Bombay Archbishop Says «Dominus Iesus» Not Just For Asia

Says Vatican Declaration Wasn't Aimed at India

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 10, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The archbishop of Bombay, India, said the recent «Dominus Iesus» declaration «was written for the whole Church, and not just for Asian theologians.»

During a Vatican press conference on a congress of 200 bishops in Rome, reference was made to the controversies that followed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's publication of «Dominus Iesus» (The Lord Jesus).

The document, among other things, warns against the modern tendency to consider all religions more or less equal.

Many experts believe that the document is particularly directed to Asian Catholic theologians, especially Indian. Not surprisingly, journalists aimed their questions at Archbishop Ivan Dias of Bombay.

The archbishop made it clear that the declaration «was written for the whole Church.» He added that Catholics have «the right to say what we are and to proclaim what we believe. To say that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world does not mean to exclude others.»

In fact, Archbishop Dias said has «an optimum relation with the other religious groups» in his archdiocese, «who respectfully accept our identity.»

In India, the criticisms have not come from non-Christians, but from some Catholic theological circles.

The archbishop explained that «this is especially true of groups in certain seminaries and a women's religious order. However, these groups have no influence on the people of God.»

«Of the 115 parishes of my diocese, 73 have eucharistic adoration every day,» he added. «The Churches are absolutely full and people request that the Blessed Sacrament also be exposed at night. Our Catholic community is small, but we have a higher rate of growth than that of Catholic countries, including the Philippines.»

Archbishop Dias concluded: «We must believe the Holy Father who sees in Asia the continent in which evangelization will grow most in the third millennium.»

Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
10. oktober 2000