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Representatives of church bodies that had been working especially hard on relations with Rome since Vatican II—including the Anglican Communion, Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the World Council of Churches—bristled at the thought that Rome no longer considered their constituencies "Churches in the proper sense." One of the many quotes from the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism in Dominus Iesus only partially softens the blow: "Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such, though we believe they suffer from defects, have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church."

After the initial firestorm, most commentators concluded that Rome hadn't leapt anywhere with Dominus Iesus but merely restated its belief in the uniqueness of Christ and his Church before an increasingly pluralistic global audience. Of course, traditional Catholics don't believe their doctrine has the capacity for leaping. As the old joke goes, if the papacy ever drops its opposition to contraception, its official statement will begin, "As the church in every age has taught … " Still, it is difficult to argue that Rome hasn't budged since 1302.

* CH 70: Dante features an article on Boniface VIII. John XXIII and John Paul II both appear in CH 65: The Ten Most Influential Christians of the Twentieth Century.

* Texts of the statements cited above appear on these sites:

Unam Sanctam

Decree on Ecumenism

Dominus Iesus

Elesha Coffman is the former managing editor of Christian History magazine and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in history at Duke University.

* A Christianity Today editorial on Dominus Iesus, "Honest Ecumenism," is available here. A news story on reactions to the document, featuring links to many other reports, appears here.

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