Reaction to the Vatican announcement on Tuesday that other churches were 'defective' or 'not true' was met with bewilderment by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), a body which represents more than 200 Protestant churches worldwide and anger from some.
The WARC responded to the Vatican's provocative announcement with a letter, saying that the statement was 'not good for the mutual trust that is being developed through our bilateral dialogues.'
It went even further saying that the Roman Catholic Church claims that it is the one church of Jesus Christ 'goes against the spirit of our Christian calling towards oneness in Christ.'
The WARC general secretary, Steri Nyomi who wrote the letter said that the comments would make them 'question the seriousness with which the Roman Catholic Church takes its dialogues with the Reformed family…'
In a subtle dig at the Catholic Church, the letter concluded saying that the WARC was thankful to God for calling them to be part of the church of Jesus Christ, which is 'not dependent on the interpretation of the Vatican.'
The Reverend David Phillips, the General Secretary of the Church Society, gave an angry response to the Times publication, saying that the Vatican comments showed 'its lust for power' and the claim that the Pope was the successor of Apostle Peter cannot be justified biblically.
"They remind us that in their view, that to be a true church one has to accept the ludicrous idea that the Pope is in some special way the successor of the apostle Peter and the supreme earthly leader of the church," Reverend Phillips said.
"These claims cannot be justified, biblically or historically, yet they have been used not only to divide Christians but to persecute them and put them to death."