“Evangelization
and Interreligious Dialogue”
Archbishop
Michael Fitzgerald
Evangelizing
Evangelization,
or evangelizing mission, is a very Catholic concept. Other Christian
denominations will speak more readily about evangelism,
by which they mean the direct preaching
of Jesus Christ. The World Council of Churches, for instance, has within
its structures a body called the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.
In Catholic circles, as illustrated by the apostolic exhortation of Pope Paul VI Evangelii Nuntiandi, evangelization can have both a narrow and a broad sense. In general evangelization means bringing the good news of Jesus Christ into all areas of humanity, thus transforming it from within (cf. No. 18). This can be done in a variety of ways. One of these ways is "the clear and unambiguous proclamation of the Lord Jesus" (ibid., 22). "This proclamation,'' the same exhortation goes on to say, "occupies such an important place in evangelization that it has often become synonymous with it, yet it is only one aspect of evangelization" (ibid.). The Gospel can be brought to different areas of humanity by the life of the Christian community and by its actions inspired by love.
You may
think I am laboring this point, but to me it is very important because it
means that the Christian way of relating to people who belong to other
religions need not be confined to the direct preaching of Jesus Christ to
them.
Let me
quote here the first document produced by the Holy See's office for
interreligious relations, "The Attitude of the Church toward Followers of
Other Religions: Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and
Perhaps
not all elements are listed; mention could have been made of ecumenical
dialogue as an essential activity of the church and also dialogue with people
who have no religion.
What is
important to notice is that these different elements are lived out for
themselves, and not for any ulterior purpose. In other words, they are not to
be seen as being in function of conversion to Christ. Presence and witness is
already a way of practicing mission (and indeed this would be the way the
Orthodox churches see mission). Yet this presence and witness, to be
authentic, has to be accompanied by prayer, both liturgical and
non-liturgical. In the liturgy we proclaim Jesus Christ yet we do not
celebrate the liturgy in order to draw people to the church. Of course the
liturgy may be, and should be, attractive, and so may arouse interest among
people who are not Christians who happen to be present, yet this is not its
true purpose. The liturgy is celebrated to give glory to God. Similarly the
service which the church offers in the fields of education, health and care of
all kinds may also draw people to the Catholic fold, yet again this is not its
immediate aim. The church has to engage in social action in order to express
God’s love for humankind, since the church, by nature, is a sacrament of
this divine love. So also dialogue should not be seen purely as a means to
bring about conversions to Christianity; this would be too narrow a view and
would lead to dialogue being treated with suspicion by people of other
religions. Dialogue can be taken as a way of reflecting God's love for all
people, a love which respects their liberty. Thus the finally in the paragraph quoted above is not to be taken in the
order of intention, as if all the first-mentioned elements of presence,
prayer, service and dialogue were finalized by the direct proclamation of
Jesus Christ, but rather as simply indicating the last in a list. As John Paul
II wrote in Redemptoris Missio:
"Dialogue does not originate
from tactical concern or self-interest, but is an activity with its own
guiding principles, requirements and dignity" (No. 56). And again:
"In the light of the economy of salvation, the church sees no conflict
between proclaiming Christ and engaging in interreligious dialogue. Instead,
she feels the need to link the two in the context of her mission ad
gentes. These two elements must maintain both the intimate connection and
their distinctiveness; therefore they should not be confused, manipulated or
regarded as identical as though they were interchangeable" (No. 55).
The
Purpose of Dialogue
If dialogue is not geared to conversion to Christ, what is its purpose? Perhaps here too one could speak about something that is multifaceted. There is not just one purpose of dialogue but rather a number of aims. There is first the aim of helping people of different religions to live together in peace and harmony. This is a task which is ever more urgent in a world becoming increasingly multicultural and multireligious. It is a task which implies, as we know, overcoming prejudices, battling against indifference, creating understanding. This first level of dialogue should not be lightly dismissed. Can it not be taken as an anticipation of that peace which we know will reign in the next world? It is therefore already a way of bringing about God's kingdom.
A
further step in dialogue is to work together in the service of humankind. The
problems with which our world is faced are so great that there is need of the
efforts of all to thee up to them. Religions can help in providing motivation
to reach out to those who are in need, to strive for a more equitable division
of the world's resources, to ensure that while natural resources are exploited
the environment is protected. There are not only Christian bodies engaged in
these different fields, but also Islamic humanitarian organizations and
movements of concerned Buddhists. There is room therefore for such religious
organizations to cooperate. Here again this can be seen as a contribution to
the building up of the
Yet
dialogue can go still further. A later document, "Dialogue and
Proclamation'' from 1991, notes that it may take the form of a sharing of
spiritual values, a mutual witness to beliefs, an exploration of the riches of
the respective spiritual traditions. In this way Christians and people of
other religious traditions can help one another to deepen their religious
commitment, to respond with greater sincerity to God's call (cf. No. 40).
A text
already quoted characterizes dialogue as a process in which Christians and
people of other religious traditions "walk together toward the
truth" ("Dialogue and
Theological
Foundations for Dialogue
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it is belief in the Trinity that urges Christians to engage in dialogue. Through revelation we have come to know God as a Trinity of Persons among whom there is constant interchange and perfect communion. This provides a lofty model for our relations with our fellow human beings, relations which are to be imbued with respect for the identity of each person and at the same time a strong desire to achieve communion.
We can go further and see in
the relations attributed to each of the divine Persons an incentive to engage
in dialogue with all. Thus in the Father "we contemplate a pervasive love
unlimited by space and time" ("Dialogue and
The
mission of the second Person of the Trinity also provides a basis for
dialogue, for the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ is in a mysterious way
united with each member of the human race. In the light of our faith, we encounter
Christ in every person. This way of perceiving humanity has consequences for
social behavior, the way we treat people, for human dignity is enhanced by the
fact of the incarnation. It also has consequences for the way in which we
dialogue with people. They must be approached with great respect.
Finally
the action of the Spirit is an incentive to dialogue. This action, as John
Paul II has said in his encyclical
Dominum et Vivificantem, "has been exercised in every place and at
every time, indeed in every individual" (No. 53). In other words, the
action of the Spirit cannot be confined, just as the Spirit was at work in the
world before the first coming of Jesus, so this same Spirit is at work outside
the visible boundaries of the church that Jesus founded. Moreover "the
Spirit's presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society
and history, peoples, cultures and religions"
(Redemptoris Missio, 28). This is of extreme importance for dialogue, for
it means that we cannot go to people of other religions as if we had
everything and they had nothing. The Spirit has gone ahead of us, and so we
can meet the Spirit in them. Everything that is good, noble and beautiful in
their rites and traditions is to be welcomed with respect and gratitude. In
this way dialogue becomes a journey of discovery and can provide an
opportunity for mutual enrichment.
Perhaps
a further word should be said here. We believe firmly that God wills the
salvation of all, and we know, by faith, that for this purpose God sent his
Son into the world so that through his passion, death and resurrection the
world might be saved from sin. This universal will of salvation surely implies
that God must provide the means for people to be saved. This is why the Second
Vatican Council, in Gaudium et Spes, the
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, teaches that "since
Christ died for all (cf. Rom. 8:32), and since all men are called in fact
to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy
Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to
God, in the paschal mystery" (No. 22). The way is known to God, but can
we inquire as to what this way might be? Are there elements in the different
religions which help people to enter into the paschal mystery? There are
indeed methods of prayer, ethical rules, rites and practices which encourage
death to oneself in order to live for others, which is a practical way of
understanding "entering into the paschal mystery." Of course, to
lead a life of self-sacrifice, of virtue, divine grace is needed, grace which
is itself a fruit of the work of redemption in Christ, even though the person
who is living in this way may not be aware of the origin of the grace and the
relation to Christ.
It is
necessary to be careful here. What has just been said should not be understood
as if it implied that other religions are ways of salvation. Our Christian
faith teaches us that there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ. We cannot say
that all religions are equal and that it does not matter to which religion one
belongs. Nor can we say that these religions are perfect, for they contain
shadows as well as luminous qualities. What can be affirmed is that elements
of grace which can help people on the way of salvation can be discerned in
different religious traditions.
Dialogue and Proclamation
If what has just been presented on the theological foundations for dialogue is sound doctrine -- and it has been based on the teaching of the Vatican Council as it has been interpreted and developed by the present pope -- a question naturally arises. If people can be saved within their own religious traditions, why should the church engage in missionary activity? Is it not better to leave people where they are? At most, should it not be our aim to make Muslims better Muslims, Buddhists better Buddhists and so on?
This
question has, in fact, already been answered by the reference to Redemptoris Missio, where John Paul II says that proclaiming Christ
and engaging in interreligious dialogue are distinct elements of the church's
overall mission. They are by no means interchangeable. I cannot say that the
time of proclamation is over and that it must give way to dialogue. The church
must always remain faithful to the Lord's command to preach the Gospel and to
invite people to accept baptism and become members of the community of
believers.
This
proclamation springs from love. "The love of Christ impels us," says
Perhaps
it is good to say a word about the way in which this preaching should be
carried out, the qualities which should characterize the church's
proclamation. The document "Dialogue and Proclamation" notes six
qualities (cf. No. 70). It starts with confidence in the Spirit, the prime
evangelizer. It lists fidelity in the transmission of the message received
from Christ and handed on by the church. It says that proclamation should be
humble, for what we are dealing with is a gift which has been received without
merit; moreover the messengers of the Gospel do not always fully live up to
its demands. It is stated that there must be respect for those to whom the
proclamation of the good news is being addressed, for the Spirit is already at
work in them. The proclamation needs to be "dialogical," in other
words it needs to take into account that the "hearers of the word"
are not just passive receivers. Similarly the message must be inculturated,
that is, it must be presented not only in an intelligible way but also as
something which corresponds to people's deepest aspirations. It is readily
understood that the message of the Gospel should never be imposed, but always
proposed.
Artisan of Dialogue
At the
end of this reflection it would be good to ask about who is called to engage
in dialogue (and perhaps the same could be said about proclamation). Here
again I should like to quote some words of John Paul II. "Each member of
the faithful and all Christian communities are called to practice dialogue,
though not always to the same degree or in the same way" (Redemptoris Missio, 57). This is important. Dialogue cannot be
considered as an optional extra. If in the human community there are to be
found people who belong to different religious traditions, then the members of
the Christian community have the duty of reaching out to them. The Spirit will
indicate whether this is to be done through proclamation or through dialogue.
Indeed, one and the same person, one and the same community, can be engaged in
both these activities. There may be people from a Muslim background who are
joining the catechumenate and therefore the Gospel is being preached to them
directly. Yet there may be other Muslims, the majority probably, who show no
sign of wanting to become Christians, and so with them the furthest that one
can go will be to engage in dialogue, that is to establish good, friendly
relations.
It is
also important to recognize that the ways of engaging in dialogue may differ.
For some it may be the rather informal fostering of a spirit of
neighborliness. For others it may entail cooperation in some joint project.
Others may engage in formal discussions with people of other religions,
whether about matters of belief or questions of social concern. Still others
may be drawn to seek ways of praying together with their Muslim, Buddhist or
Hindu friends. It is good that the gifts of each be recognized. No one way of
dialogue should be considered exclusive.
John
Paul II, after the sentence quoted above, went on to say, "The
contribution of the laity is indispensable in this area" (Redemptoris
Missio, 57). He spelled this out in two ways: the example which lay people
can give, and the contribution they can make through research and study.
Perhaps the engagement of the laity in the task of dialogue has to be
stimulated further.
Docile
to the Spirit
There
have been many references in this talk to the Holy Spirit. I should like to
end on the same note, by giving a long quotation from the document
"Dialogue and Proclamation":
"Christians
must always be aware of the influence of the Holy Spirit and be prepared to
follow wherever in God's providence and design the Spirit is leading them. It
is the Spirit who is guiding the evangelizing mission of the church. It
belongs to the Spirit to inspire both the church's proclamation and the
obedience of faith. It is for us to be attentive to the promptings of the
Spirit. Whether proclamation be possible or not, the church pursues her
mission in full respect for freedom, through interreligious dialogue and
witnessing to and sharing Gospel values. In this way the partners in dialogue
proceed in response to the divine call of which they are conscious. All, both
Christians and the followers of other religious traditions, are invited by God
to enter in the mystery of his patience, as human beings seek his light and
truth. Only God knows the times and stages of the fulfillment of this long
human quest" (No. 84).