Theology professor Rev. Peter Phan has been under investigation over the last two years by the Vatican for authoring a book that the Church says may violate fundamental Roman Catholic doctrine.

Phan is being accused of disputing the notion of Catholic primacy after he wrote in a 2004 book that different religions offer similar paths to salvation.

The Vatican began investigating Phan’s book, “Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue,” in 2005, and on July 20 of that year Archbishop Angelo Amato of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith wrote a seven-page letter to then-Bishop of Dallas Charles Grahmann, the diocese to which Phan belongs, proclaiming that Phan’s book contained “serious ambiguities and doctrinal problems,” according to an article written by John Allen for the National Catholic Reporter last week.

The CDF asked Phan in the letter to keep Orbis Books — a company that publishes religious texts — from reprinting the book and to write an article atoning for the problems the CDF identified with his text.

Robert Ellsberg, editor in chief of Orbis Books, said the company has not been instructed to withhold the book from publication and that he would be willing to work with Phan in the future.

Phan did not return calls from THE HOYA.

The Vatican maintains that the book violates the Vatican’s 2000 declaration “Dominus Iesus,” which claimed that non-Christians are “in a gravely deficient situation” compared to Christians, whose belief in Jesus Christ gives them “the fullness of the means of salvation.”

In his book, Phan wrote that “religious relativism,” which he said suggests that Jesus Christ can be aptly compared to other religious figures and that Christianity is just one among many valid paths to salvation, is justifiable.

The CDF has accused Phan’s book — which the CDF says suggests that the words “unique,” “absolute” and “universal” need not apply to Jesus’ role in salvation — of belittling Jesus. It has said that Phan’s book implies that the Holy Spirit works to save followers of other religions without the aid of Jesus Christ and that Phan should not give credence to religious relativism.

The Church’s official position is that non-Christians can join Christians in Heaven only because Jesus died on the cross to save the sins of all people.

The Vatican passed down the investigation of Phan’s book to the Committee on Doctrine for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, chaired by Bishop William Lori, according to Allen’s article. On May 15, 2007, the committee sent Phan a four-page letter detailing problems the USCCB found.

The USCCB said that Phan’s book problematically suggests God’s saving work through Jesus is similar to God’s saving work through “other saving figures.” It also faulted Phan for suggesting that the proselytizing of non-Christians “is no longer appropriate,” a claim which interferes with the Church’s mission to bring as many non-Christians into the Church as possible.

Phan responded to both the CDF and the USCCB, requesting payment for the time and energy he would expend to address cited problems.

The USCCB demanded that Phan reply to them by Sept. 1, 2007, a demand he called “physically impossible” in an August 16 letter to Lori. Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the spokesperson for the USCCB, did not say whether this deadline was met, only saying that the dialogue between Phan and the USCCB is “ongoing.”

At the heart of Phan’s approach to theology is his Vietnamese identity. Phan’s family fled from Vietnam in 1975 to and took refuge in Texas. Coming from a continent where Christianity is not the dominant religion, Phan incorporates his Asian roots into his religious approach.

Phan revisited his native country in 2000, offering his reflections in the article, “Praying to the Buddha: Living amid Religious Pluralism,” which appeared in the Catholic magazine Commonweal on Jan. 26. Phan voiced support for interreligiosity, arguing that it can be beneficial in ways such as relief aid and social justice work. Phan suggests that faiths can lead to salvation.

“The implication of all this is that for hundreds of millions of our fellow human beings, salvation is seen as being channeled to them not in spite of but through and in their various sociocultural and religious traditions,” he wrote in the article.

University spokesperson Julie Bataille described Phan’s works as belonging to a long series of academic writings at Georgetown and other Catholic universities.

“As a Catholic and Jesuit university, the current faculty at Georgetown, including Professor Phan, continue a long and distinguished tradition of research and writing on complex religious and ethical concerns,” Bataille said. “Georgetown University embraces academic freedom and supports the free exchange of ideas in order to foster dialogue on critical issues of the day, especially those related to faith, ethics and international affairs.”

Theology Department Chair Terrence Reynolds said that Phan is an accomplished scholar, devoted to faith and a welcomed member of the theology department.

Reynolds referred to the 2001 document “Guidelines Concerning the Academic Mandatum in Catholic Universities,” issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The document issued a number of new rules for Catholic universities, the most controversial among them requiring Catholic professors to secure a mandatum from their Bishops formally acknowledging the professor’s agreement to teach “authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’ magisterium.”

In a Church document to clarify the new guidelines, “The Application of Ex corde Ecclesiae for the United States,” it is explained, essentially, that Catholic professors will have academic freedom only to the extent that they agree with the doctrinal positions of the Church.

After the Church issued these new rules, Georgetown responded by forming a task force whose purpose was to renew the university’s Jesuit identity in a way that would be compatible with standards of academic freedom in the United States.

The tension between Catholic values and the climate of a progressive research university has been noticeable at Georgetown over the years. The existence of clubs like H*yas For Choice and the annual production of The Vagina Monologues have drawn criticism from a number of conservative Catholics. Many also objected last year when Georgetown instituted a chair in honor of Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J., who supported abortion rights during his 10-year term as a Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts, which began in 1970.

Orbis Books has had a history with publishing books that the Vatican has investigated.

In December 2006, two books by liberation theologian Rev. Jon Sobrino, S.J., were deemed “either erroneous or dangerous” by the Vatican. Both books were both published by Orbis Books.

Rev. Jacques Dupuis’, S.J., 1999 book, “Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism,” also published by Orbis Books, was investigated by the CDF for violations of Dominus Iesus. Dupuis was criticized for his belief that non-Christian traditions make favorable contributions to the world, promoting the religious relativism opposed by the Church.

Dupuis was told to clarify his position, but never disciplined.