It was signed by German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - seen by some as a possible future Pope - and approved by John Paul II.

The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the document is an attempt by the Vatican to define the place of women in the Church and in the modern world.
It reaffirms the Church's opposition to gay marriage and trends in gender studies that obscure the difference between the sexes.
The letter says there is now a tendency to see women as opposed to men, and sex relegated to no more than a physical difference.
It says feminism's view of equality has inspired ideologies which "call into question the family, in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father, and to make homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent".
'Status quo'
Women should not be stigmatised if they do not have a job, the document says.
But it adds that those who choose to work outside the home should not be forced to "choose between relinquishing family life or enduring continual stress".

"I don't think the Catholic Church - whose own priests and bishops cannot marry - is in a position to make such statements"
Erin Pizzey, Women's Refuge Movement founder

The Vatican document supports a greater role for women in the governance of the Church - but without giving an inch on a relaxation of the ban on women priests.
As a token of this, an Italian nun has just been given a job for the first time at a senior level inside the Vatican's own foreign ministry.
Our correspondent says that like most Vatican documents, this letter is open to varying interpretations - although its basic theme uncompromisingly states what the Church views as basic differences between men and women.
Angela Phillips, a lecturer at London's Goldsmiths College says the condemnation of feminism "seems to be a worrying step back to a religious fundamentalism."
"Social changes are uncomfortable for people who are part of structures of a previous society, and so they try to maintain the status quo that women have fought against," she says.
Erin Pizzey, founder of the international women's refuge movement, told BBC News Online: "I don't think the Catholic Church - whose own priests and bishops cannot marry - is in a position to make such statements.
"It is one of the most emotionally illiterate organisations I know, and they need to put their own house in order first."

Vatican Says Feminism Turns Women Into `Adversaries of Men'
July 31 (Bloomberg) -- The Vatican said feminism can turn women into ``adversaries of men'' and this can have ``lethal effects in the structure of the family.''
Theories of feminism can make women regard men as ``enemies to be overcome,'' the Vatican said in a letter to the world's Roman Catholic bishops. This can ``call into question the family, in its natural two-parent structure of mother and father, and make homosexuality and heterosexuality virtually equivalent in a new model of polymorphous sexuality.''
The letter was prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition, and was approved by Pope John Paul II. The Congregation, headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, rules on Catholic doctrine and has sparked controversy in recent years in pronouncements against homosexuality, birth control and other Christian churches.
The document is entitled ``On the Collaboration of Men and Women.''
Woman was created as a ``helpmate,'' the letter said, citing Genesis. Women possess ``a deep intuition of goodness'' and should help set public policy on questions of economic and social matters, it said.
The Vatican also said women shouldn't be stigmatized or penalized financially for opting to be stay-at-home mothers and should be ``present in the world of work'' if they choose.
Women who work outside the home should be offered flexible work schedules and not have to choose between ``relinquishing their family life or enduring stress,'' the letter said.
The Vatican reiterated that women can't be priests in the Roman Catholic Church, saying the policy ``doesn't hamper in any way women's access to the heart of Christian life.''