The new Vatican document Dominus Iesus (The Lord Jesus) is primarily about the Catholic Church's dialogue with the world's great religions, such as Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. In this context it wants to reassert that Jesus Christ is the unique and universal Saviour of the world.
For almost 40 years the Catholic Church has engaged in this dialogue. Any good dialogue will mean serious questions for the partners concerned: Is Jesus to be considered a saviour on a par with Buddha or Mohammed? Is Jesus of Nazareth a man who lived in history but whose Spirit now acts freely in a way that's not linked to Christianity? Is the church merely one brand of religious community similar to other great forms of religious association found around the world?
There is a risk today of relativism. Everything seems relative; so, too, religions. But, if so, where does the search for truth end up? It was with questions such as these in mind that the document The Lord Jesus was presented by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It is an "in-house" document for Catholics, touching base for a moment on some of the doctrinal questions that have arisen in the course of the church's dialogue.
The document gives a green light to dialogue, but provides road signs that help Catholic bishops, theologians and all the faithful in their reflection on the theological issues involved. It wants to be theologically responsible in encouraging us to tease out the Catholic doctrine that the Holy Spirit offers to every man, woman and child; the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The language of the document is fairly technical: the tone is frank. But it's a document about doctrine where words, definitions and meanings are important. Dialogue is not a technique, not a form of bargaining, nor mere ecclesiastical politics, but rather the expression of Jesus's New Commandment of mutual love which is the pearl of the Gospel.
In any relationship, if I am in dialogue, I have to be myself. My own identity is important, and the more honestly I am myself, the more I am in dialogue. This in-house taking-stock-of-things is but one moment in the process of dialogue, but it is with a view to greater openness.
There can be little doubting the church's commitment to this dialogue. It is enough to think of Pope John Paul's visits around the world: he always makes a point of meeting representatives of other world religions. Think of the recent trip to Israel. Think, too, of his meeting with 30,000 young Muslims in a stadium in Mexico. The 1986 Assisi meeting, where delegates of world religions gathered at his invitation in a prayer for peace, is a masterpiece of his pontificate.
And the church's contribution as a member of the World Conference of Religions for Peace is solid. In Dublin the Catholic Church is represented on the Three Faiths Forum.
The night before he died Jesus prayed: "May they all be one, so that the world will believe (Ut Unum Sint)". It is in view of mission, of bringing and proclaiming Jesus to the world that Christians are to be one. And so, currently, the Catholic Church is engaged in 17 bilateral dialogues with other Christian churches, communities and bodies.
It is in view of our common universal mission towards the world that the issue of the unity of the church also arises in this document. Christian ecumenism, however, is not directly its focus as was the Pope's own extremely positive 1995 encyclical, Ut Unum Sint. In repeating and amply quoting the second Vatican Council this document reminds us that just as Jesus Christ is the unique and universal saviour, so, too, he desires the church to be one.
It is a sign of the maturity of the dialogue among Christians that this document "risks" saying things that are to be found in Vatican II but now need to be reflected upon more seriously.
The nature of the church, its role and how it is to be united are issues of concern not only to the Catholic Church but to all the churches and ecclesial communities involved in dialogue. This document addresses issues essential to the Catholic Church, but other churches, too, increasingly appreciate that attention to these areas is necessary.
THE Catholic Church maintains there is a triangle of elements that make up the church - a common creed, a common worship (sacraments) and a common ministry (also involving the issue of apostolic succession). At this moment in time, even though great headway has been made, serious doctrinal issues still exist in these areas precisely when it comes to the mutual recognition among churches and ecclesial communities.
Of course, the Catholic Church recognises that all who are baptised are brothers and sisters in Christ. It acknowledges the many elements of truth and sanctification to be found in other churches and ecclesial communities. It affirms that these are dynamically directed towards the Church of Christ whose fullness and unity, she believes, continue to subsist in the Catholic Church. At the same time, only a few months have gone by since the Catholic Church apologised for the many errors committed throughout history.
This document is a contribution by the "doctrinal" congregation of the church to the overall missionary thrust that involves the whole church in a dialogue of life and prayer.
Perhaps some words could have been chosen differently. Perhaps more could have been made of the many steps being taken in inter-religious and ecumenical dialogues, but it is only one relatively short document and its goal is quite specific.
The late Cardinal Bea, an apostle of ecumenism within the Catholic Church, used to say the Holy Spirit was the patron of ecumenism and the third divine person kept pushing us. Sometimes difficult moments crop up, but then come the surprises that the Holy Spirit has in store. Just think of last year's Lutheran-Catholic agreed statement on justification or the Anglican-Roman Catholic report on authority, documents that emerged after many difficulties.
Perhaps in its own way this document, too, produced during the Jubilee Year, will help us all to concentrate more fully on Jesus Christ and his bridal partner, the church. It could also encourage a deeper engagement for all of us in the church's mission and dialogue with members of the great world religions.
And this in turn should become a further stimulus in the search for deeper unity among those who are already brothers and sisters in Christ. Nothing can separate us from his love.
Brendan Leahy is secretary to the Advisory Committee on Ecumenism of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference and lecturer in theology at Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin
