II. THE INCARNATE LOGOS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE WORK OF SALVATION

9 In contemporary theological reflection there often emerges an approach to Jesus of Nazareth that considers him a particular, finite, historical figure, who reveals the divine not in an exclusive way, but in a way complementary with other revelatory and salvific figures. The Infinite, the Absolute, the Ultimate Mystery of God would thus manifest itself to humanity in many ways and in many historical figures: Jesus of Nazareth would be one of these. More concretely, for some, Jesus would be one of the many faces which the Logos has assumed in the course of time to communicate with humanity in a salvific way.

Furthermore, to justify the universality of Christian salvation as well as the fact of religious pluralism, it has been proposed that there is an economy of the eternal Word that is valid also outside the Church and is unrelated to her, in addition to an economy of the incarnate Word. The first would have a greater universal value than the second, which is limited to Christians, though God's presence would be more full in the second.

10 These theses are in profound conflict with the Christian faith. The doctrine of faith must be firmly believed which proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, and he alone, is the Son and the Word of the Father. The Word, which "was in the beginning with God" (Jn 1,2) is the same as he who "became flesh" (Jn 1,14). In Jesus, "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16,16), "the whole fullness of divinity dwells in bodily form" (Col 2,9). He is the "only begotten Son of the Father, who is in the bosom of the Father" (Jn 1,18), his "beloved Son, in whom we have redemption... In him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself, on earth and in the heavens, making peace by the blood of his Cross" (Col 1,13-14 Col 1,19-20).

Faithful to Sacred Scripture and refuting erroneous and reductive interpretations, the First Council of Nicaea solemnly defined its faith in: «Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten generated from the Father, that is, from the being of the Fathe r, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were made, those in heaven and those on earth. For us men and for our salvation, he came down and became incarnate, was made man, suffered, and rose again on the third day. He ascended to the heavens and shall come again to judge the living and the dead".28 Following the teachings of the Fathers of the Church, the Council of Chalcedon also professed: "the one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man..., one in being with the Father according to the divinity and one in being with us according to the humanity..., begotten of the Father before the ages according to the divinity and, in these last days, for us and our salvation, of Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, according to the humanity".29

For this reason, the Second Vatican Council states that Christ "the new Adam...'image of the invisible God' (Col 1,15) is himself the perfect man who has restored that likeness to God in the children of Adam which had been disfigured since the first sin... As an innocent lamb he merited life for us by his blood which he freely shed. In him God reconciled us to himself and to one another, freeing us from the bondage of the devil and of sin, so that each one of us could say with the apostle: the Son of God 'loved me and gave himself up for me' (Ga 2,20)".30

In this regard, John Paul II has explicitly declared: "To introduce any sort of separation between the Word and Jesus Christ is contrary to the Christian faith... Jesus is the Incarnate Word -- a single and indivisible person... Christ is none other than Jesus of Nazareth; he is the Word of God made man for the salvation of all... In the process of discovering and appreciating the manifold gifts -- especially the spiritual treasures -- that God has bestowed on every people, we cannot separate those gifts from Jesus Christ, who is at the centre of God's plan of salvation".31

It is likewise contrary to the Catholic faith to introduce a separation between the salvific action of the Word as such and that of the Word made man. With the incarnation, all the salvific actions of the Word of God are always done in unity with the human nature that he has assumed for the salvation of all people. The one subject which operates in the two natures, human and divine, is the single person of the Word.32

Therefore, the theory which would attribute, after the incarnation as well, a salvific activity to the Logos as such in his divinity, exercised «in addition to" or "beyond" the humanity of Christ, is not compatible with the Catholic faith.33

28. First Council of Nicaea, Symbolum Nicaenum: DS 125.
29. Council of Chalcedon, Symbolum Chalcedonense: DS 301.
30. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution GS 22.
31. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter RMi 6.
32. Cf. St. Leo the Great, Tomus ad Flavianum: DS 294.
33. Cf. St. Leo the Great, Letter to the Emperor Leo I Promisisse me memini: DS 318: "...in tantam unitatem ab ipso conceptu Virginis deitate et humanitate conserta, ut nec sine homine divina, nec sine Deo agerentur humana". Cf. also ibid. DS 317.

11 Similarly, the doctrine of faith regarding the unicity of the salvific economy willed by the One and Triune God must be firmly believed, at the source and centre of which is the mystery of the incarnation of the Word, mediator of divine grace on the level of creation and redemption (cf. Col 1,15-20), he who recapitulates all things (cf. Ep 1,10), he "whom God has made our wisdom, our righteousness, and sanctification and redemption" (1Co 1,30). In fact, the mystery of Christ has its own intrinsic unity, which extends from the eternal choice in God to the parousia: "he [the Father] chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love" (Ep 1,4); "In Christ we are heirs, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will" (Ep 1,11); "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers; those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified" (Rm 8,29-30).

The Church's Magisterium, faithful to divine revelation, reasserts that Jesus Christ is the mediator and the universal redeemer: "The Word of God, through whom all things were made, was made flesh, so that as perfect man he could save all men and sum up all things in himself. The Lord...is he whom the Father raised from the dead, exalted and placed at his right hand, constituting him judge of the living and the dead".34 This salvific mediation implies also the unicity of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ, eternal high priest (cf. He 6,20 He 9,11 He 10,12-14).

12 There are also those who propose the hypothesis of an economy of the Holy Spirit with a more universal breadth than that of the Incarnate Word, crucified and risen. This position also is contrary to the Catholic faith, which, on the contrary, considers the salvific incarnation of the Word as a trinitarian event. In the New Testament, the mystery of Jesus, the Incarnate Word, constitutes the place of the Holy Spirit's presence as well as the principle of the Spirit's effusion on humanity, not only in messianic times (cf. Ac 2,32-36 Jn 7,39 Jn 20,22 1Co 15,45), but also prior to his coming in history (cf. 1Co 10,4; 1P 1,10-12).

The Second Vatican Council has recalled to the consciousness of the Church's faith this fundamental truth. In presenting the Father's salvific plan for all humanity, the Council closely links the mystery of Christ from its very beginnings with that of the Spirit.35 The entire work of building the Church by Jesus Christ the Head, in the course of the centuries, is seen as an action which he does in communion with his Spirit.36

Furthermore, the salvific action of Jesus Christ, with and through his Spirit, extends beyond the visible boundaries of the Church to all humanity. Speaking of the paschal mystery, in which Christ even now associates the believer to himself in a living manner in the Spirit and gives him the hope of resurrection, the Council states: "All this holds true not only for Christians but also for all men of good will in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery".37

Hence, the connection is clear between the salvific mystery of the Incarnate Word and that of the Spirit, who actualizes the salvific efficacy of the Son made man in the lives of all people, called by God to a single goal, both those who historically preceded the Word made man, and those who live after his coming in history: the Spirit of the Father, bestowed abundantly by the Son, is the animator of all (cf. Jn 3,34).

Thus, the recent Magisterium of the Church has firmly and clearly recalled the truth of a single divine economy: "The Spirit's presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions... The Risen Christ 'is now at work in human hearts through the strength of his Spirit'... Again, it is the Spirit who sows the 'seeds of the word' present in various customs and cultures, preparing them for full maturity in Christ".38 While recognizing the historical-salvific function of the Spirit in the whole universe and in the entire history of humanity,39 the Magisterium states: "This is the same Spirit who was at work in the incarnation and in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and who is at work in the Church. He is therefore not an alternative to Christ nor does he fill a sort of void which is sometimes suggested as existing between Christ and the Logos. Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions, serves as a preparation for the Gospel and can only be understood in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power of the Spirit 'so that as perfectly human he would save all human beings and sum up all things'".40

In conclusion, the action of the Spirit is not outside or parallel to the action of Christ. There is only one salvific economy of the One and Triune God, realized in the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, actualized with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, and extended in its salvific value to all humanity and to the entire universe: «No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit".41

34. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution GS 45; cf. also Council of Trent, Decretum de peccato originali, 3: DS 1513.
35. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 3-4.
36. Cf. ibid., LG 7; cf. St. Irenaeus, who wrote that it is in the Church «that communion with Christ has been deposited, that is to say: the Holy Spirit" (Adversus haereses III, 24, 1: SC 211, 472).
37. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution GS 22.
38. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter RMi 28. For the «seeds of the Word" cf. also St. Justin Martyr, Second Apology 8, 1-2; 10, 1-3; 13, 3-6: ed. E.J. Goodspeed, 84; 85; 88-89.
39. Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, RMi 28-29.
40. Ibid., RMi 29.
41. Ibid., RMi 5.

III. UNICITY AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE SALVIFIC MYSTERY OF JESUS CHRIST

13 The thesis which denies the unicity and salvific universality of the mystery of Jesus Christ is also put forward. Such a position has no biblical foundation. In fact, the truth of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord and only Saviour, who through the event of his incarnation, death and resurrection has brought the history of salvation to fulfilment, and which has in him its fullness and centre, must be firmly believed as a constant element of the Church's faith.

The New Testament attests to this fact with clarity: "The Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world" (1Jn 4,14); «Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1,29). In his discourse before the Sanhedrin, Peter, in order to justify the healing of a man who was crippled from birth, which was done in the name of Jesus (cf. Ac 3,1-8), proclaims: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Ac 4,12). St. Paul adds, moreover, that Jesus Christ «is Lord of all", "judge of the living and the dead", and thus "whoever believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Ac 10,36 Ac 10,42-43).

Paul, addressing himself to the community of Corinth, writes: "Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth -- as in fact there are many gods and many lords -- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist" (1Co 8,5-6). Furthermore, John the Apostle states: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3,16-17). In the New Testament, the universal salvific will of God is closely connected to the sole mediation of Christ: «[God] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1Tm 2,4-6).

It was in the awareness of the one universal gift of salvation offered by the Father through Jesus Christ in the Spirit (cf. Ep 1,3-14), that the first Christians encountered the Jewish people, showing them the fulfilment of salvation that went beyond the Law and, in the same awareness, they confronted the pagan world of their time, which aspired to salvation through a plurality of saviours. This inheritance of faith has been recalled recently by the Church's Magisterium: "The Church believes that Christ, who died and was raised for the sake of all (cf. 2Co 5,15) can, through his Spirit, give man the light and the strength to be able to respond to his highest calling, nor is there any other name under heaven given among men by which they can be saved (cf. Ac 4,12). The Church likewise believes that the key, the centre, and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master".42

42. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution GS 10. Cf. St. Augustine, who wrote that Christ is the way, which "has never been lacking to mankind... and apart from this way no one has been set free, no one is being set free, no one will be set free" De civitate Dei 10, 32, 2: CCSL 47, 312.

14 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.

Bearing in mind this article of faith, theology today, in its reflection on the existence of other religious experiences and on their meaning in God's salvific plan, is invited to explore if and in what way the historical figures and positive elements of these religions may fall within the divine plan of salvation. In this undertaking, theological research has a vast field of work under the guidance of the Church's Magisterium. The Second Vatican Council, in fact, has stated that: "the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude, but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a participation in this one source".43 The content of this participated mediation should be explored more deeply, but must remain always consistent with the principle of Christ's unique mediation: «Although participated forms of mediation of different kinds and degrees are not excluded, they acquire meaning and value only from Christ's own mediation, and they cannot be understood as parallel or complementary to his".44 Hence, those solutions that propose a salvific action of God beyond the unique mediation of Christ would be contrary to Christian and Catholic faith.

43. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 62.
44. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter RMi 5.

15 Not infrequently it is proposed that theology should avoid the use of terms like "unicity", "universality", and «absoluteness", which give the impression of excessive emphasis on the significance and value of the salvific event of Jesus Christ in relation to other religions. In reality, however, such language is simply being faithful to revelation, since it represents a development of the sources of the faith themselves. From the beginning, the community of believers has recognized in Jesus a salvific value such that he alone, as Son of God made man, crucified and risen, by the mission received from the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit, bestows revelation (cf. Mt 11,27) and divine life (cf. Jn 1,12 Jn 5,25-26 Jn 17,2) to all humanity and to every person.

In this sense, one can and must say that Jesus Christ has a significance and a value for the human race and its history, which are unique and singular, proper to him alone, exclusive, universal, and phim (cf. Jn 15,1ff.; Ga 3,28 Ep 4,15-16; Ac 9,5). Therefore, the fullness of Christ's salvific mystery belongs also to the Church, inseparably united to her Lord. Indeed, Jesus Christ continues his presence and his work of salvation in the Church and by means of the Church (cf. Col 1,24-27),47 which is his body (cf. 1Co 12,12-13,27 Col 1,18).48 And thus, just as the head and members of a living body, though not identical, are inseparable, so too Christ and the Church can neither be confused nor separated, and constitute a single «whole Christ".49 This same inseparability is also expressed in the New Testament by the analogy of the Church as the Bride of Christ (cf. 2Co 11,2; Ep 5,25-29 Ap 21,2 Ap 21,9).50

Therefore, in connection with the unicity and universality of the salvific mediation of Jesus Christ, the unicity of the Church founded by him must be firmly believed as a truth of Catholic faith. Just as there is one Christ, so there exists a single body of Christ, a single Bride of Christ: «a single Catholic and apostolic Church".51 Furthermore, the promises of the Lord that he would not abandon his Church (cf. Mt 16,18 Mt 28,20) and that he would guide her by his Spirit (cf. Jn 16,13) mean, according to Catholic faith, that the unicity and the unity of the Church -- like everything that belongs to the Church's integrity -- will never be lacking.52

The Catholic faithful are required to profess that there is an historical continuity -- rooted in the apostolic succession53 -- between the Church founded by Christ and the Catholic Church: "This is the single Church of Christ... which our Saviour, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care (cf. Jn 21,17), commissioning him and the other Apostles to extend and rule her (cf. Mt 28,18ff.), erected for all ages as 'the pillar and mainstay of the truth' (1Tm 3,15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in [subsistit in] the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him".54 With the expression subsistit in, the Second Vatican Council sought to harmonize two doctrinal statements: on the one hand, that the Church of Christ, despite the divisions which exist among Christians, continues to exist fully only in the Catholic Church, and on the other hand, that "outside of her structure, many elements can be found of sanctification and truth",55 that is, in those Churches and ecclesial communities which are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church.56 But with respect to these, it needs to be stated that «they derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church".57

45. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution GS 45. The necessary and absolute singularity of Christ in human history is well expressed by St. Irenaeus in contemplating the preeminence of Jesus as firstborn Son: "In the heavens, as firstborn of the Father's counsel, the perfect Word governs and legislates all things; on the earth, as firstborn of the Virgin, a man just and holy, reverencing God and pleasing to God, good and perfect in every way, he saves from hell all those who follow him since he is the firstborn from the dead and Author of the life of God" (Demonstratio apostolica, 39: SC 406, 138).
46. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter RMi 6.
47. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 14.
48. Cf. ibid., LG 7.
49. Cf. St. Augustine, Enarratio in Psalmos, Ps 90, Sermo 2,1: CCSL 39, 1266; St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, Praefatio, 6, 14: PL 75, 525; St. Thomas Aquinas, III 48,2 ad 1.
50. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 6.
51. Symbolum maius Ecclesiae Armeniacae: DS 48. Cf. Boniface VIII, Unam sanctam: DS 870-872; Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 8.
52. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 4; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter UUS 11: AAS 87 (1995), 927.
53. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 20; cf. also St. Irenaeus, Adversus haereses, III, 3, 1 - 3: SC 211, 20 - 44; St. Cyprian, Epist. 33, 1: CCSL 3B, 164 - 165; St. Augustine, Contra adver. legis et prophet., 1, 20, 39: CCSL 49,70.
54. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 8.
55. Ibid.; cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter UUS 13. Cf. also Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 15 and the Decree UR 3.
56. The interpretation of those who would derive from the formula subsistit in the thesis that the one Church of Christ could subsist also in non- Catholic Churches and ecclesial communities is therefore contrary to the authentic meaning of Lumen gentium. "The Council instead chose the word subsistit precisely to clarify that there exists only one 'subsistence' of the true Church, while outside her visible structure there only exist elementa Ecclesiae, which -- being elements of that same Church -- tend and lead toward the Catholic Church" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Notification on the Book «Church: Charism and Power" by Father Leonardo Boff: AAS 77 [1985], 756 - 762).
57. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 3.

17 Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him.58 The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches.59 Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church, since they do not accept the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy, which, according to the will of God, the Bishop of Rome objectively has and exercises over the entire Church.60

On the other hand, the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery,61 are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church.62 Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of life in Christ, through the integral profession of faith, the Eucharist, and full communion in the Church.63

«The Christian faithful are therefore not permitted to imagine that the Church of Christ is nothing more than a collection -- divided, yet in some way one -- of Churches and ecclesial communities; nor are they free to hold that today the Church of Christ nowhere really exists, and must be considered only as a goal which all Churches and ecclesial communities must strive to reach".64 In fact, "the elements of this already-given Church exist, joined together in their fullness in the Catholic Church and, without this fullness, in the other communities".65 "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".66

The lack of unity among Christians is certainly a wound for the Church; not in the sense that she is deprived of her unity, but "in that it hinders the complete fulfilment of her universality in history".67

58. Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 1: AAS 65 (1973), 396 - 398.
59. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 14-15; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Communionis notio, 17: AAS 85 (1993), 848.
60. Cf. First Vatican Council, Constitution Pastor aeternus: DS 3053-3064; Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution LG 22.
61. Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 22.
62. Cf. ibid., UR 3.
63. Cf. ibid., UR 22.
64. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae, 1.
65. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter UUS 14.
66. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 3.
67. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Communionis notio, 17; cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree UR 4.

Dominus Iesus EN