The Church of Ireland Primate Dr Robin Eames has said "sharp distinctions" made in the Vatican's Dominus Iesus document undermined "the ecumenical endeavour".
Speaking yesterday at the Irish Inter-Church Meeting in Dundalk, which was attended by leaders of the four main churches, he said that "for the Church of Ireland, this document coming so soon after the statement One Bread, One Body, causes substantial difficulty in maintaining the momentum of ecumenical progress".
Its tone, and that of the note from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger advising bishops against using the words "sister churches" when referring to other denominations, reflected "little of the journey on which we believe that God is bringing us together as Christians", he said.
He noted, however, that papal statements since Dominus Iesus "reflected a much warmer and fuller commitment towards ecumenism".
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church Dr Trevor Morrow said: "Dominus Iesus does not cause alarm to Irish Presbyterians. It is clear in its statements, which ensure that interchurch dialogue does not take place in a fog."
It indicated, however, "that we have not come as far in our ecclesiological discussions as some have imagined", while it gave "no indication of a desire to undo the ecumenical co-operation both locally and nationally or to take us back to the polemic of pre-Vatican II days".
Former president of the Methodist Church, Dr Norman Taggart, said that "where relationships have been marked by suspicion and even by hatred and violence, the declaration has done harm". However, "where Catholics and Protestants already work together, it has caused pain, yet prompted people to renew their efforts to . . . work together as brothers and sisters in Christ".
The Catholic Primate Dr Sean Brady said the debate prompted by Dominus Iesus had helped people recognise what the Christian churches had in common, while acknowledging "there are a number of difficulties which must be addressed in serious ways".
