Interreligious Dicastery on Dialogue
Education:
"It Must Respect Human
Freedom and Dignity"
NAIROBI, Kenya, APRIL 23, 2008- Here is the address Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, gave at a five-day conference in Nairobi on "Formation in
Interreligious Dialogue in Sub-Saharan Africa."
* * *
1. Greetings and Appreciation
With great joy, on behalf of the pontifical Council for Inter-religious
Dialogue, I express gratitude to His Eminence Cardinal John Njue, the
Archbishop of Nairobi and the President of the Kenya Episcopal
Conference and to Councilor John Chege, Deputy Mayor of Nairobi for
welcoming us to this great city - a city very well known in the world
for hospitality and a genial atmosphere for conferences and personal
recollection and relaxation.
I am impressed by the large turn out of the Catholic bishops of Kenya
together with priests, religious superiors and representatives of
various religious orders in Nairobi for this opening session of our
meeting. It is a sign of a Church that is alive and well.
The kind words of the leaders of the Hindus and the Muslims of Kenya
are most appreciated. I thank you, dear friends, for your presence here.
To your Excellencies, the African members of our Pontifical Council and
our consulter and all of you representing the episcopal conferences and
ecclesiastical institutions of different countries of sub-Saharan
Africa participating in this meeting, I say to you "Asante sana kwa
kufika na kwa kuwa tayari kafanya kazi" ( Swahili for, Thank you for
coming and for your readiness to work).
2. Reasons for our coming to Kenya
Once every five years, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious
Dialogue organizes a meeting with its members and consultors at
regional levels. We use the occasion to invite also representatives of
different episcopal conferences in the region, especially Chairpersons
of Commissions for Inter-religious Dialogue. Through these
representatives we hear about their joys, their sorrows and the
challenges they face in their efforts to relate with people of other
religious traditions. The last of such regional meeting in Africa was
held in Dar es Salaam in 2003. I am happy that we are able to come to
Kenya this time.
The theme of our meeting here is "Formation in Inter-religious Dialogue
in Africa." In the coming days, the bishops and representatives of
different Episcopal Conferences participating in this consultation will
be reflecting of how our Christians are being prepared to relate with
people of other religious traditions. We shall examine the institutions
and the programmes of formation in inter-religious dialogue available
in the sub-Saharan countries of Africa.
There will be occasion to listen to reports of activities of various
episcopal conferences in favour of inter-religious dialogue. It is our
hope that such enriching experiences will help the Pontifical Council
to plan better our activities at the universal level.
3. The Catholic Church promotes inter-religious dialogue
My dear friends, 43 years ago His Holiness Pope Paul VI, published his
first Papal Encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam, in which he underlined the new
spirit of dialogue and collaboration manifesting itself in the world.
In explaining the nature of this dialogue with the "world," he
identified the interlocutors as "those human beings whoa re opposed to
the light of faith and the gift of grace" (n.59), "non-Christians"
(nn.107-108), non-Catholics/other Christians (nn.109-120). The
foresighted Pontiff went further to describe the characteristics of
this dialogue: it must respect human freedom and dignity and be
accompanied by meekness. He drew attention to the dangers of relativism
of watering down or whittling away of truth. He affirmed: "Our
apostolate must not make vague comprises concerning the principles
which regulate and govern the profession of Christian faith both in
theory and in practice. An immoderate desire to make peace and sink
differences at all costs is ultimately nothing more than skepticism
about the power and content of the Word of God which we desire to
preach." (n.88).
The key document of the Second Vatican Council on inter-religious
dialogue, Nostra Aetate, highlighted the common elements of different
religious: All human beings have same origin and same end. God is the
creator of all. The same destiny, "namely God" awaits every human
being. God's providence, "evident goodness, and saving designs extend
to all men" (n.1). Moreover human beings face the same challenges of
searching for answers to some of the profound questions of human
existence. The look to their different religions for answers to the
unsolved riddles of life:" What is man? What is the meaning and purpose
of life? What is upright behaviour, and what is sinful? Where does
suffering originate, and what end does it serve? How can genuine
happiness be found? What happens at death?" (n.1).
Since after the Second Vatican Council, the Church has been promoting
inter-religious dialogue by emphasizing the spiritual bonds that unite
people of different religions. This was a constant theme in many of the
addresses of Pope John Paul II throughout his Pontificate. For example,
here in Kenya on May 7, 1980, addressing the Muslims of Kenya, he said:
"On my part I wish to do everything possible to help develop the
spiritual bonds between Christians and Muslims. Prayer, almsgiving and
fasting are highly valued in both our traditions and are beyond doubt a
splendid witness to a world that runs the risk of being absorbed by
materialism." To the Hindus, he said: "The purpose of life, the nature
of good, the path of happiness, the meaning of death and the end of our
human journey- all these truths form the object of our common service
of man in his many needs, and to the promotion of his full human
dignity."
In several documents the Catholic Church expresses her esteem of other
religions. In the Nostra Aetate, we read that the Church "has a high
regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines
which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching,
nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all
men." Of the religions, Pope Paul VI said, "many of these religious
possess an impressive patrimony of deeply religious texts. They carry
within them the echo of thousands of years of searching for God…. They
possess an impressive patrimony of deeply religious texts. They have
taught generations of people how to pray." But the Church insists that
she is "duty bound to proclaim. Without fail, Christ who is the way,
the truth and the life' (John 14,6).
Further, the Church acknowledges that God wills all human beings to be
saved and this salvation is extended to all those who are not
Christians" nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by
grace, try in their actions to do his wills they know it though the
dictates of their conscience." And includes those "who without any
fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God,
and who, not without grace,, strive to lead a good life. And according
to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "indeed, God desires all men
to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim.2,4); that
is God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the
truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the promptings
of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation." (n.851).
The Catholic Church recognizes partners in dialogue as equal in dignity
as human persons. But this does not mean that "all religions are more
or less the same."
As might be expected, for different reasons, not every person is
enthused about inter-religious dialogue. There are those who think that
inter-religious dialogue, if not a betrayal of the mission of the
Church to convert every person to Christ, are a new method of winning
members to Christianity. There are those who hold that the drive of the
Church for inter-religious relations is an effort to control the spread
of other religions. It is not any of these. In Nostra Aetate," The
Church… urges her sons (and daughters) to enter with prudence and
charity into discussion and collaboration with members of other
religions. Let Christian's while witnessing to their own faith and way
of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral
truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture."
Inter-religious Dialogue, service to the truth
Inter-religious dialogue is certainly a bridge-building exercise. It
has to do with the way and means of relating with people of different
religions. It includes creating harmony in the society, encouraging
development of friendship and spirit of tolerance. But it goes beyond
the niceties of polite conversation which encourages people to stay
where they are and avoid talking about the grey areas of disagreement.
It is a journey in search of the truth. Pope Paul VI explains that the
principal responsibility of the Church is service to the Truth- "truth
about God, truth about man and his hidden destiny, truth bout the
world, truth which we discover in the Word of God and of which we are
neither the masters nor the authors but the guardians, the heralds and
the ministers" Partners in inter-religious dialogue are fellow pilgrims
in the search for truth. It is a task that demands faith. Only people
of faith, who are open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, can
rightly engage in inter-religious dialogue.
Inter-religious Dialogue, animated by and expressed in works of charity
In Ecclesiam Suam, Pope Paul VI described inter-religious dialogue as
"a method of accomplishing the apostolic mission." (n.8). Several years
later, Pope John Paul II inserted it where it really belongs as "part
of the evangelizing mission of the Church." As explained in Dialogue
and Mission, the source of this mission is divine love; this love is
revealed in Christ; the love is made present through the action of the
Holy Spirit; and all activities of the Church are to be imbued with
love. It is indeed "the impulse of interior charity which tends to
become an exterior gift of Charity."
Pope Benedict XVI affirms that inter-religious dialogue forms part of
the "diakonia" which the Church offers to the world. Caritas-agape goes
beyond the confines of the visible Church because it is motivated by
Christ's mission of the Church to every human being without distinction.
4. The new thrust of inter-religious dialogue
My dear friends, as you may know, inter-religious dialogue takes
different forms. It includes being together: living one's life as
taught by one's religion. It is working together in projects of common
concern. It is reflecting together on the teachings of one another's
religion. It is also sharing together religious experiences. These
ideas have been developed over the years by the Pontifical Council for
inter-religious Dialogue as forms of Inter-religious relations:
dialogue of life, dialogue of cooperation, dialogue of theological
discourse and dialogues of spiritualities. The penultimate (dialogue of
theological discourse) is often postponed to the future. In the
Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, that future is now.
Up till recently, discussions and praxis of inter-religious dialogue
have focused on the common spiritual bonds which Christians share with
other believers. By emphasis zing these bonds, Popes Paul VI and John
Paul II, have constructed bridges of understanding between Christianity
and other religions. The perceptible direction of Pope Benedict XVI is
that, building on what his predecessors have put in place, he is now
leading the Church to cross that bridge. Whereas other highlighted the
common elements we share, he wants to emphasize, by use of reason, the
distinctiveness of the Christian faith. Together with other believers
we walk in search of the truth. We should be prepared to ask difficult
questions. Partners in dialogue must be open to talk about those issues
not often put on the table: religious liberty, freedom of conscience,
reciprocity, conversion, religious extremism, etc.
5. Formation in inter-religious dialogue is necessary
Distinguished audience, the theme of our meeting here in Kenya is
'Formation in inter-religious dialogue." The size of our world is
shrinking every day. All human beings are coming together. It is the
technological inventions of our time that is binding us together in a
dramatic way. Improved information technologically has facilitated the
way we reach out to others. What we do or say is no longer restricted
geographically. The faster facilities of travel mean that people are
constantly moving from place to place. As they move, they carry with
them what I have described elsewhere as the "invisible baggage" of
cultures, languages religious, prejudices etc. People of mixed
religious disposition and political ideologies have come to live
together. Religious extremists, both right and left wings, meet one
another. We all know that is indeed unrealistic and impossible to live
as if people of other religions and philosophies s do not exist and we
have only on e religion in the world.
Most societies today face the problem of how to handle the fact of
plurality of religions in any given area. With followers of African
traditional Religion, many people in African societies have been
interacting and living together. But with the other religions, notably
from the east, coming to Africa, it becomes necessary to have some
preparations. How does a Christian deal with a Hindu or Buddhist or
Sikh or Muslim neighbor? When people of different religions meet,
should they talk about their faith? Can they pray together? What
happens when a person of one faith tradition proposes marriage to
another person of different religion? What happens with regard to the
teaching of religious doctrines when children of mixed religions are in
one State-run school? These and many m0ore are the issues facing the
people in different parts of the worlds today.
Our effort in organizing this meeting in Nairobi is to bring together
Bishops and representatives of different Catholic Episcopal Conferences
in the sub-Saharan Africa to share ideas on how to help the people of
our own time to live harmoniously and work together in a religiously
mixed society. We want to reflect together on how to form our
Christians to live in a religiously pluralistic African world.
Nawashukuru nyote kwa kuwepo hapa leo (Swahili for, I thank all of you
for coming here today).