It redefined church sacraments, permitted the use of vernacular languages for the Mass, and appointed a commission to implement such a transition. It has been widely accepted by Catholics worldwide, but not without some opposition. The complete text of its 16 documents are available online.
Catholicism traditionally taught that "there is no salvation outside the Church", which thus denied salvation to non-Catholic Christians as well as non-Christians; Catholicism revisited this position in Vatican II, 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. However, later official Vatican position papers have since retracted this view. The current Pope has personally endorsed a contradictory document called "Dominus Iesus", published in August 2000, by Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It has been ratified and confirmed by Pope Paul II "with sure knowledge and by his apostolic authority." This document states that people outside of Christianity are "gravely deficient" in their relationship to God, and that their faith is actually an obstacle to salvation. Jewish and Muslim groups have expressed distress at this reversal of Vatican II.
[Roman Catholic Church's views on other faiths]
/Talk?
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)