Priests in Britain Reaffirm Ecumenism

Catholic priests in England and Wales offered a strong reaffirmation of ecumenism in the wake of the controversial statement on salvation, “Dominus Iesus,” issued by the Vatican on Tuesday.

The National Conference of Priests of England and Wales, which represents 5,500 priests in the two countries, held its annual conference for the first time in Wales. The priests asked the English and Welsh bishops “to give public assurance at this time that the Catholic Church is deeply committed to continuing dialogue with other Christians.”

The Vatican statement emphasized the church’s position that people who follow other faiths have “gravely deficient” chances for salvation. The priests’ resolution expressed concern that the document’s authors “did not foresee the way certain sections of the media have reported the document.”