LETTERA "PLACUIT DEO" AI VESCOVI DELLA CHIESA CATTOLICA SU ALCUNI ASPETTI DELLA SALVEZZA CRISTIANA

The letter Placuit Deo, addressed to the bishops of the Catholic Church, and, more generally, to all the faithful, intends to “explain, in the spirit of Dominus Iesus, what Christian salvation means” in the light of the greater tradition of the faith and with particular reference to the teachings of Pope Francis. It is intended to “help the faithful rediscover the beauty, the fascination, of belonging to Christ and to the Church, which is the essence of the whole path of Evangelization”, bearing, however, always in mind that “no one is free of risks, free of the Reductionism of the experience of faith.” The Holy Father often speaks about two tendencies which are, in certain aspects, similar to two ancient heresies – Pelagianism and Gnosticism – even though the historical context of the secularized world of our time is, obviously, very different from the context of the first Christian centuries. The present letter is intended to deal with these reductionist tendencies that threaten today’s Christianity, pointing out that salvation, according to the plan of the Covenant of the Father, consists in our union with Christ