FRIBOURG, Switzerland, JULY 11, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A great difficulty in ecumenical dialogue is the disparity of viewpoints on the understanding of "church," according to the president of the Swiss bishops' conference.
Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel made this comment in a statement released after the publication Tuesday of the document by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, titled "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church."
On behalf of the Swiss bishops, the prelate said that the document's ecumenical relevance is that it clarifies the significance of the doctrine of the Second Vatican Council on the nature of Church.
He explained that currently "the greatest difficulty of ecumenical dialogue resides in the disparity of viewpoints on the understanding of the Church."
"The communities that came about from the Reformation see themselves as part of the single Church of Christ under various forms," the bishop continued.
Bishop Koch continued: "The Catholic Church asserts that it is not only a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, but rather that it is the only Church realized concretely.
"Thus, the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recalls that in a Catholic conception, the ecclesial communities that arose from the Reformation cannot be considered as 'Churches in the proper sense.'"
"According to the doctrinal congregation," continued the 57-year-old prelate, "it is clear that neither the ecclesial communities, nor the Catholic Church, are in a situation to recognize fully the reciprocal concepts of 'church.'"
"Today," Bishop Koch concluded, "for the Swiss bishops' conference this means that we can follow along the path of ecumenism, encouraging dialogue based on these very different theological viewpoints of 'Church.'"
Bishop Koch also wrote a commentary in French on the document, which he titled "Introduction to the Theological Background of the New Document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Concerning the Doctrine on the Church."
ZE07071207 - 2007-07-12