Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, October 26, 2000
Faith Alive 3
Dialogue among world
religions: What’s the point?
Al! contents copyright©2000 by CNS
By Father William Cenkner, OP
Catholic News Service
Wi
hy does interfaith dialogue
matter? Some years ago a Christian
theologian wrote:
—There can be no peace among the
nations without peace among the reli
gions.
—There can be no peace among the
CNS photo of pope and Hindu holy man from Reuters
eration involves religious rights, hu
man dignity or sharing equitably in
the goods of the earth.
This may be seen as a level of dia
logue open to any humanist in the
world today. Yet it is a spiritual prac
tice when it results from respect and
openness toward the religious in
stincts of a person or community reli
giously different from oneself and
one’s own community.
religions without dialogue between re
ligions.
—There can be no dialogue among
the religions without research into
theological foundations.
In this new century, religious na
tions either will conflict with each
other or find new ways to value each
other. The most significant way to
value each other is clear: religions in
dialogue.
The church speaks of four horizons
of dialogue: 1) dialogue of life; 2) dia
logue of justice; 3) dialogue of the
academy; and, 4) spiritual dialogue.
1. The dialogue of life points to re
spect and hospitality toward one’s
neighbor — not merely because a com
mon humanity is shared, but because
of the differences in faith, beliefs, cus
toms and cultural convictions.
The dialogue of life offers a horizon
of openness that is inviting and gra
cious, that is the good neighbor.
The dialogue of life changes with
the fluctuating social, political and
historical circumstances of the day.
One has to gauge it carefully in a
particular place and time. Bosnia, Ire
land, Iran-Iraq, India-Pakistan are
instances where the dialogue of life
collapsed.
Yet each religious tradition must
maintain a norm of respect and hospi
tality toward its neighbor. Only dia
logue can sustain such a norm.
2. The dialogue of justice antici
pates participation in practical ways
in social liberation, whether that lib
The dialogue of justice exhibits vig
orous life on every continent today. It
is a universal religious movement of
the present time.
3. The academic or conceptual dia
logue draws upon philosophers, theo
logians, humanists who intellectually
engage dialogue partners from differ
ent religious worlds for the sake of
mutual understanding and enrich
ment. This dialogue began in the 19th
century with the discovery of the texts
and traditions of the ancient and clas
sical world.
Scholars identified with obvious
similarities, so apparent from one tra
dition to another and from which too
often exaggerations and oversimplifi
cations were drawn. It was only after
a century of further work that both
the similar and dissimilar received
equal treatment — that greater preci
sion in contrasting and comparing
took place.
Giant steps have been taken in
this dialogue. The Jewish-Chris-
tian, Buddhist-Christian, Muslim-
Christian dialogues have been ex
traordinary the last 25 years. This
is the first time in history that
scholars are involved in cross-cul
tural, multidisciplinary, and inter
faith study and dialogue.
4. Spiritual dialogue calls upon
those deeply involved in spiritual
growth, especially ascetics — and
in particular monks and nuns —
to share experiences, practices, for
the purpose of both parties’ spiri
tual enrichment.
This dialogue is well established
between Japanese Zen ascetics and
their Christian counterparts in West
ern Europe, and also among the Ti
betan monks in exile in India and
their U.S. Christian monastic coun
terparts. These intermonastic dia
logues now are moving into their sec
ond decade in Japan, Europe, India
and the United States.
In Pope John
Paul II’s call for
prayer at Assisi in
1987, when he gath
ered religious lead
ing twice or two, and “ligein,” mean
ing to converse or to talk together. As
we interface with a person of another
faith tradition, we may participate in
an encounter that is basically a
monologue, more an invitation or in
troduction to dialogue than dialogue
itself.
To be preached to also is not dia
logue. Although proclamation is inte
gral to mission, it is not dialogue.
Two people, two communities enter
a conversation for the sake of mutual
enrichment, mutual engagement and
understanding.
As representatives of religious com
'ialogue is a permanent state of living together
in the modern world.... Dialogue will bring us to
value each other as religious seekers. This in itself
will lessen the ideological, ethnic and national
differences that now divide us.”
ers from around the
world for a brief day
of prayer, a type of
intrareligious dia
logue was experi
enced by some par
ticipants.
An equally telling
event took place in
1997 at the Trap-
pists’ Our Lady of
Gethsemani Abbey
in Kentucky. The
event involved the
Dalai Lama and Asian Buddhist mo
nastics, and Trappist and Benedictine
American monastics meeting for some
days at the monastic center made fa
mous by Father Thomas Merton.
■ ■ ■
The English word “dialogue” comes
from two words, “di” or “dia,” mean-
FOODFORTHOUGHT
munities, our goals may be strictly
mundane, such as peace among reli
gions for the sake of peace among na
tions. What God has in mind in bring
ing us to this point of conversation is
still unknown to us. We should not
presume that we know the ultimate
goals of dialogue.
Dialogue is a permanent state of
living together in the modern world.
Dialogue is not a burden but a discov
ery of always new relationships.
Dialogue will bring us to value each
other as religious seekers. This in it
self will lessen the ideological, ethnic
and national differences that now di
vide us.
(Dominican Father Cenkner is The
Katharine Drexel Professor of Reli
gion at The Catholic University of
America.)
A declaration concerned with how Catholics relate to other world
religions was issued in September 2000 by the Vatican’s Doctrinal
Congregation. Some misunderstood this declaration. As Archbishop
Theodore McCarrick of Newark, N.J., wrote:
“The secular press had a heyday.... Headlines trumpeted that Catholics
think they are the only ones who can be saved, that the pope called other
religions inferior and that the Catholic Church was returning to what the
media so glibly inferred to have been a past of intolerance and
intransigence. What nonsense, especially in light of our Holy Father’s
constant outreach to other faiths.”
Archbishop McCarrick said:
— “We do not claim that only Catholics can be saved or ... be holy.”
— “We do not deny the beauty and the significance of other religious
teachings.” The Holy Spirit somehow calls everyone to virtue and inspires
everyone “to seek the truth of the presence of the one living God.”
The declaration, titled “The Lord Jesus,” reminded Catholics that “the
only savior of the human race” is Jesus Christ, and he established a
church to serve in the world as the channel of grace, truth and holiness,
Archbishop McCarrick said.
He asked: “Wouldn’t it be bizarre for a Catholic to proclaim that the
Catholic Church did not have the truth or that salvation won for us by
Jesus was merely one of many such accomplishments” in world history?
True ecumenism, the archbishop said, “does not infer the denial of
what we believe, but the desire to understand and appreciate what our
neighbor believes.”
36 David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive!