The Place of Religious Discourse in American Democracy

CatholicCulture.org ^ | September 5, 2000 | Archbishop William Levada

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The Declaration Dominus Jesus issued by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday reaffirms the fundamental teaching of Christian revelation, as handed down in the Catholic Church, on the role of Jesus Christ and the role of the Catholic Church in our salvation.

The declaration, which was approved and affirmed by the Holy Father, proceeds from a theological context and presents classic truths of the Catholic faith in contrast to relativistic theories. The declaration is a response to several confusing or erroneous ideas regarding what it means to call Jesus Christ the one savior of the world and how his saving grace may be applied to persons who do not explicitly believe in him or who have no connection with the church, to which he entrusted the application of salvation to the whole human race.

One example of the kind of erroneous and relativistic theories which the declaration addresses could be summed up in an explanation of the universality of salvation in Christ, which sets up two parallel dispensations in which this saving work takes place: one for Christian believers, which operates through Christ the incarnate Word and his body, the church; and the other for followers of non-Christian religions, which would operate through the invisible action of the Holy Spirit.

[BulldogCatholic]

This is once again a teaching, in Lumen Gentium that has confused the laity, defected from the teachings of all of the past 262 Popes and 20 councils, and should be striked down immediately. Salvation outside the church? Then why should one go through the hardships of sacrifice of being a Catholic, even the watered down version that the post Vatican II world has. A 3 hour fast down to 15 minutes before mass, everything in the name of expedience and ecumenism. The Pope is responsible for the souls of 1.1B catholics, most of whom probably wont ever see the inside of a church-and you know why? Because everyone can be saved as that is what the church teaches!