SEOUL (UCAN) -- Protestant leaders in South Korea fear the Vatican's recent document on what constitutes a Church may damage reconciliation and unity among Catholics and Protestants in the country.

Father Kim Gwang-joon, general secretary of the Anglican Church of Korea, told UCA News on July 13 that local Christian unity efforts could be damaged by the document's arguments the "Catholic Church is the only true Church" and that some "other Christian communities cannot be called Churches." Father Kim is also chairperson of the ecumenical committee of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK).

The 16-page Vatican document, "Responses to some questions regarding certain aspects of the doctrine of the Church," was approved by Pope Benedict XVI, published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and released by the Vatican on July 10. It states unequivocally that all the elements of the Church founded by Jesus Christ are present only in the Catholic Church.

Using a question-and-answer format, the congregation answers five questions regarding the teaching of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) "on the Church," seeking to counteract "erroneous interpretations" in contemporary theology that give rise to "confusion and doubt." The document recalls that the council did not use the term "Church" when referring to Christian communities born from the 16th-century Reformation. It explains that they "do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders."

Father Kim pointed out that the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has asked the Korean Church to draft the ecumenical prayer for the 2009 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. "The draft has been already sent to the WCC and the Vatican," he added, worrying whether the unity movement would be harmed by the recent document.

Reverend Park Jong-chun, professor of systematic theology at Methodist Theological Seminary, told UCA News the document reaffirmed for him that "the current pope is conservative and ecumenical dialogue has a long way to go." The pope reiterated the Catholic Church's traditional "narrow understanding" on Church, he noted. Protestantism teaches that "the rock" on which Jesus said he would build his Church is "Peter's faith, -- not (Peter) himself or the supremacy of the pope," he countered.

On the other hand, a senior Protestant pastor working for an ecumenical movement told UCA News July 13 that he understands the Vatican document intends to clarify the identity of Catholicism within the Catholic Church.

After the Vatican document attracted local media attention, with major newspapers July 12 reporting criticisms from Protestant leaders in the country, some Protestant Church leaders admitted to UCA News that they did not read the original text of the Vatican document but just newspaper reports.

Reverend Kim Tae-hyon, executive secretary of the NCCK's department dealing with ecumenical relationships, told UCA News that he read the whole Vatican document. "The pope tried to clarify some expressions that could potentially lead to misunderstanding in Catholic Church documents, while paying attention to the ecumenical movement," he said. But he admitted the defense of papal supremacy in the document seemed to offend local Orthodox Church members.

When UCA News contacted the Orthodox metropolitanate of Korea the same day, an official of the Orthodox Church said it was of no value to comment on the document. A metropolitanate is roughly equivalent to a Catholic archdiocese.

Such negative reactions led Auxiliary Bishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong of Kwangju, president of the Korean bishops' Committee for Promoting Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, to issue a letter July 13 explaining the Vatican's "real" intention, which Yonhap News Agency in South Korea published the same afternoon.

Bishop Kim said the document aims "not at criticizing other Christian communities but at understanding the identity of Catholicism only within the Catholic Church."

As to the question why ecclesial communities are not recognized as Churches, Bishop Kim explained that "the Catholic Church tries to include even the essential parts of ecclesiology in the ecumenical dialogue."

He expressed the hope that this would lead to an opportunity "to step up our ecumenical movement" and "overcome any difficulties with brotherly love and understanding."

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