Roman Catholic leaders in Poland have expressed strong support for a controversial Vatican document released early this month which restates the belief that Protestant denominations are not churches but "ecclesial communities."However, as in many other countries, Poland's Protestant church leaders have criticized the document—Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church—and predicted that it could endanger improving ecumenical relations in this predominantly Catholic country.Dominus Iesus is mainly directed at Catholic theologians who "have argued that all religions may be equally valid ways of salvation." But the declaration also firmly restates the Vatican's belief that the Roman Catholic Church fully represents the one holy Catholic and apostolic church and that Protestant denominations are "ecclesial communities."Adam Szulc, spokesman for Poland's Catholic Bishops' Conference, said that Dominus Iesus clarified "mistaken theological conceptions" and was an attempt "to reveal afresh the truth and mission of the church.""It's a theological rather than pastoral document, so reading it requires a certain theological preparation. It's not surprising that some people with insufficient knowledge feel threatened after reading it," said the Jesuit priest, who was responding to criticism of the controversial document, issued last week by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and its prefect, Cardinal Josef Ratzinger.Szulc told Poland's Catholic Information Agency (KAI) that predictions of harm to ecumenical dialogue reflected a "mistaken interpretation" of the document, which was intended to refute "relativist theories" which claim that there were "many ways to salvation.""It's ...