The U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine today panned Father Peter Phan's book on religious pluralism for containing"pervading ambiguities and equivocations that could easily confuse or mislead the faithful." The American bishops began an investigation of Phan, a Vietnamese-born priest and professor at Georgetown (and Commonweal contributor), at the behest of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is still conducting its own probe. (Is thiswhat they mean by "decentralization"?)Catholic News Servicehas coverage, which indicates that the bishops' committee felt that "Although 'the uniqueness of Jesus Christ is affirmed at some points' in the book, it is presented at other times as 'not exclusive or absolute'."It is unclear what, if any, sanctions will be levied, or possible. That may have to wait for the Vatican scarpa to drop. But it is clear how central an unambiguous proclamation of Christ's uniqueness is to Pope Benedict. This Friday the CDF will release another documentalong these same lines.