In the BP story, “Vatican document reasserts Catholicism as superior to other faith expressions,” dated 09/06/00, the following can be added following the updated paragraphs as noted in the 09/07/00 edition of BP:
Frank Ruff, a Catholic priest, in a statement to Baptist Press, said the Vatican document seeks to address “a rise in religious relativism, especially with regard to non-Christian religions” as part of the Vatican’s “role and responsibility in maintaining the integrity of our doctrine.” He described the document as having both “a high Christology,” or view of Christ, and a high view of the Bible.
The Catholic view of a universal church, however, is “not something most evangelicals share with Catholics,” Ruff acknowledged. But from Martin Luther to even evangelicals like Charles Colson, the church’s centrality is seen as a biblical teaching, Russ said, “that just as there is no salvation apart from Christ, there is no salvation apart from his body, the church.”
“Conservative Evangelicals should rejoice, as I do, in the clear and strong proclamation that Jesus is the only way to salvation. I hope many evangelicals read the statement because it will inspire them,” Ruff said, citing various statements in the document, such as “It must therefore be firmly believed as a truth of Catholic faith that the universal salvific will of the One and Triune God is offered and accomplished once for all in the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God.”
Ruff also noted that the document “recognizes some truth in the sacred books of other religions, but reminds Catholics that they are not on a par with the Bible.”
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