Inter-Religious Dialogue
July 23, 2007
July 23, 2007
In a recent post on her blog, louie, louie, Beth gives us a glimpse into the relationship between Pope John XXIII and Thomas Merton. I encourage you to go over and read this most interesting piece.
Beth also includes a quotation from Thomas Merton’s, “Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander” - a quote that captures the core of my own beliefs on the subject of inter-religious dialogue. Merton writes:
“I will be a better Catholic, not if I can refute every shade of Protestantism, but if I can affirm the truth in it and still go further.
So, too, with the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, etc. This does not mean syncretism, indifferentism, the vapid and careless friendliness that accepts everything by thinking of nothing. There is much that one cannot “affirm” and “accept,” but first one must say “yes” where one really can.”
June 11, 2007
Excerpts from the Vatican website concerning The Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue:
Nature and Goals of PCID
The PCID is the central office of the Catholic Church for the promotion of interreligious dialogue in accordance with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the declaration “Nostra Aetate”. It has the following responsibilities:
1) to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of others religious traditions;
2) to encourage the study of religions;
3) to promote the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue.
Methodology of PCID
Dialogue is a two-way communication. It implies speaking and listening, giving and receiving, for mutual growth and enrichment. It includes witness to one’s own faith as well as an openness to that of the other. It is not a betrayal of the mission of the Church, nor is it a new method of conversion to Christianity. This has been clearly stated in the encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II “Redemptoris Missio”. This view is also developed in the two documents produced by the PCID: The Attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Followers of Other Religious Traditions: reflections on Dialogue and Mission (1984), and Dialogue and Proclamation (1991).
10 Jun 2007 gabrielle
I’m all for it, especially when the why of 1, 2, and 3 is understood by Catholics who are dedicated to dialoguing with others. I’ve heard a cock crow throughout many amateur dialogues. I would say, let it all be moderated by Cardinal Arinze, AB Burke, and the fella who gave us Dominus Iesus. But I’m a tad too trad, I fear. You’re gonna make us read these docs again, aren’t you?
I cannot make anyone do anything, but the Holy Spirit can sometimes, through whispers and moans.
What do you think the “why” is, gypsy, when it is clearly stated that it “is not a betrayal of the mission of the Church, nor is it a new method of conversion to Christianity.” What do you think the “why” is?
The why is the follow through that too many folks skip:
To make disciples of all the nations.
So the instruction, “nor is it a new method of conversion to Christianity” is to be ignored?
I’ve been online for 7 years. If Catholic venues are any reflection of Catholicism, let’s say there are slippery slopes. One need only look at my country to see what sort of Catholicism flourishes here, because of the great honor done to “diversity.” Christ Jesus, and Him crucified, is all the diversity needed, or Jesus has led us down a false path of baptism in the Triune God. There are no new methods of conversion to Christianity. God would not have man fooled into anything. But neither are we to accept all religions as being true, or rather equalish in having this or that to offer, tho’ they may hold some of the Truth. Just as there can be love in homosexuality, but it cannot ever be sacramental marriage.