One
thing to be said for the Pope’s visit: he has silenced secularists, as well as
missionary-apologists.
Whenever attention has been drawn to the plans the Church has of converting
India to Christianity, to its plans of "reaping the great harvest for
Jesus," these propagandists and secularists have asserted that a miasma was
being manufactured to sow hatred. Now that the Pope has himself declared that
the Synod of Bishops was "a call to conversion;" now that he has
reiterated his call to the Bishops to "open wide to Christ the doors of
Asia;" now that he has proclaimed the goal of the Church again, "just
as in the first millennium the Cross was planted on the soil of Europe, and in
the second on that of the Americas and Africa, we can pray that in the Third
Christian Millennium a great harvest of faith will be reaped in this vast and
vital continent;" now that he, having heard reports of the Bishops has
proclaimed his expectation, "the character, spiritual fire and zeal"
of Asians "will assuredly make Asia the land of a bountiful harvest in the
coming millennium;" now that having recalled what he wrote in Redemptoris
Missio -- "God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more
fully prepared for sowing of the Gospel," -- the Pope has announced, "
This
vision of a new and promising horizon I see being fulfilled in Asia;" now
that the Pope has embraced as his own what his Bishops had proclaimed --
"the heart of the Church in Asia will be restless until the whole of Asia
finds its rest in the peace of Christ, the Risen Lord" -- now that he has
again proclaimed that the very purpose of the Church is evangelization, that it
is "driven" in this task by "the Holy Spirit" indeed that
"the Holy Spirit is the prime agent of evangelization," that the
Church is "empowered by the Holy Spirit" to carry out this task, the
secularists seem a bit non-plussed about how to make out that the apprehensions
which were being expressed about the Church’s plans and stratagems are
figments manufactured to justify persecution.
And so are the Cardinals and Bishops, I presume!
"We don’t want to convert everybody to Christianity," Cardinal
Lourdasamy, described by the papers as "the only Indian Cardinal in Vatican
City," told Doordarshan. "We just want to say we are Christians."
How touching! How humble! And what do the propagandists say after the Pope’s
explicit enunciation?
Every time they are confronted with what the Church has
itself proclaimed is its one and only purpose -- to enlarge the empire of
Christianity -- these propagandists have insisted that after Vatican II such a
view is untenable. Vatican II marked a radical break with the past dogma, they
have insisted. It acknowledged that other religions too can be paths to
salvation. It explicitly embraced ecumenism, it explicitly asked Christians to
develop respect for other religions. Vatican II did nothing of the kind, of
course. But, confident that few in countries like India would have gone through
the documents put out by the Council, the Church here has been putting out such
fables. In any case, we now have the Pope himself clear up what he calls "a
certain confusion about the true nature of the Church’s mission."
Yes, the Church respects the traditions to be found in Asia, the Pope says. Yes,
it respects "the rights of consciences." "Respect, however, does
not eliminate the need for the explicit proclamation of the Gospel in its
fullness," he states. "Especially in the context of the rich array of
cultures and religions in Asia," he says, "it must be pointed out that
‘neither respect and esteem for these religions nor the complexity of the
questions raised are an invitation to the Church to with-hold from these
non-Christians the proclamation of Jesus Christ.’" He reiterates the play
on words by which he had camouflaged the matter during his visit to India in
1986.
He recalls that he had "stated clearly" then,
"the Church’s approach to other religions is one of genuine respect....
This respect is twofold: respect for man in his quest for answers to the deepest
questions of his life, and respect for the action of the Spirit in man.’"
What does that mean? The Pope explains: "Indeed, the Synod Fathers readily
recognised the Spirit’s action in Asian societies, cultures and religions,
through which the Father prepares the hearts of Asian peoples for the fullness
of life in Christ."
Yes,
Asia has many religions. Yes, the Asian people have sought answers to the
deepest questions of life. But these religions are just a preparation for their
becoming Christians. That is the essential point. Asia has given birth to the
major religions, and to many others, and millions in it still espouse
traditional and tribal religions, the Pope notes, and says, "The Church has
the deepest respect for these traditions and seeks to engage in sincere dialogue
with their followers. The religious values they teach await their fulfillment in
Jesus Christ." "The Church in Asia finds herself among peoples who
display an intense yearning for God," he acknowledges, only to add,
"The Church knows that this yearning can only be fully satisfied by Jesus
Christ, the Good News of God for all the nations." And again that "The
Church is convinced that deep within the people, cultures and religions of Asia
there is a thirst for ‘living water’...., a thirst which the Spirit himself
has created and which Jesus the Saviour alone can fully satisfy."
True, these peoples have their ancient traditions and
beliefs. But it is the Church which by transmitting "her truths and
values" which "renews" them "from within," the Pope
asserts. It strengthens "the positive elements already found in them,"
he maintains. It "refines" them, it "renews" them "in
the light of the Gospel." In a word, it is in their own interest that the
Church strives to bring the poor souls into Christianity! "The peoples of
Asia," declares the Pope on our behalf, "need Jesus Christ and his
Gospel. Asia is thirsting for the living water that Jesus alone can give.... The
disciples of Christ in Asia must therefore be unstinting in their efforts to
fulfill the mission they have received from the Lord...."
In
India we are taught to believe that God is everywhere, that He has manifested
Himself in many forms, and that, therefore, we must subscribe to sarva dharma
sambhav, etc. The Pope has no time for such syrupy make-believe. In his eyes
this is no virtue, it is one of the difficulties in making Asians accept that
Jesus is the one and only Saviour, it is a notion that has to be put out of
harm’s way. Nor, he warns is the notion that God is universally present to be
allowed to become "an excuse for a failure to proclaim Jesus Christ
explicitly as the one and only Saviour." Indeed, he asserts emphatically,
"the presence of the Spirit in creation and history" points only to
Jesus as the one "in whom creation and history are redeemed and
fulfilled." To Jesus, and to the Church, he adds for good measure!
It is in this background that the Church’s
invitations to "dialogue" must be seen. Much is made of its
invitations, they are projected as proof of its openness, even of its modesty --
see, we are willing to learn from others! Almost without exception such
non-Christians are invited for exchanges who have little knowledge of the
workings of the Church, and even less of their own tradition. They feel
compelled to recite the usual homilies about "the essential unity of all
religions," they repeat the same platitudes about the Sermon on the Mount.
And the Church’s purpose is served: it can show that it is open, that it is
tolerant, that it respects people of other faiths.
What
does the Pope say is the purpose of such "dialogues"? "Ecumenical
dialogue" -- by which he means dialogue with non-Catholic Christians --
"is a challenge," he declares, "and a call to conversion for the
whole Church, especially for the Church in Asia where people expect from
Christians a clearer sign of unity." The reason he gives for attaining
unity among different denominations of Christians is itself revealing: "The
Synod of Bishops acknowledged," he recalls, "that ‘the scandal of a
divided Christianity is a great obstacle for evangelization in Asia.’"
For us, of course, what he says about the form and purpose of
"dialogue" with non-Christians is even more important.
"From the Christian point of view," he
declares candidly, "interreligious dialogue is more than a way of fostering
mutual knowledge and enrichment; it is a part of the Church’s evangelizing
mission, an expression of the mission ad gentes." "Christians bring to
interreligious dialogue the firm belief," he continues, "that the
fullness of salvation comes from Christ alone and that the Church community to
which they belong is the ordinary means of salvation."
He recalls that he has already written in an earlier
communication to the Asian Bishops, "Although the Church gladly
acknowledges whatever is true and holy in the religious traditions of Buddhism,
Hinduism and Islam as a reflection of that truth which enlightens all people,
this does not lessen her duty and resolve to proclaim without failing Jesus
Christ who is ‘the way and the truth and the life’.... The fact that the
followers of other religions can receive God’s grace and be saved by Christ
apart from the ordinary means which he has established does not thereby cancel
the call to faith and baptism which God wills for all people.’"
Those not accustomed to the circumlocutory enunciations of the Church would do
well to note the condescending phrase, "whatever is true and holy in the
religious traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam as a reflection of that
truth which enlightens all people." What is true and holy in these
religions? That which conforms to Christianity! The rest is but a groping, a
preparation for being fulfilled in Christianity!
Therefore, the Pope reminds the assembled Bishops that
he has earlier instructed them in Redemptoris Missio, "There must be no
abandonment of principles nor false irenicism" -- that is, Christians
engaged in "dialogue" must not fall for false attempts to create
peace. He is explicit, what he wants Christians to strive for is, to use his
words, "Evangelization in dialogue and dialogue for evangelization."
As this is the purpose, he declares that "only
those with mature and convinced Christian faith are qualified to engage in
genuine interreligious dialogue." Only such persons "can without undue
risk and with hope of positive fruit engage in interreligious dialogue."
And therefore he urges the Church in Asia "to provide suitable models of
interreligious dialogue.... and suitable training for those involved."
And
he draws attention to some devices that are already yielding "good
results." "Scholarly exchanges," "common action for integral
human development," "defence of human and religious values" --
friends who get so enamoured at being called to seminars and workshops on such
topics should remember what the purpose of such get-togethers is. Exactly what
the purpose of the erstwhile Comintern used to be in setting up "Peace
Conferences" and "Peace Committees"!
But there is more that the Pope has dispelled, as we
shall see, more for which we must be grateful to His Holiness.
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