The Roman Catholic Church has released a 36-page declaration that she, alone, has a corner on salvation. All other churches are "not churches in the proper sense."

The document stresses the doctrine that salvation is by grace but declares that the church alone can dispense that grace and the only real church is the Roman Catholic church.

Other churches or "ecclesial communities" can only provide this grace in a partial way, depending on how closely they resemble Roman Catholicism. For example, the Eastern Orthodox are very close because they worship the wafer god and have a hierarchy of priestcraft. Even though they do not recognize the Pope in Rome as universal head of the church, they are still considered part of the true "church."

All others who call themselves churches are really only "ecclesial communities" and cannot provide the means of grace required for salvation. Presumably, Protestant churches are especially out in the cold because they have purposely broken off from the "true church" rebelling against the only church which Christ established through Peter the first pope.

However, individual members of these "ecclesial communities" who receive baptism get a little bit of grace. This is only because the Roman Catholicism teaches baptismal regeneration, that original sin is forgiven by baptism.

However, since Roman Catholic salvation is on the installment plan, where one must continue to receive the "sacraments" or lose it, this baptism in an "ecclesial community" doesn't really go anywhere unless you convert to Catholicism and continue receiving the Jesus wafer from a priest.

Release of this dictum brought loud objections from some of the mainline Protestants who have been cozying up to Rome. Anglicans and some Lutherans have been in ecumenical dialog with Rome for several years and thought that they were making some progress. However, this Declaration has come as a shocking reminder that any unity with the pope will be on his terms, not theirs.

To further reinforce Rome's arrogance, another dictum was sent to the world-wide bishop's conferences specifying how they are to use the term "Sister Churches." In the course of the ecumenical dialogs with non-Catholic churches, some negotiators were beginning to use the term as if Roman Catholicism and the other denominations were on equal standing in Christ's Kingdom.

This directive states: "in the proper sense, sister Churches are exclusively particular [individual or local] Churches (or groupings of particular Churches; for example, the Patriarchates or Metropolitan provinces) among themselves. It must always be clear, when the expression Sister Churches is used in this proper sense, that the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Universal Church is not sister but mother of all the particular Churches."

In all its reaching out to other religions and churches, Rome has not wavered on its claim to full ownership of the Kingdom of God on earth. She will not tolerate any attack on the idea that she is the source of saving grace for salvation and hope of eternal life.

The Bible calls her "mother" all right, but "THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (Revelation 17:5) The grace she offers is a false grace. When Jesus bought our salvation on the cross, He gave it freely to all who believe. No one can "corner the market" and sell it just to a certain group. Soul winners, we must keep telling them the truth.