Following the release last September of the Vatican document on ecumenism, Dominus Iesus, the media gave it much publicity. Too frequently its content was caricatured or not fully explained. Baltimore’s Cardinal William Keeler, who serves on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, correctly observed that many journalists did not have the necessary theological formation to present the document accurately (The Catholic Review, September 21, 2000, 5).
Dominus Iesus was often portrayed as a setback to ecumenical progress. Many who felt this way wondered how this document could so quickly follow the ecumenical triumph of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification issued October 1999 by the Catholic Church and the Lutheran church.
The reality is that this document is an accurate and compelling summary of Vatican Council II’s teaching on the Church and ecumenism that incorporates further nuances and explanations offered in the pontificate of John Paul II. Far from hauling in the sails of ecumenical initiative, the document fills and expands them by giving an accurate picture of what the Church actually believes.
In his October 1, 2000 Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II said, “The document [Dominus Iesus] thus expresses once again the same ecumenical passion that is the basis of my encyclical Ut Unum Sint. I hope this declaration, which is close to my heart, can, after so many erroneous interpretations, finally fulfill its function both of clarification and openness” (Zenit news agency dispatch ZE00100104, October 1, 2000).
Mature ecumenism involves not only a spirit of penance and conversion on all sides but a willingness to face our differences directly, realizing with Pope John Paul II that “far more unites us than divides us.” Authentic ecumenical sensitivity and reverence do not drift into religious indifferentism. Rather, they require a bold and authentic Catholic witness so that genuine ecumenical progress and dialogue can occur.
There were few surprises in the document for brothers and sisters of other faiths who are theologically well-informed and experienced in ecumenical give-and-take. Such individuals understand the need for the Catholic Church to have a bold witness in the world, a witness that is ultimately helpful to the progress of the ecumenical movement.
As many Catholics have noted, there is nothing in Dominus Iesus that is not contained in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the encyclicals of Pope John Paul II. In some cases where people were shocked or outraged by the content of the document, there is a real possibility that they never really understood or had been exposed to fundamental Catholic teachings. Others simply disagree with the Catholic approach. As Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George noted, “Asserting Catholic beliefs sometimes elicits angry reactions since anti-Catholicism is part of the intellectual furniture and cultural heritage of this country” (The Catholic New World, September 17–23, 2000, 3).
Others—including Catholics—many have consciously or unconsciously bought into the various types of relativism that are so much a part of contemporary thinking. As John Paul II says, “A legitimate plurality of positions has yielded to an undifferentiated pluralism based upon the assumption that all positions are equally valid, which is one of today’s most widespread symptoms of the lack of confidence in truth” (Fides et Ratio 5).
The Church will always be a sign of contradiction to a world that accepts such views as moral relativism (the idea that there is no objective truth), redeemer relativism (Jesus Christ—along with Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, and Marx—is simply one among many revered moral teachers), and ecclesiological relativism (the Church of Christ is merely a federation of different ecclesial communities whose differences in approach to doctrinal and moral issues is insignificant).
Still, these challenges should not discourage us but should reinvigorate us with a contemplative and missionary spirit. The contemplative fortitude and determination of such saints as Elizabeth Ann Seton, Francis Xavier Cabrini, and Katherine Drexel should propel us forward with confidence.
The confusion surrounding Dominus Iesus affords us the opportunity to help other understand how the Church views Jesus Christ and her own identity and mission in the world. It is not a time for Catholics to become defensive. It is a missionary moment—it is an ecumenical moment.
The Church is permanently open to missionary and ecumenical endeavor (see CDF’s Communionis Notio 4). “The missionary thrust therefore belongs to the very nature of the Christian life,” writes John Paul II, “and is also the inspiration behind ecumenism: ‘that they may all be one . . . so that the world may believe that you have sent me’ (John 17:21)” (Redemptoris Missio 1).
Think of the rich symbolism of the Bernini columns in St. Peter’s Square. They symbolize the arms of the unique redeemer Jesus Christ and the arm of his Church outstretched to the world. They reflect that the Catholic Church is the universal sacrament of salvation and that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church.
This theological truth about the Church’s identity affirms the necessity of missionary activity in the world: “”In the Church’s history, missionary drive has always been a sign of vitality, just as its lessening is a sign of a crisis of faith” (RM 2). At the same time, the Bernini columns symbolize the Church’s ecumenical and interreligious outreach to the world as well as its steadfast defense of human freedom. The Church has a refined reverence for all of her brothers and sisters of different faiths and religions.
That the Church believes she is the universal sacrament of salvation launches her into a vigorous missionary activity. “From the beginning of my pontificate I have chosen to travel to the ends of the earth in order to show this missionary concern,” says John Paul II. “My direct contact with peoples who do not know Christ has convinced me even more of the urgency of missionary activity. . . . Above all, there is a new awareness that missionary activity is a matter for all Christians, for all dioceses and parishes, Church institutions and associations” (RM 1,2).
Why in the contemporary world does the Catholic Church need to engage in missionary activity and evangelization? In his encyclical Evangeli Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI states, “Evangelization means the carrying forth of the good news to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter into the hearts of people and renew the human race. It is a prophetic proclamation of the existence of another life.”
We must not confuse the Second Vatican Council’s spirited defense of religious freedom and the freedom of conscience with a paralysis of missionary and evangelization efforts. Bearing witness to Christ in the world and the role of his Church in a way that respects consciences and cultures does not violate freedom. Faith is a gift and a free choice—but in order for someone to have the opportunity to make a choice, the faith must be presented to him strongly and convincingly.
John Paul II: “Her mission does not restrict freedom but rather promotes it. The Church proposes; she imposes nothing. She respects individuals and cultures, and she honors the sanctuary of conscience. To those for who various reasons oppose missionary activity, the Church repeats: Open the doors to Christ! ” (RM 39).
The doctrinal foundation of the missionary drive of the Catholic Church depends on the conviction that she possesses the ministry and authority of Jesus Christ. Her bishops have received their authorization in a lineal sequence from the Apostles and, beyond them, from Christ. As the successors of the Apostles, they validly exercise the apostolic functions of teaching Jesus Christ’s message, governing the faithful according to the pattern he instituted, and sanctifying them with his divine life, especially through the sacraments.
An ecumenical spirit and a commitment to interreligious dialogue is a logical extension of her missionary spirit. Jesus prayed that all his followers might be one. John Paul II says, “It is not a question of altering the deposit of faith, changing the meaning of dogmas, eliminating essential words from them, accommodating truth to the preferences of a particular age, or suppressing certain articles of the Creed under the false pretext that they are no longer understood today. The unity willed by God can be attained only by the adherence of all the content of the revealed faith in its entirety. In matters of faith, compromise is in contradiction with God who is Truth. In the body of Christ, ‘the way, the truth, and the light’ (John 14:6), who could consider legitimate a reconciliation brought about at the expense of truth?” (Ut Unum Sint 18).
Ecumenical progress requires a commitment to penance and prayer. In fact, ecumenical prayer is the soul of ecumenism. Deep conversion of hearts removes the blindness that hampers true unity. Just as there is dialogue and doctrinal rapprochement such as the Catholic-Lutheran accord of 1999, so too have churches been able to work together in many practical areas.
Fr. Avery Dulles characterizes the ecumenical vision of John Paul II in this way: “By showing that the quest for unity is grounded in the unalterable will of Christ for his Church, the present pope makes it clear that ecumenism does not depend on prospects of visible success but that it is to be pursued in all times and places, even in the face of indifference and hostility. . . . He makes it clear that Christian unity, if it ever comes about, cannot be a human achievement but only a gift of God. For this reason he keeps the primary emphasis on spiritual ecumenism and prayer. The most effective ecumenism is that which cultivates patience, humility, and fervent trust in the Holy Spirit, who enables us to hope against hope and to leave the future in the hands of God, the sole master of our destinies” (The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II, 157).
So we see that Dominus Iesus, in the words of the Holy Father, is an expression of his “ecumenical passion.” Catholics are called to embrace the virtue of humility and be committed to ongoing conversion as the best and most practical investment in Church reform and ecumenical progress. Sometimes humility means deploring the mistakes of the past, as the Holy Father did so eloquently in the year 2000. Sometimes humility means a willingness to be a sign of contradiction by witnessing to the truths of Jesus Christ and his Church without compromise.
For Catholics and non-Catholics alike: If you have not read Dominus Iesus, read it carefully and meditatively a number of times. Then read (or re-read) the encyclicals Redemptoris Missio (1990) and Ut Unum Sint (1995) and the Vatican II documents themselves. This investment of time will give you a solid foundation for understanding the Catholic teaching on the issues raised by Dominus Iesus. Catholics must have a thirst to know the truth and the thirst to live it through a missionary spirit, an ecumenical spirit, and a respect for the beautiful harmony that exists between faith and reason.