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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!