In 1997, the Vatican issued a document, Christianity and the World Religions, prepared by its International Theological Commission and approved by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.¹ The document arises from a recognition that "The question of the relations among religions is becoming daily more important", and that circumstances today "make interreligious dialogue necessary". Accordingly, the Commission sets out to "clarify how religions are to be evaluated theologically" by offering 'some theological principles which may help in this evaluation". And the Commission adds that "In proposing these principles we are clearly aware that many questions are still open and require further investigation and discussion" (pp. 3–5).