Dominus Iesus : Why This? Why Now?

Even for one not trained in the academic discipline of political science, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that Dominus Iesus is a political document by those within the Roman Catholic Church, specifically its conservatizing element the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Quotations from those both within and outside the Church support this conclusion. Therefore, this significant text must be understood as laying the groundwork for the incumbent pope's successor as evidence of political jockeying already hard at work.