu. |
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 |
7. Adaequata ergo responsio ad Dei revelationem est “ oboeditio fidei (Cf. Rom 1,5; Rom 16,26; 2Cor 10,5-6) qua homo se totum libere Deo committit “plenum revelanti Deo intellectus et voluntatis obsequium” praestando et voluntarie revelationi ab Eo datae assentiendo”15. Fides est gratiae donum: “Quae fides ut praebeatur, opus est praeveniente et adiuvante gratia Dei et internis Spiritus Sancti auxiliis, qui cor moveat et in Deum convertat, mentis oculos aperiat, et det “omnibus suavitatem in consentiendo et credendo veritati”“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 |
Oboeditio fidei secum fert ut tamquam vera accipiatur Christi revelatio, de qua Deus spondet, qui est ipsa Veritas17: “Fides est imprimis adhaesio personalis hominis ad Deum; simul vero et inseparabiliter est liber toti veritati a Deo revelatae assensus”18. Fides igitur, quae est “donum Dei” et “virtus supernaturalis ab Illo infusa”19, duplicem secum fert adhaesionem: et Deo, qui revelat, et veritati ab eo revelatae, propter fidem quae praebetur Ei qui loquitur. Propterea “in nullum alium credere debemus quam in Deum, Patrem, Filium et Spiritum Sanctum”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 |
Firmiter ergo tenenda est distinctio inter fidem theologalem et credulitatem quae invenitur in aliis religionibus. Dum enim fides acceptio est, vi gratiae, veritatis revelatae, quae una sinit “nos in mysterium ingredi intimum, cuius congruentem fovet intellectum”21, credulitas aliarum religionum tributa in complexu illo innititur experientiae et cogitationis, qui divitiarum acervum sapientiae ac sensus religiosi efformat, mente conceptum ab hominibus veritatem quaerentibus ab eisque ad effectum deductum cum sese ad Divinum et Absolutum referunt22. |
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. |
Huiusmodi autem distinctio non semper prae oculis habetur in hodierno cogitandi habitu, qua de causa fides theologalis, quae est acceptio veritatis revelatae a Deo Uno et Trino, frequenter identificatur cum credulitate in aliis religionibus, quae est contra experientia religiosa veritatem absolutam adhuc quaerens, ad assensum tamen erga Deum sese revelantem nondum perveniens. Haec est una ex causis propter quas propensio apud quosdam viget ad minuendas differentias, quandoque ad extinctionem usque, christianismum inter et alias religiones. |
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 |
8. Proponitur quoque hypothesis circa vim inspiratam textuum sacrorum aliarum religionum. Agnoscendum est quidem aliqua elementa horum textuum esse de facto instrumenta, per quae homines sane multi, saeculorum decursu, et potuerunt et hodie possunt nutrire ac conservare suam cum Deo religionis relationem. Hac de causa, attentis modis agendi, praeceptis atque doctrinis aliarum religionum, Concilium Vaticanum II —uti supra recoluimus— de iisdem religionibus asseverat: “quamvis ab iis quae ipsa [Ecclesia] tenet et proponit in multis discrepent, haud raro referunt tamen radium illius Veritatis, quae illuminat omnes homines”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 |
Ecclesiae autem traditio tamquam textus inspiratos unice habet canonicos libros Veteris et Novi Testamenti, quatenus ipsi a Spiritu Sancto sunt inspirati24. Huiusmodi traditionis vestigia premens, Concilium Vaticanum II, in Constitutione dogmatica de divina Revelatione, hoc docet: “Libros enim integros tam Veteris quam Novi Testamenti, cum omnibus eorum partibus, sancta Mater Ecclesia ex apostolica fide pro sacris et canonicis habet, propterea quod, Spiritu Sancto inspirante conscripti (cf. Io 20, 31; 2 Tim 3, 16; 2 Pt 1,19-21; 3, 15-16), Deum habent auctorem, atque ut tales ipsi Ecclesiae traditi sunt”25. Hi quidem libri “veritatem, quam Deus nostrae salutis causa, Litteris Sacris consignari voluit, firmiter, fideliter et sine errore docere profitendi sunt”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. |
Deus tamen, volens ad se omnes gentes in Christo vocare eisque plenitudinem suae revelationis ac sui amoris communicare, praesens quoque efficitur multis modis “non singulis solum hominibus, verum populis etiam per spiritales eorum divitias, quas in primis necessarioque religiones testantur, licet “lacunas, defectus et errores” contineant”27. Ideoque libri sacri aliarum religionum, qui de facto nutrimentum praebent earum asseclis eorumque vitae rationem dirigunt, e Christi mysterio accipiunt illa bonitatis et gratiae elementa, quae in ipsis inveniuntur. |
II. THE INCARNATE LOGOS |
II. Verbum incarnatum et Spiritus Sanctus in opere salutis |
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. |
9. In theologica nostri temporis perquisitione Iesus Nazarenus frequenter consideratur ut figura historica particularis, finita, revelatrix rei divinae modo non exclusivo, sed complementario cum aliis figuris quae pariter revelatrices et salvificae exsistimantur. Ideo Infinitum, Absolutum ultimumque Dei Mysterium sese hominum generi manifestaret multis modis multisque historicis figuris, quarum una esset Iesus Nazarenus. Magis definite, Ipse esset unus ex pluribus vultibus per temporum decursum a Verbo assumptis, ut salvifice cum hominibus communicaret. |
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. |
Praeterea, ut salva maneant, ex altera parte, universalitas salutis christianae, ex altera vero factum pluralismi religiosi, duplex proponitur oeconomia, nempe Verbi aeterni oeconomia, quae valeat quoque extra Ecclesiam neque ullam cum ipsa relationem habeat, atque oeconomia Verbi incarnati. Prior vim haberet universalitatis potiorem quam altera, quae ad solos christianos restringeretur, quamvis in ipsa Dei praesentia plenior esset. |
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). |
10. Hae theses aperte discrepant a fide christiana. Firmiter enim credenda est fidei doctrina quae profitetur Iesum Nazarenum, Mariae filium, ipsumque solum, esse Patris Filium ac Verbum. Verbum, quod “erat in principio apud Deum” (Io 1,2), ipsum est quod “caro factum est” (Io 1,14). In “Iesu Christo, Filio Dei vivi” (Mt 16,16), “inhabitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter” (Col 2,9). Ipse est “Unigenitus Deus, qui est in sinu Patris” (Io 1,18), Filius “dilectionis suæ, in quo habemus redemptionem [...] quia in ipso complacuit omnem plenitudinem habitare et per eum reconciliare omnia in ipsum, pacificans per sanguinem crucis eius, sive quæ in terris sive quæ in cælis sunt” ( 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 |
Fidelitate servata erga Sacram Scripturam reiectisque interpretationibus erroneis vel reductivis, Concilium Nicaenum I sollemniter proclamavit suam fidem in “Iesum Christum, Filium Dei natum ex Patre unigenitum, hoc est de substantia Patris, Deum ex Deo, lumen ex lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, natum, non factum, unius substantiae cum Patre : per quem omnia facta sunt, quae in caelo et in terra; qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit, incarnatus est et homo factus est, et passus est, et resurrexit tertia die, et ascendit in caelos, venturus iudicare vivos et mortuos”28. Secundum id quod Patres docuerant, etiam Concilium Chalcedonense professum est se “unum eundemque confiteri Filium Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum [...] eundem perfectum in deitate, eundem perfectum in humanitate, Deum vere et hominem vere [...] consubstantialem Patri secundum deitatem et consubstantialem nobis eundem secundum humanitatem [...] ante saecula quidem de Patre genitum secundum deitatem, in novissimis autem diebus eundem propter nos et propter nostram salutem ex Maria virgine Dei genetrice secundum humanitatem”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 |
Quocirca Concilium Vaticanum II asserit de Iesu Christo —qui est “novissimus Adam” et “imago Dei invisibilis” (Col 1, 15)—: “Ipse est homo perfectus, qui Adae filiis similitudinem divinam, inde a primo peccato deformatam, restituit. [...] Agnus innocens, sanguine suo libere effuso, vitam nobis meruit, in Ipsoque Deus nos Sibi et inter nos reconciliavit et a servitute diaboli ac peccati eripuit, ita ut unusquisque nostrum cum Apostolo dicere possit: Filius Dei “dilexit me et tradidit semetipsum pro 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 |
Hac eadem de re Ioannes Paulus II his verbis sese exprimit: “Fidei christianae contrarium est quamquam inducere Verbi et Iesu Christi separationem [...]: Iesus est Verbum caro factum, persona una et indivisibilis [...]. Non alius est Christus, quam Iesus Nazarethanus, hicque Verbum Dei est homo factum pro salute omnium. [...] Dum tendimus ad invenienda et aestimanda dona omne genus, praesertim divitias spiritales, quae Deus omni populo dedit, non possumus ea a Iesu Christo seiungere, qui in medio stat divini salutis consilii”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 |
Fidei quoque catholicae contradicit disiunctio inter actionem salvificam Verbi qua talis et actionem salvificam Verbi quod caro factum est. Per incarnationem enim opera salvifica omnia, quae Verbum Dei perficit, efficiuntur semper in unitate cum humana natura, quam ad universorum hominum salutem assumpsit. Subiectum unicum operans in duabus naturis, humana et divina, persona est unica Verbi32. |
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 |
Componi ergo nequit cum Ecclesiae doctrina theoria illa quae Verbo qua tali actuositatem salvificam tribuit, quae exerceatur “praeter” et “ultra” Iesu Christi humanitatem, etiam post incarnationem33. |
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). |
11. Eadem ratione firmiter credenda est fidei doctrina circa unicitatem oeconomiae salvificae, quam Deus Unus et Trinus voluit, cuius fons atque centrum exstat mysterium incarnationis Verbi, mediatoris divinae gratiae in ordine creationis ac redemptionis (cf. Col 1,15-20), in quo omnia recapitulantur (cf. Eph 1,10), “qui factus est sapientia nobis a Deo et iustitia et sanctificatio et redemptio” (1 Cor 1,30). Christi enim mysterium intrinseca praeditur unitate, quae ab electione aeterna in Deo ad parusiam usque pertingit: “elegit nos in ipso [Pater] ante mundi constitutionem, ut essemus sancti et immaculati in conspectu eius in caritate” (Eph 1,4); “in quo etiam sorte vocati sumus, prædestinati secundum propositum eius, qui omnia operatur secundum consilium voluntatis suæ” (Eph 1,11); “Nam, quos praescivit [Pater], et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii eius, ut sit ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus; quos autem praedestinavit, hos et vocavit; et quos vocavit, hos et iustificavit; quos autem iustificavit, illos et glorificavit” (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). |
In fidelitate erga divinam revelationem, Ecclesiae Magisterium firmiter asseverat Iesum Christum esse universalem mediatorem ac redemptorem: “Verbum enim Dei, per quod omnia facta sunt, Ipsum caro factum est, ita ut, perfectus Homo, omnes salvaret et universa recapitularet. Dominus [...] est quem Pater a mortuis suscitavit, exaltavit et a dextris suis collocavit, Eum vivorum atque mortuorum iudicem constituens”34. Salvifica haec mediatio fert quoque secum unicitatem sacrificii redemptoris Iesu Christi, summi ac aeterni sacerdotis (cfr. Hebr 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). |
12. Est etiam qui proponat hypothesim de oeconomia quadam Spiritus Sancti, indole praedita universaliore quam oeconomia Verbi incarnati, crucifixi et resuscitati, quae asseveratio contradicit pariter catholicae fidei, utpote quae teneat salvificam Verbi incarnationem eventum esse trinitarium. In Novo Testamento mysterium Iesu Christi, Verbi incarnati, locus est praesentiae Spiritus Sancti atque principium effusionis eius in hominum genus non solum in temporibus messianicis (cf. Act 2,32-36; Io 7,39; 20,22; 1Cor 15,45), sed etiam in temporibus, quae eius adventum in historiam praecesserunt (1 Cor 10,4; 1Petr 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 |
Veritatem hanc fundamentalem Concilium Vaticanum II in conscientiam fidei Ecclesiae revocavit. Cum enim salvificum Patris consilium erga universum hominum genus exponit, Concilium intime et ab initio conectit Christi mysterium cum mysterio Spiritus35. Opus totum aedificationis Ecclesiae ex parte Iesu Christi Capitis, per saeculorum decursu, consideratur tamquam effectio ab ipso in communione cum Spiritu eius peracta 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 |
Praeterea, ultra Ecclesiae fines visibiles, actio salvifica Iesu Christi, cum Spiritu Eius et per Spiritum Eius, hominum genus universum pertingit. De mysterio paschali agens, in quo Christus iam nunc credentes sibi vitaliter sociat in Spiritu eisque spem confert resurrectionis, Concilium Vaticanum II asserit: “Quod non tantum pro christifidelibus valet, sed et pro omnibus hominibus bonae voluntatis in quorum corde gratia invisibili modo operatur. Cum enim pro omnibus mortuus sit Christus cumque vocatio hominis ultima revera una sit, scilicet divina, tenere debemus Spiritum Sanctum cunctis possibilitatem offerre ut, modo Deo cognito, huic paschali mysterio consocientur”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). |
Patet igitur coniunctio inter mysterium salvificum Verbi incarnati et mysterium Spiritus Sancti, quippe quod nonnisi in id respiciat, ut nempe influxus salvificus Filii, hominis facti, ad effectum adducatur in vita cunctorum hominum, qui ad unam eandemque metam a Deo vocantur, sive tempore ipsi praecesserint adventum Verbi hominis facti sive post Eius incarnationem vitam in historiae cursu agant: iis omnibus animator exstat Spiritus Patris, quem Filius hominis sine mensura donat (cf. Io 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 |
Hac de causa Ecclesiae Magisterium temporis recentioris firmiter ac dilucide veritatem proclamat unius atque unicae divinae oeconomiae: “Praesentia et actio Spiritus non tantum singulos homines contingunt, sed et societatem et historiam, populos, culturas, religiones [...]. Christus a mortuis suscitatus per virtutem Spiritus sui in cordibus hominum operatur [...]. Idem Spiritus Sanctus spargit “semina Verbi”, quae sunt in ritibus et in culturis, eaque recludit ad maturitatem in Christo”38. Quamquam functionem agnoscit historico-salvificam Spiritus in mundo universo et in cuncta hominum generis historia39, Magisterium tamen asseverat: “Spiritus hic idem est qui in incarnatione, in vita, in morte et resurrectione Iesu est operatus quique in Ecclesia operatur. Non alternat igitur cum Christo, nec explet inane quiddam quod interdum esse putatur inter Christum et Logon. Quod Spiritus in cordibus hominum operatur, in culturis et in religionibus, ad evangelium praeparat, nec potest necessitudinem non habere cum Christo, Verbo carne facto Spiritus actione, “ut, perfectus homo, omnes salvaret et universa recapitularet”“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 |
Ut omnia ergo breviter colligantur, dicendum est actionem Spiritus non collocari ultra vel prope Christi actionem. De unica enim agitur Dei Unius et Trini salvifica oeconomia, quae ad rem deducitur in mysterio incarnationis, mortis et resurrectionis Filii Dei et Spiritu Sancto cooperante efficitur, quaeque in suo effectu salvifico ad homines cunctos et ad universum mundum pertingit: “Homines ergo cum Deo communicare non possunt nisi per Christum, Spiritu Sancto movente”41. |
III. UNICITY AND UNIVERSALITY |
III. De unicitate et universalitate mysterii salvifici Iesu Christi |
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. |
13. Semel atque iterum thesis sustinetur negans unicitatem et universalitatem salvificam mysterii Iesu Christi. Haec autem sententia biblico fundamento prorsus est destituta. Re enim vera, ut elementum perenne fidei Ecclesiae, firmiter credenda est veritas Iesu Christi, Filii Dei, Domini et unici Salvatoris, qui, in suo eventu incarnationis, mortis ac resurrectionis ad apicem adduxit salutis historiam, quae suam plenitudinem suumque centrum in ipso habet. |
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). |
Novi Testamenti verba id clare testantur: “Pater misit Filium salvatorem mundi” (1Io 4,14); “Ecce Agnus Dei, qui tollit peccatum mundi” (Io 1,29). Synedrium alloquens ad explanandam sanationem hominis claudi a nativitate, in nomine Iesu effectam (cf. Act 3, 1-8), Petrus dicit: “Et non est in alio aliquo salus, nec enim nomen aliud est sub caelo datum in hominibus, in quo oportet nos salvos fieri” (Act 4,12). Idem apostolus de Iesu Christo addit: “hic est omnium Dominus”; “constitutus est a Deo iudex vivorum et mortuorum”, quapropter possunt “remissionem peccatorum accipere per nomen eius omnes, qui credunt in eum” (cf. Act 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). |
Paulus haec ad Corinthios scribit: “Nam et si sunt, qui dicantur dii sive in caelo sive in terra, siquidem sunt dii multi et domini multi, nobis tamen unus Deus Pater, ex quo omnia et nos in illum, et unus Dominus Iesus Christus, per quem omnia et nos per ipsum” (1Cor 8,5-6). Etiam Ioannes apostolus asseverat: “Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis, qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. Non enim misit Deus Filium in mundum, ut iudicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum” (Io 3,16-17). In Novo Testamento universalis Dei voluntas salvifica arte conectitur cum unica Christi mediatione: “[Deus] omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritatis venire. Unus enim Deus, unus et mediator Dei et hominum, homo Christus Iesus, qui dedit redemptionem semetipsum pro omnibus” (1Tim 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 |
Hac conscientia innixi de dono salutis unico et universali a Patre dato per Iesum Christum in Spiritu (cf. Eph 1,3-14), priores christiani Israeli ostenderunt adimpletionem salutis, quae ultra Legem pertingebat, et occurrerunt quoque mundo pagano temporis sui, qui per plures deos salvatores salutem appetebat. Hoc fidei patrimonium a recentiore Ecclesiae Magisterio iterum propositum est: “Credit autem Ecclesia Christum, pro omnibus mortuum et resuscitatum (cf. 2Cor 5,15), homini lucem et vires per Spiritum suum praebere ut ille summae suae vocationi respondere possit; nec aliud nomen sub caelo datum esse hominibus, in quo oporteat eos salvos fieri (cf. Act 4,12). Similiter credit clavem, centrum et finem totius humanae historiae in Domino ac Magistro suo inveniri”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. |
14. Veritas est fidei catholicae, ideoque firmiter credenda, universalem voluntatem salvificam Dei Unius et Trini offerri et compleri semel pro semper in mysterio incarnationis, mortis et resurrectionis Filii Dei. |
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. |
Attento hoc fidei elemento, theologia nostri temporis, dum meditatur circa praesentiam aliarum de re religiosa experientiarum necnon circa earum significationem in consilio Dei salvifico, ad explorandum impellitur an et quo modo figurae atque elementa positiva aliarum religionum ad divinum salutis propositum pertineant. Hoc in studio atque hac in meditatione theologicae pervestigationi amplissimus patet campus sub Ecclesiae Magisterii ductu. Etenim Concilium Vaticanum II his verbis nos docet: “unica mediatio Redemptoris non excludit, sed suscitat variam apud creaturas participatam ex unico fonte cooperationem”43. Altius quidem perscrutandum est quid significet haec mediatio participata, cuius supremum principium unica Christi mediatio exstet semper necesse est: “Si non exclusae sunt mediationes participatae diversi generis et ordinis, hae attamen significationem trahunt et vim a mediatione Christi, nec pares haberi possunt nec perfectivae”44. Fidei autem christianae et catholicae solutiones illae contradicunt, quae actionem quandam salvificam Dei extra unicam Christi mediationem proponant. |
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. |
15. Haud infrequenter suggeritur ut in re theologica verba vitentur qualia sunt “unicitas”, “universalitas” vel “indoles absoluta”, quorum usus insinuare videtur nimium accentum circa significationem et vim eventus salvifici Iesu Christi per comparationem cum aliis religionibus. Re autem vera hic dicendi modus simpliciter exprimit fidelitatem erga revelationem, quia aliud non est nisi explicatio ipsorum fidei fontium. Ab initio enim communitas credentium Iesu Christo agnovit vim salvificam talem, ut ipse solus, qua Filius Dei homo factus, crucifixus ac resuscitatus —propter missionem a Patre receptam atque in potentia Spiritus Sancti—, munus habeat dono dandi revelationem (cf. Mt 11,27) et vitam divinam (cf. Io 1,12; 5,25-26; 17,2) universo hominum generi hominibusque singulis. |
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 |
Hac de re dici potest ac debet Iesum Christum, quoad humanum genus eiusque historiam, praeditum esse significatione ac vi quae prorsus sunt singulares et unicae, ad ipsum solum pertinentes, exclusivae, universales atque absolutae. Iesus enim est Verbum Dei homo factum propter omnium hominum salutem. Hanc fidei conscientiam exprimens, Concilium Vaticanum II docet: “Verbum enim Dei, per quod omnia facta sunt, Ipsum caro factum est, ita ut, perfectus Homo, omnes salvaret et universa recapitularet. Dominus finis est humanae historiae, punctum in quod historiae et civilizationis desideria vergunt, humani generis centrum, omnium cordium gaudium eorumque appetitionum plenitudo. Ille est quem Pater a mortuis suscitavit, exaltavit et a dextris suis collocavit, Eum vivorum atque mortuorum iudicem constituens”45. “Ipsa haec unica Christi singularitas ei significationem confert absolutam et universalem, unde, dum in historia est, centrum est et finis eiusdem historiae: “Ego Alpha et Omega, primus et novissimus, principium et finis” (Ap 22,13)”46. |
IV. UNICITY AND UNITY OF THE CHURCH |
IV. De Ecclesiae unicitate et unitate |
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 |
16. Dominus Iesus, unicus Salvator, non quandam discipulorum communitatem adunavit, sed Ecclesiam instituit ut mysterium salvificum: Ipse est in Ecclesia et Ecclesia in Ipso est (cf. Io 15,1 ss.; Gal 3,28; Eph 4,15-16;Act 9,5); quapropter plenitudo mysterii salvifici Christi ad Ecclesiam quoque pertinet, quae modo inseparabili Domino suo coniungitur. Iesus Christus enim suam praesentiam suumque salutis opus in Ecclesia et per Ecclesiam persequitur (cf. Col 1,24-27)47, quae est Corpus eius (cf. 1Cor 12,12-13.27; Col 1,18)48. Sicut vero caput et membra corporis vivi haud quidem identificantur sed neque separari possunt, Christus et Ecclesia confundi sane nequeunt, sed invicem disiungi non possunt, ita ut unicum “Christum totalem” constituant49. Eadem haec inseparabilitas in Novo Testamento exprimitur quoque mediante analogia qua Ecclesia Sponsa dicitur Christi (cf. 2 Cor 11,2; Eph 5,25-29; Ap 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 |
Quocirca, in conexione cum unicitate et universalitate mediationis salvificae Iesu Christi, tamquam veritas fidei catholicae firmiter credenda est unicitas Ecclesiae ab ipso conditae. Sicut unus est Christus, unum solummodo Corpus eius exstat, unaque eius Sponsa: “una Ecclesia catholica et apostolica”51. Praeterea, promissiones Domini se Ecclesiam suam nunquam derelicturum (cf. Mt 16,18; 28,20) seque eam cum Spiritu suo esse semper ducturum (cf. Io 16,13), id secum ferunt ut, secundum catholicam fidem, unicitas et unitas, non secus atque ea omnia quae ad Ecclesiae integritatem pertinent, nunquam sint defuturae52. |
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 |
Fideles profiteri tenentur historicam vigere continuitatem —in successione apostolica radicatam53— inter Ecclesiam a Christo conditam et Ecclesiam catholicam: “Haec est unica Christi Ecclesia [...] quam Salvator noster, post resurrectionem suam Petro pascendam tradidit (cf. Io 21,17), eique ac ceteris Apostolis diffundendam et regendam commisit (cf. Mt 28,18 ss.), et in perpetuum ut columnam et firmamentum veritatis erexit (cf. 1Tim 3,15). Haec Ecclesia, in hoc mundo ut societas constituta et ordinata, subsistit in Ecclesia catholica, a Successore Petri et Episcopis in eius communione gubernata”54. Verbis “subsistit in” Concilium Vaticanum II duas voluit doctrinales affirmationes invicem componere: altera ex parte, Christi Ecclesiam, non obstantibus christianorum divisionibus, solummodo in Ecclesia Catholica plene exsistere pergere; ex altera vero inveniri “extra eius compaginem elementa plura sanctificationis et veritatis”55, videlicet in Ecclesiis et Communitatibus ecclesialibus nondum in plena communione cum Ecclesia Catholica56. Sed, ad postremas quod attinet, affirmandum est earum virtutem derivari “ab ipsa plenitudine gratiae et veritatis quae Ecclesiae catholicae concredita est”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 |
17. Unica ergo est Christi Ecclesia, subsistens in Ecclesia Catholica, cuius moderatio spectat ad Petri Successorem et ad Episcopos in communione cum eo58. Ecclesiae illae quae, licet in perfecta communione cum Ecclesia Catholica non sint, eidem tamen iunguntur vinculis strictissimis, cuiusmodi sunt successio apostolica et valida Eucharistiae celebratio, verae sunt Ecclesiae particulares59. Quapropter in his quoque Ecclesiis praesens est et operatur Christi Ecclesia, quantumvis plena desit communio cum Ecclesia Catholica, eo quod ipsae doctrinam catholicam non acceptant de Primatu, quem, ex Dei consilio, Episcopus Romanus obiective possidet et in Ecclesiam universam exercet60. |
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 |
Illae vero Communitates ecclesiales, quae validum Episcopatum et genuinam ac integram substantiam eucharistici mysterii non servant,61 sensu proprio Ecclesiae non sunt; attamen qui baptizati sunt iis in Communitatibus Baptismate Christo incorporantur, et ideo in quadam cum Ecclesia communione, licet imperfecta, exstant62. Per se enim Baptismus tendit ad perfectionem vitae in Christo per integram fidei professionem, Eucharistiam et plenam communionem in Ecclesia63. |
“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 |
“Quare christifidelibus sibi fingere non licet Ecclesiam Christi nihil aliud esse quam summam quandam –divisam quidem, sed adhuc aliqualiter unam– ecclesiarum et communitatum ecclesialium; ac minime iis liberum est tenere Christi Ecclesiam hodie iam nullibi vere subsistere, ita ut nonnisi finis existimanda sit, quem omnes Ecclesiae et communitates quaerere debeant”64. Re quidem vera “elementa huius Ecclesiae iam datae exsistunt, in sua plenitudine coniuncta, in Ecclesia catholica et, sine hac plenitudine, in ceteris Communitatibus”65. Quocirca “Ecclesiae et Communitates seiunctae, etsi defectus illas pati credimus, nequaquam in mysterio salutis significatione et pondere exutae sunt. Iis enim Spiritus Christi uti non renuit tamquam salutis mediis, quorum virtus derivatur ab ipsa plenitudine gratiae et veritatis quae Ecclesiae catholicae concredita est”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 |
Unitatis defectus inter christianos vulnus est quidem Ecclesiae illatum; haud sane quia ipsa amittit suam unitatem, sed “quatenus illa impeditur ab universalitate sua plene in historia consummanda”67. |
V.
THE CHURCH: KINGDOM OF GOD |
V. De Ecclesia ut Regno Dei et Christi Regno |
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 |
18. Ecclesia “missionem accipit Regnum Christi et Dei annuntiandi et in omnibus gentibus instaurandi, huiusque Regni in terris germen et initium constituit”68. Ex altera parte, Ecclesia est “sacramentum seu signum et instrumentum intimae cum Deo unionis totiusque generis humani unitatis”69; ipsa est igitur Regni signum ac instrumentum, in id vocata ut ipsum nuntiet atque instauret. Ex altera autem parte, Ecclesia est “de unitate Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti plebs adunata”70; ipsa est proinde “Regnum Christi iam praesens in mysterio”71, cuius ideo germen et initium constituit. Regnum enim Dei dimensionem habet eschatologicam: est quidem res in tempore praesens, sed plena eius effectio eveniet tantummodo cum historia ad finem seu completionem perveniat72. |
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 |
Ex textibus biblicis atque ex Patrum testimoniis, non secus atque ex Ecclesiae Magisterii documentis, sensus univoci non eruuntur expressionum Regnum Coelorum, Regnum Dei et Regnum Christi neve de earum cum Ecclesia conexione, utpote quae mysterium et ipsa sit quod plene in conceptu humano concludi non valet. Variae ergo possunt his de rebus theologicae explanationes exstare. Nulli autem ex iis explanationibus, quae possibiles sunt, eo pervenire licet, ut intimam conexionem inter Christum, Regnum et Ecclesiam quodam modo neget vel vacuefaciat. “Illud namque [Regnum] nec a Christo nec ab Ecclesia seiungi potest [...]. Si Regnum a Iesu separatur, non iam exsistit Regnum Dei ab eo revelatum et fit ut in malam partem tum Regni significatio accipiatur, quod periculum est ne mutetur in institutum modo humanum et ideologicum, tum Christi natura, qui non apparet cui omnia subiecta esse debent (cf. 1Cor 15,27). Item non potest Regnum ab Ecclesia separari. Certe, Ecclesia non est ipsa sibimet finis, cum sit ad Regnum Dei ordinata, cuius est germen, signum et instrumentum. Sed, etsi a Christo distinguitur et a Regno, Ecclesia est indissolubili modo utrique coniuncta”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 |
19. Affirmatio autem conexionis nunquam separabilis Ecclesiam inter et Regnum minime significat ut praetereatur Regnum Dei —etsi in momento suo historico ipsum consideretur— non identificari cum Ecclesia in eius realitate visibili ac sociali. Excludendum enim non est “opus Christi et Spiritus extra visibiles [...] fines [Ecclesiae]”74. Huius quoque rei ratio habenda est, quod nempe “Regnum ad omnes pertinet: personam humanam, societatem, mundum universum. Pro Regno operari idem est ac divinum dynamismum agnoscere et fovere, qui in historia humana est eamque immutat. Regnum aedificare idem est ac moliri liberationem a malo, qualecumque hoc est. Breviter, Regnum Dei est plena eius consilii manifestatio et effectio”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. |
Cum rationes considerantur inter Regnum Dei, Regnum Christi et Ecclesiam intercedentes, partiales ac unilaterales exaltationes vitentur oportet, quales proponuntur ab iis quorum “notiones consulto Regnum amplificant et se profitentur “regnicentricas”, in lucem proferunt imaginem Ecclesiae non de se sollicitae, sed ex toto deditae Regno testificando eique serviendo. “Ecclesia haec est pro aliis”, dicitur, sicut Christus “homo est pro aliis”. [...] Hae notiones simul partes utiles, simul partes nocivas ostendunt. Imprimis, Christum silent: Regnum, de quo loquuntur, “theocentrismo” nititur, quod, dicunt, Christus intellegi non possit nisi ab iis, qui fidem sequantur christianam, cum populi, culturae et religiones diversae possint sibi occurrere in unico ente divino, qualecumque sit nomen eius. Eandem ob causam eae mysterium anteferunt creationis, quae in varietatibus culturarum et religionum apparet, sed mysterium silent redemptionis. Praeterea, Regnum, quale ipsi intellegunt regnum, ad excludendam inducit aut ad minus existimandam Ecclesiam, ob renisum contra quendam “ecclesiocentrismum” praeteriti temporis, et quia Ecclesiam tantummodo signum putant, et quidem ambiguitatis non expers”76. Hae theses fidei catholicae contradicunt, quia unicitatem negant relationis quam Christus et Ecclesia cum Regno Dei habent. |
VI. THE CHURCH AND THE OTHER RELIGIONS |
VI. De Ecclesia deque religionibus ad salutem quod attinet |
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. |
20. Ex iis quae supra memoravimus signa quaedam profluunt necessaria ad viam indicandam a theologica pervestigatione percurrendam quo altius ipsa perquirat rationes Ecclesiae atque religionum cum aeterna salute. |
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 |
Imprimis, firmiter credendum est “Ecclesiam hanc peregrinantem necessariam esse ad salutem. Unus enim Christus est Mediator ac via salutis, qui in Corpore suo, quod est Ecclesia, praesens nobis fit; Ipse autem necessitatem fidei et baptismi expressis verbis inculcando (cf. Mc 16,16; Io 3,5), necessitatem Ecclesiae, in quam homines per baptismum tamquam per ianuam intrant, simul confirmavit”77. Haec doctrina universali voluntati Dei salvificae non opponitur (cfr. 1Tim 2,4), quapropter “necesse est duae hae veritates coniunctae teneantur, videlicet vera possibilitas salutis in Christo pro omnibus hominibus et Ecclesiae necessitas ad hanc salutem”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 |
Exstat Ecclesia “universale salutis sacramentum”79, utpote quae, arcano modo semper coniuncta cum Christo Salvatore Capite suo eique subordinata, artam in Dei consilio servat relationem cum uniuscuiusque hominis salute80. Quoad eos qui formaliter et visibiliter membra Ecclesiae non sunt, “Christi salus patens est per gratiam quae, quamquam arcanam habet necessitudinem cum Ecclesia, in hanc tamen formali ratione eos non introducit, sed modo illuminat congruenti eorum interiori condicioni rerumque temporumque adiunctis. Gratia haec a Christo venit, fructus est eius sacrificii et a Spiritu Sancto communicatur”81. Arta relatione ipsa coniungitur cum Ecclesia, quippe quae “ex missione Filii missioneque Spiritus Sancti originem ducat secundum Propositum Dei Patris”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. |
21. Circa modum vero quo gratia Dei salvifica —quae donatur semper per Christum in Spiritu habetque arcanam cum Ecclesia relationem— ad singulos non christianos pervenit, Concilium Vaticanum II asseruit tantum Deum eam largiri “viis sibi notis”83. Scientia theologica in eo nunc versatur, ut rem hanc altius perquirat. Theologicum huiusmodi studium fovendum est quidem, quia absdubio suam habet utilitatem eum in finem ut melius intellegantur consilia Dei salvifica necnon viae quibus ipsa ad effectum deducuntur. At vero, attentis iis quae hactenus memorata sunt circa Christi mediationem necnon circa “necessitudinem singularem et unicam”84 qua Ecclesia iungitur cum Regno Dei inter homines —quod ultimatim Regnum est Christi universalis salvatoris—, liquet contrarium esse fidei catholicae Ecclesiam effingere tamquam unam ex viis salutis, simul cum iis quae efficiuntur ab aliis religionibus, quae prope Ecclesiam, veluti eius complementum, collocarentur, immo vero veluti eidem aequipollentes quoad substantiam, licet cum ipsa versus Dei Regnum eschatologicum coeuntes. |
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 |
Variae religiosae traditiones continent profecto atque offerunt religiositatis elementa quae a Deo procedunt85 quaeque partem efficiunt operis “quod Spiritus in cordibus hominum operatur, in culturis et in religionibus”86. Re quidem vera preces quaedam atque ritus nonnulli aliarum religionum partes induere possunt evangelicae praeparationis, quatenus viae sunt vel paedagogiae quibus hominum corda impelluntur ut actioni Dei sese aperiant87. At vero iisdem tribui nequit divina origo neve efficacia illa ex opere operato, quae christianorum sacramentorum est propria88. Nequit praeterea ignorari alios ritus, utpote qui superstitionibus aliisve erroribus innitantur (cf. 1Cor 10, 20-21), aeternae saluti potius obstare89. |
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 |
22. Iesu Christi salvatoris adventu, voluit Deus ut Ecclesia ab eo condita instrumentum esset ad salutem universi humani generis (cfr. Act 17,30-31)90. Dum assertione huius veritatis ad fidem pertinentis nihil adimitur sincerae aestimationi qua Ecclesia prosequitur religiones mundi huius nostri, simul vero a radice excluditur mentis ille habitus “relativismi religiosi vestigiis impressus, qui ad putandum inducit “aliam religionem tantidem esse ac aliam”“91. Verum est quidem aliarum religionum asseclas gratiam divinam accipere posse, at non minus verum est eos in statu gravis penuriae obiective versari per comparationem cum statu eorum qui, in Ecclesia, mediorum salutis plenitudine fruuntur92. Memores autem sint oportet omnes Ecclesiae filii “condicionem suam eximiam non propriis meritis, sed peculiari gratiae Christi esse adscribendam; cui si cogitatione, verbo et opere non respondent, nedum salventur, severius iudicabuntur”93. Bene ergo intellegitur qua de causa Ecclesia, iuxta Domini mandatum (cf. Mt 28, 19-20) et tamquam officium profluens ex amore erga universos homines, “annuntiat et annuntiare tenetur indesinenter Christum, qui est “via et veritas et vita” (Io 14,6), in quo homines plenitudinem vitae religiosae inveniunt, in quo Deus omnia Sibi reconciliavit”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. |
Missio ad gentes, etiam per dialogum interreligiosum ad effectum adducenda, “vim suam et necessitatem hodie sicut et semper integram servat”95. Re enim vera “Deus “omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritatis venire” (1Tim 2,4). Deus vult omnium salutem per veritatis agnitionem. Salus in veritate invenitur. Qui motioni Spiritus veritatis oboediunt, sunt iam in salutis via; sed Ecclesia, cui haec veritas concredita est, eorum optato debet occurrere ut eisdem eam afferat. Quia ipsa consilium salutis credit universale, missionaria esse debet”96. Dialogus ergo, quamvis missionis evangelizatricis elementum efficiat, pars est solummodo officii ab Ecclesia adimplendi in missione eius ad gentes97. Aequalitas, quae ad dialogum requiritur, non ad doctrinae argumentum ac materiam attinet, eoque minus ad Iesum Christum —qui est ipse Deus Homo factus— per comparationem cum aliarum religionum conditoribus, sed solummodo ad parem partium dignitatem sese refert. Caritate enim atque observantia erga libertatem ducta98, Ecclesia persentit primarias suas esse partes cunctis hominibus veritatem nuntiare definitive a Domino revelatam necnon necessitatem proclamare conversionis ad Iesum Christum et adhaesionis Ecclesiae per Baptismum aliaque sacramenta, ut quis plene participet communionem cum Deo Patre, Filio et Spiritu Sancto. Praeterea, certitudo de voluntate Dei salvifica universali, nedum officio obstet nuntiandi salutem et conversionem ad Dominum Iesum Christum, ipsum potius auget. |
CONCLUSION |
Conclusio |
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. |
Declaratio haec, quae veritates quasdam fidei in memoriam revocat atque explanat, vestigia premere conatur Pauli Apostoli, qui ad Corinthios scribens asseruit: “Tradidi enim vobis in primis, quod et accepi, quoniam Christus mortuus est pro peccatis nostris secundum Scripturas” (1Cor 15,3). Attentis enim quibusdam propositionibus incertis vel erroneis, theologica pervestigatio incitatur ad fidem Ecclesiae iterum confirmandam atque ad rationem suae spei reddendam modo persuasivo atque efficaci. |
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 |
De vera religione agentes, Concilii Vaticani II Patres asseruerunt: “Hanc unicam veram Religionem subsistere credimus in catholica et apostolica Ecclesia, cui Dominus Iesus munus concredidit eam ad universos homines diffundendi, dicens Apostolis: “Euntes ergo docete omnes gentes baptizantes eos in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, docentes eos servare omnia quaecumque mandavi vobis” (Mt 28,19-20). Homines vero cuncti tenentur veritatem, praesertim in iis quae Deum Eiusque Ecclesiam respiciunt, quaerere eamque cognitam amplecti ac servare”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 |
Iesu Christi revelatio pergit esse in historia “verum veluti astrum conductorium”[100] universi humani generis, quia “veritas, quae Christus est, ubique auctoritate universali se imponit”[101]. Christianum enim mysterium limites quoscumque temporis et spatii supergreditur atque humanae familiae unitatem efficit: “Locis ex diversis ac consuetudinibus omnes in Christo ad unitatem participandam familiae filiorum Dei vocantur [...]. Iesus divisionis parietes diruit et peculiari consummatoque modo per participationem sui mysterii unitatem efficit. Haec unitas tam est alta ut cum sancto Paulo effari possit Ecclesia: “Ergo iam non estis extranei et advenae, sed estis concives sanctorum et domestici Dei” (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. |
Hanc Declarationem in Conventu Plenario huius Congregationis deliberatam, Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus PP. II, in Audientia infrascripto Cardinali Praefecto Congregationis pro Doctrina Fidei concessa die 16 iunii anni 2000, certa scientia et auctoritate Sua apostolica ratam habuit, confirmavit et publici iuris fieri iussit. |
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 |
|
Tarcisio
Bertone, S.D.B. |
|
This Webpage was created for a workshop held at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, California in 1990