Bishop Kasper Backs Dominus Iesus

VATICAN, Oct. 18, 00 (CWNews.com) - Bishop Walter Kasper, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, today told a group of theologians and mission workers that the recent Vatican statement Dominus Iesus furnishes an essential point of reference for the work of evangelization.

Speaking to participants in a world conference on missions, held at the Urbanum in Rome, Bishop Kasper observed that "the mission of the Church is universal," and thus it would be a mistake to equate that mission with "any nation, culture, or particular political or economic systems."

However, side by side with that universality, the German-born bishop continued, one must recognize "the unity-- or rather the unicity-- of the Church's message." He explained: "The Church recognizes only one Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no salvation except in his name. He is the sole mediator between God and man, the single high priest who has redeemed us once and for all."

To suggest that Christianity just one among many possible ways to religious truth, Bishop Kasper observed, is to strike at "the identity of Christianity and of the Church." Christians must remain in dialogue with believers of other faiths, but cannot accept the notion that "another religion or culture surpasses or completes the path to salvation that is in Christ."

Instead of suggesting the superiority of other faiths, or equating them to Christianity, the Church recognizes that the truth which we find in Christ may be imperfectly reflected in other beliefs, the bishop said. Thus, "all that is good and true in other religions forms a part of what has appeared in its fullness in Jesus Christ."

CWN - Catholic World News
18. oktober 2000