Anglican Communion News Service

The Anglican Bishop of North Sydney, the Rt Revd Paul Barnett, strongly disagrees with part of the recent Declaration Dominus Iesus issued by the Roman Catholic Church. The document claims that churches other than the Roman Catholic Church are not churches in "the proper sense."

"The difficulty for other churches with this new Roman Catholic statement is that it declares '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,'" said Bishop Paul in a statement to the press, "and that other churches are 'not Churches in the proper sense.' What is the meaning of the term 'in the proper sense'?"

The Bishop is deeply disappointed that this Declaration should be issued after decades of apparently fruitful discussions between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

"The only foundation for any church is Christ, the Son of God, who died for sins and who was raised on the third day," the Rt Revd Paul Barnett said. "In Anglican teaching the true church of Christ is that congregation where the pure Word of God is preached, the sacraments are ministered according to Christ's ordinance, and where nothing is followed or believed that is contrary to God's Word. Every church needs to pass that test, our own church as well a the Roman Catholic Church."

However the Bishop's reaction to Dominus Iesus is not all negative, as he welcomes the initial emphasis on Christ's command to all his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world. He also welcomed the affirmation that church 'proclaims and is duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.