Dominus Iesus (Latin for "Jesus (the) Lord") is the title of a document by Pope Benedict XVI when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Tarcisio Bertone, archbishop of Vercelli. The document, published on August 6, 2000, is subtitled "On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church".

A Catholic dogma, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus, teaches that "there is no salvation outside the Church", which was often understood to deny salvation to non-Catholic Christians as well as non-Christians. There however existed within the Catholic Church a trend to a more inclusive approach, especially since the Scholastic theology of the Middle Ages, when the Church gained a wider scope in regard to the Muslims world and far-off countries. In the 20th century this inclusive approach was expressed in the condemnation of Feeneyism and in the declaration of the Second Vatican Council, which said that "the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator", thus potentially extending salvation to other monotheistic faiths. Vatican II further affirmed that salvation was available to people who had not even heard of Christ (cf. Acts 17:23) but that all who gain salvation, however, do so only by membership in the Catholic Church, whether that membership is explicit or implicit.

Such Vatican documents have led some to question the Church's commitment to ecumenism. Pope John Paul II personally endorsed the Dominus Iesus, and ratified and confirmed it "with sure knowledge and by his apostolic authority" (a formal sentence used at the beginning or with the signature of an official document).

This document [1] states that people outside of Christianity are "in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation", and that non-Catholic Christian communities had "defects". Some non-Catholic groups have interpreted this as disparagement of their faiths while others have appreciated that the church position does not deny the salvation of those separate from the Catholic Church.

In response to these criticisms, Pope John Paul II on October 2 of that year emphasized that this document did not say that non-Christians were denied salvation: "this confession does not deny salvation to non-Christians, but points to its ultimate source in Christ, in whom man and God are united". The Pope then issued on December 6 a statement to further emphasize that the Church continued to support the position of Vatican II that salvation was available to believers of other faiths: "The Gospel teaches us that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes - the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, those who bear lovingly the sufferings of life - will enter God's kingdom." He further added, "All who seek God with a sincere heart, including those who do not know Christ and his church, contribute under the influence of grace to the building of this kingdom."

External links

• The official text of the document
• Cardinal Ratzinger Answers The Main Objections Raised Against The Declaration Dominus Iesus
• Roman Catholic Church's views on other faiths, as seen by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance