Rev. Jacques Dupuis, 81; Theologian Wrote Book on Religious Plurality

The Rev. Jacques Dupuis, 81, a Belgian theologian whose book on religious plurality exploring salvation through non-Christian faiths was attacked by the Vatican, died Dec. 28 in Rome of a brain hemorrhage.

Dupuis published “Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism” in 1997, at a time when the Vatican was underlining the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church over other religions. His book sought to reconcile the doctrine that only Jesus Christ brings salvation for mankind with pluralism that envisions the possibility of salvation through other religions.

After a lengthy investigation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s guardian of orthodoxy, declared in 2000 that Dupuis’ book contained “notable ambiguities” that could lead a reader to “erroneous or harmful positions.”

In a compromise, Dupuis added the Vatican criticisms to his book in return for the church allowing him to continue his work without sanctions. But Dupuis later told reporters that he was forced to suffer in silence for years while the Vatican made “false accusations” about his book.