There has been strong reaction from Ireland's Reformed churches to the Vatican document "Responses to some questions regarding certain aspects of the doctrine of the Church", published in Rome yesterday.
Approved by Pope Benedict, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith document repeated assertions made by it in Dominus Iesus seven years ago that Reformed churches were not churches "in the proper sense" but were "ecclesial communities".
It also repeated its assertion that their priesthood and Holy Communion were not genuine.
The president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Rev Roy Cooper, said last night he was "dismayed" and saddened by the document.
Speaking to The Irish Times from Blackpool, where he is attending the annual conference of the Methodist Church of Great Britain, he said members had just being discussing Methodist/Roman Catholic dialogue, "and yet here we are told we are not a church".
Personally, he liked what the current pope has been saying Christologically, "but as a Church leader I am dismayed that he feels the need to reiterate something that brought terrible sadness to the (Reformed) churches (with the publication of Dominus Iesus in 2000)."
He further pointed out that churches of the Reformed tradition were apostolic, "yet we are told we are ecclesial communities," he said.
A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland responded to yesterday's Vatican document by pointing out that, in Presbyterian understanding, "the Roman Catholic Church is a church in error". He continued that "continual restatement of these traditional positions does nothing to help develop good relations between our two churches other than that each knows exactly where the other historically stands.
"Despite this, many people from both denominations continue to work hard in practical ways to develop understanding and co-operation," he said.
A spokesman for the Church of Ireland, Archbishop of Dublin Most Rev John Neill, pointed out last night that "the Church of Ireland traces its origins to the pre-Reformation Irish church founded by St Patrick and regards itself as the successor to the part of that church that was affected and influenced by the Reformation. We regard the Church of Ireland as having full apostolic succession."
He continued that "while some may regard the reassertion of the position outlined in Dominus Iesus as reigniting a controversy, it shouldn't detract from the good relations on the ground and the strides made in recent years to develop understanding".
He said the Church of Ireland position on yesterday's Vatican document was as published in October 2000 when it responded to Dominus Iesus. At http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=information&id=23, it said that document caused "substantial difficulty in maintaining the momentum of ecumenical progress".
