The RADEN Report     October 11, 2000

 Rome And Daughters Ecumenical News

 Pope pulls the rug from under his ecumenical allies...

‘Dominus Iesus’ a new document issued from the Vatican on September 5, has given the world a rare opportunity to publicly view high-ranking Roman Catholic leaders in conflict with each other. While this officially sanctioned document contains no new teaching, it is a refreshingly honest re-statement of the historic stance of the Roman Catholic Church, a stance that has been veiled to many since Vatican II in the 1960’s.

 Among other things, the document states:  

The document not only offended ecumenical operatives worldwide, but has been met with trepidation by a cardinal within the highest echelon of the Vatican hierarchy. Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, the Vatican’s chief of world wide ecumenism, reacted with a rare display of public disagreement. (Cardinal Cassidy has had a strong personal influence in the development of heretical ECT documents.) Catholic World News reported...

 “Cardinal Edward Cassidy, the president of the Pontifical Council for
Christian Unity, has indicated that the recent Vatican statement
Dominus Jesus would have been presented
differently if it had been prepared by that Council. Cardinal Cassidy,
who was attending an ecumenical conference in Lisbon, told
the Italian daily Il Messaggero that ‘those of us whose ears are more attuned
to the nuances of dialogue’ would have produced a different sort of
document. As it stands, the cardinal remarked, Dominus Jesus has provoked
negative reactions from some partners in ecumenical dialogue.”

Other members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy have expressed dismay...

“...the document has been like a bomb being dropped into the middle of the cross-faith relations we are trying to build.” “The tone and timing of this document published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could not have been expressed at a worse time.”

Criticism notwithstanding, the Roman pontiff has continued to state his strong support of ‘Dominus Iesus’ as an official decree that “must be firmly believed.” The turmoil in the world of ecumenism is obvious, with various news services reporting ongoing reaction and attempts at damage-control on a daily basis.

Catholic World News Vatican Update for Oct. 02, 2000

VATICAN, Oct. 2, 00 (CWNews.com) -- Responding to criticisms of
Dominus Jesus-- the statement published on September 5 by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith-- Pope John Paul II has
emphasized that the document has his full approval, and that it
should not be an obstacle to ecumenical dialogue....
 
...The purpose of the new Vatican document, the Pope said, is to clarify
the basis for ecumenical dialogue. "A dialogue without foundation is
destined to degenerate into plain verbosity," he observed.

Christians of other denominations should also understand the
purpose of Dominus Jesus, the Pope said. The document teaches, as a
matter of faith, that the fullness of the means to salvation can be
found only in the Catholic Church....

Dominus Iesus called the “kiss of death” for ecumenists...

Former Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett has called Dominus Iesus a “kiss of death” for ecumenists. Bennett says ‘Dominus Iesus’ leaves ecumenical operatives such as Charles Colson in “no man’s land”...

“Clearly, the numerous ecumenists of the ‘Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification’ of last year and the signers and endorsers of ECT 1 & 2 are now... in no man’s land. Did Charles Colson and his fellow-ecumenists really believe that the pope would simply fade into the shadows and allow ‘evangelicals’ to exercise themselves independently of his will?”

“...It has been but a short time since Charles Colson... held aloft the ECT and declared, ‘Peace in our time.’ It has been barely long enough for the ink of the signatories to dry; yet the folly of their deeds, apparent to many before, has now been made apparent to all....”

(Richard Bennett’s insightful article on ‘Dominus Iesus’ may be viewed on his website at www.bereanbeacon.org.)

Salvation available for non-Christians, too, pope says.

The more the pope says about ‘Dominus Iesus,’ the worse it gets!

“...He explained that Dominus Jesus-- following the teaching of Vatican II--
does not claim that non-Christians cannot be saved; rather the
Church teaches that all salvation flows through Christ, and thus
through his Mystical Body which is the Catholic Church.” (CWN 10/2/00)

Some ecumenists deceptively interpret such statements to mean that the pope is saying lost people can come to faith in Christ and be saved. But what the pope is actually saying is what he has already spoken in previous Vatican statements... that Catholicism teaches there is an undiscovered mystery about how God gives salvation to some who do not trust in Christ as Savior. This alien “salvation” is said to somehow flow from Christ to the Catholic Church and then on to some non-Christians, who because of their good works and ignorance of Catholic doctrine, are then accepted by God as worthy of salvation.

Taken in the context of the entire ‘Dominus Iesus’ document, which maintains historic Catholic teaching regarding the necessity of the Catholic Church as “the universal sacrament of salvation,” what the pope is saying is that for some individuals, faith in Christ is not absolutely necessary for salvation... saving faith may be expressed by other individuals who are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and then this “faith” is somehow passed on to deserving lost persons, whether they are aware of it or not.

The present pope has publicly stated that he shares a common spiritual bond with those of other faiths, particularly Muslims. He may be right, but this common spiritual bond is not what he thinks it is... it is certainly NOT the bond of Christ, but rather a common bond of spiritual deception.

Nothing surprising, really; Error begets error begets error begets error...

Those who have carefully studied Catholicism, both historically and currently, are not surprised by anything in ‘Dominus Iesus.’ Roman Catholic theologian and ECT endorser Peter Kreeft says,

“Muslims and Christians preach and practice the same First Commandment... we serve and worship the same divine Commander.... Perhaps in Heaven the most ardent worshippers of the Eucharistic Christ will be the ‘outsiders,’ like pious Muslims.” (Ecumenical Jihad, Ignatius Press, 1996) [[Aside... After reading Ecumenical Jihad, Charles Colson wrote, “Peter Kreeft is one of the premier apologists in America today... one of our most valiant intellectual warriors.”]]

Of course, this is no stretch if you think about Catholicism’s foundational belief in sacramental grace, particularly baptismal regeneration. You see, Roman Catholic teaching is that individuals are “incorporated in Christ” as a result of entering the Catholic Church “through Baptism as through a door” (from ‘Dominus Iesus’). 

“the Church... must be primarily committed to proclaiming to all people the truth definitively revealed by the Lord, and to announcing the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of adherence to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in order to participate fully in communion with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” (Dominus Iesus)

Sound confusing... well, it’s supposed to be. You see, Roman Catholicism is purposed to be “mystical” and beyond the understanding of every-day folk.... but that subject will wait for another day. For now it is enough to know that...

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:8-10

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power....”

Colossians 2:8-10

The RADEN Report is a news and commentary service purposed to inform and educate the body of Christ regarding the dangers of ecumenism. For our purposes, ecumenism is defined as cooperative ventures of an evangelistic nature with individuals and/or groups which promote errant doctrine. Much of the New Testament was written to oppose the false doctrines of men who claimed to be Christian teachers, yet were bringing in "destructive heresies." According to Jude we are to "earnestly contend for the Faith that was once for all delivered unto the saints." This we aim to do and to encourage others in this part of God's work. If we can be of assistance to you in this way, please let us know. Additional copies (hard-copy) of RADEN are available, as well as other resources. Why not pass RADEN on to a friend? If you would like to read the ECT document, click here.  We also have the ECT put together into booklets, if you would like for us to send you one or more, request it by email.   Please include your home address and how many you would like.

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