[Apologetics] Vatican Document: Responses to Questions on Doctrine of the Church

[Art Kelly]

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS

OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH

Introduction

The Second Vatican Council, with its Dogmatic
Constitution Lumen gentium, and its Decrees on
Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio) and the Oriental
Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum), has contributed in
a decisive way to the renewal of Catholic ecclesiolgy.
The Supreme Pontiffs have also contributed to this
renewal by offering their own insights and
orientations for praxis: Paul VI in his Encyclical
Letter Ecclesiam suam (1964) and John Paul II in his
Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint (1995).

The consequent duty of theologians to expound with
greater clarity the diverse aspects of ecclesiology
has resulted in a flowering of writing in this field.
In fact it has become evident that this theme is a
most fruitful one which, however, has also at times
required clarification by way of precise definition
and correction, for instance in the declaration
Mysterium Ecclesiae (1973), the Letter addressed to
the Bishops of the Catholic Church Communionis notio
(1992), and the declaration Dominus Iesus (2000), all
published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith.

The vastness of the subject matter and the novelty of
many of the themes involved continue to provoke
theological reflection. Among the many new
contributions to the field, some are not immune from
erroneous interpretation which in turn give rise to
confusion and doubt. A number of these interpretations
have been referred to the attention of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Given the
universality of Catholic doctrine on the Church, the
Congregation wishes to respond to these questions by
clarifying the authentic meaning of some
ecclesiological expressions used by the magisterium
which are open to misunderstanding in the theological
debate.

RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS

First Question: Did the Second Vatican Council change
the Catholic doctrine on the Church?

Response: The Second Vatican Council neither changed
nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it
developed, deepened and more fully explained it.

This was exactly what John XXIII said at the beginning
of the Council1. Paul VI affirmed it2 and commented in
the act of promulgating the Constitution Lumen
gentium: "There is no better comment to make than to
say that this promulgation really changes nothing of
the traditional doctrine. What Christ willed, we also
will. What was, still is. What the Church has taught
down through the centuries, we also teach. In simple
terms that which was assumed, is now explicit; that
which was uncertain, is now clarified; that which was
meditated upon, discussed and sometimes argued over,
is now put together in one clear formulation"3. The
Bishops repeatedly expressed and fulfilled this
intention4.

Second Question: What is the meaning of the
affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the
Catholic Church?

Response: Christ "established here on earth" only one
Church and instituted it as a "visible and spiritual
community"5, that from its beginning and throughout
the centuries has always existed and will always
exist, and in which alone are found all the elements
that Christ himself instituted.6 "This one Church of
Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy,
catholic and apostolic [
]. This Church, constituted
and organised in this world as a society, subsists in
the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of
Peter and the Bishops in communion with him"7.

In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium
‘subsistence’ means this perduring, historical
continuity and the permanence of all the elements
instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church8, in which
the Church of Christ is concretely found on this
earth.

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to
affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present
and operative in the churches and ecclesial
Communities not yet fully in communion with the
Catholic Church, on account of the elements of
sanctification and truth that are present in them.9
Nevertheless, the word "subsists" can only be
attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely
because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess
in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the "one"
Church); and this "one" Church subsists in the
Catholic Church.10

Third Question: Why was the expression "subsists in"
adopted instead of the simple word "is"?

Response: The use of this expression, which indicates
the full identity of the Church of Christ with the
Catholic Church, does not change the doctrine on the
Church. Rather, it comes from and brings out more
clearly the fact that there are "numerous elements of
sanctification and of truth" which are found outside
her structure, but which "as gifts properly belonging
to the Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic
Unity"11.

"It follows that these separated churches and
Communities, though we believe they suffer from
defects, are deprived neither of significance nor
importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the
Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as
instruments of salvation, whose value derives from
that fullness of grace and of truth which has been
entrusted to the Catholic Church"12.

Fourth Question: Why does the Second Vatican Council
use the term "Church" in reference to the oriental
Churches separated from full communion with the
Catholic Church?

Response: The Council wanted to adopt the traditional
use of the term. "Because these Churches, although
separated, have true sacraments and above all –
because of the apostolic succession – the priesthood
and the Eucharist, by means of which they remain
linked to us by very close bonds"13, they merit the
title of "particular or local Churches"14, and are
called sister Churches of the particular Catholic
Churches15.

"It is through the celebration of the Eucharist of the
Lord in each of these Churches that the Church of God
is built up and grows in stature"16. However, since
communion with the Catholic Church, the visible head
of which is the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of
Peter, is not some external complement to a particular
Church but rather one of its internal constitutive
principles, these venerable Christian communities lack
something in their condition as particular churches17.

On the other hand, because of the division between
Christians, the fullness of universality, which is
proper to the Church governed by the Successor of
Peter and the Bishops in communion with him, is not
fully realised in history18.

Fifth Question: Why do the texts of the Council and
those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the
title of "Church" with regard to those Christian
Communities born out of the Reformation of the
sixteenth century?

Response: According to Catholic doctrine, these
Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the
sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a
constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial
Communities which, specifically because of the absence
of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the
genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic
Mystery19 cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be
called "Churches" in the proper sense20.

The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience
granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ratified
and confirmed these Responses, adopted in the Plenary
Session of the Congregation, and ordered their
publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, June 29, 2007, the Solemnity of
the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect

+ Angelo Amato, S.D.B.
Titular Archbishop of Sila
Secretary

_______________________

1 JOHN XXIII, Address of 11 October 1962: "
The
Council
wishes to transmit Catholic doctrine, whole
and entire, without alteration or deviation
But in the
circumstances of our times it is necessary that
Christian doctrine in its entirety, and with nothing
taken away from it, is accepted with renewed
enthusiasm, and serene and tranquil adherence
 it is
necessary that the very same doctrine be understood
more widely and more profoundly as all those who
sincerely adhere to the Christian, Catholic and
Apostolic faith strongly desire 
it is necessary that
this certain and immutable doctrine, to which is owed
the obedience of faith, be explored and expounded in
the manner required by our times. The deposit of faith
itself and the truths contained in our venerable
doctrine are one thing, but the manner in which they
are annunciated is another, provided that the same
fundamental sense and meaning is maintained" : AAS 54
[1962] 791-792.

2 Cf. PAUL VI, Address of 29 September 1963: AAS 55
[1963] 847-852.

3 PAUL VI, Address of 21 November 1964: AAS 56 [1964]
1009-1010.

4 The Council wished to express the identity of the
Church of Christ with the Catholic Church. This is
clear from the discussions on the decree Unitatis
redintegratio. The Schema of the Decree was proposed
on the floor of the Council on 23.9.1964 with a
Relatio (Act Syn III/II 296-344). The Secretariat for
the Unity of Christians responded on 10.11.1964 to the
suggestions sent by Bishops in the months that
followed (Act Syn III/VII 11-49). Herewith are quoted
four texts from this Expensio modorum concerning this
first response.

A) [In Nr. 1 (Prooemium) Schema Decreti: Act Syn
III/II 296, 3-6]

"Pag. 5, lin. 3-6: Videtur etiam Ecclesiam catholicam
inter illas Communiones comprehendi, quod falsum
esset.

R(espondetur): Hic tantum factum, prout ab omnibus
conspicitur, describendum est. Postea clare affirmatur
solam Ecclesiam catholicam esse veram Ecclesiam
Christi" (Act Syn III/VII 12).

B) [In Caput I in genere: Act Syn III/II 297-301]

"4 - Expressius dicatur unam solam esse veram
Ecclesiam Christi; hanc esse Catholicam Apostolicam
Romanam; omnes debere inquirere, ut eam cognoscant et
ingrediantur ad salutem obtinendam...

R(espondetur): In toto textu sufficienter effertur,
quod postulatur. Ex altera parte non est tacendum
etiam in aliis communitatibus christianis inveniri
veritates revelatas et elementa ecclesialia"(Act Syn
III/VII 15). Cf. also ibid pt. 5.

C) [In Caput I in genere: Act Syn III/II 296s]

"5 - Clarius dicendum esset veram Ecclesiam esse solam
Ecclesiam catholicam romanam...

R(espondetur): Textus supponit doctrinam in
constitutione ‘De Ecclesia’ expositam, ut pag. 5, lin.
24-25 affirmatur" (Act Syn III/VII 15). Thus the
commission whose task it was to evaluate the responses
to the Decree Unitatis redintegratio clearly expressed
the identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic
Church and its unicity, and understood this doctrine
to be founded in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
gentium.

D) [In Nr. 2 Schema Decreti: Act Syn III/II 297s]

"Pag. 6, lin. 1- 24: Clarius exprimatur unicitas
Ecclesiae. Non sufficit inculcare, ut in textu fit,
unitatem Ecclesiae.

R(espondetur): a) Ex toto textu clare apparet
identificatio Ecclesiae Christi cum Ecclesia
catholica, quamvis, ut oportet, efferantur elementa
ecclesialia aliarum communitatum".

"Pag. 7, lin. 5: Ecclesia a successoribus Apostolorum
cum Petri successore capite gubernata (cf. novum
textum ad pag. 6, lin.33-34) explicite dicitur ‘unicus
Dei grex’ et lin. 13 ‘una et unica Dei Ecclesia’ "
(Act Syn III/VII).

The two expressions quoted are those of Unitatis
redintegratio 2.5 e 3.1.

5 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution
Lumen gentium, 8.1.

6 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 3.2; 3.4; 3.5; 4.6.

7 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen
gentium, 8.2.

8 Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH,
Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 1.1: AAS 65 [1973]
397; Declaration Dominus Iesus, 16.3: AAS 92 [2000-II]
757-758; Notification on the Book of Leonardo Boff,
OFM, "Church: Charism and Power": AAS 77 [1985]
758-759.

9 Cf. JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint,
11.3: AAS 87 [1995-II] 928.

10 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution
Lumen gentium, 8.2.

11 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
gentium, 8.2.

12 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 3.4.

13 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 15.3; cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE
OF THE FAITH, Letter Communionis notio, 17.2: AAS, 85
[1993-II] 848.

14 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 14.1.

15 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 14.1; JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter
Ut unum sint, 56 f: AAS 87 [1995-II] 954 ff.

16 SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 15.1.

17 Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH,
Letter Communionis notio, 17.3: AAS 85 [1993-II] 849.

18 Ibid.

19 Cf. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Decree Unitatis
redintegratio, 22.3.

20 Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH,
Declaration Dominus Iesus, 17.2: AAS 92 [2000-II] 758.

[01035-02.01] [Original text: Latin]



ART KELLY, ATM-S
13524 Brightfield Lane
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