The Vatican yesterday published a controversial document that said the only full true Church created by Christ was the Catholic faith.
Running to 15 pages and issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formally headed by Pope Benedict when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, it also said other faiths suffered from "defects".
The paper emphasised the closeness with the Orthodox faiths and said they were true churches but were suffering from a wound as they did not recognise the primacy of the Pope. However, it said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations - a statement that is likely to deepen the rift with Protestants.
The document went on: "Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress ...it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them." (Scotsman)
