Vatican Official: Ecumenism Needs Truth

Vatican Official: Ecumenism Needs Truth
ARANJUEZ, Spain, JULY 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The secretary of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation emphasized again that the dicastery's recent document on the doctrine of the Church is an aid to ecumenism.

Salesian Archbishop Angelo Amato of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith spoke with journalists Tuesday in Spain, before giving a conference on Benedict XVI's book, "Jesus of Nazareth."

The archbishop said that "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church," as the document was called, is "very positive" for ecumenism because it gives a "precise identity to the Catholic Church."

"Ecumenism is based on truth and the identity of the interlocutors," he affirmed.

The prelate denied that Protestants were "vexed" by the document: "They know that this is our identity and it is not the first time that the congregation has made these affirmations."

The archbishop observed that the document repeats what the Second Vatican Council had already said. He further recalled the 2000 document, "Dominus Iesus," which also detailed the same doctrine.

"The Church of Christ exists in history," he added. "It is a concrete historical reality, which searches for unity, through ecumenical dialogue, with all the other expressions."