A Church That Desires Encounter

This is the title of a recent book by Francesco Celestino, instructor of pastoral theology and catechism at San Bonaventura in Rome, Italy. The book offers a fresh reflection on the pastoral life of the Catholic Church in light of Pope Francis's 2013 encyclical Evangelii gaudium. A Church that desires encounter is a church that wants to be near to others and accompany them in life, being ever aware that dialogue with others is key to drawing them closer to God. A Church that desires encounter, then, is a church in constant dialogue. This characteristic of the Church, however, raises important questions, one of which is proposed by Celestino: "Today, one of the most important questions for the Catholic church is its relationship with other non-Christian religions" (p. 183). Of course this question did not originate with Celestino. In fact a key document of Vatican II (1962-1965) is solely dedicated to this question. Nostra aetate begins by observing: "In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship" (Nostra aetate, 1).  

This last sentence of NA contains a key concept that forms the foundation of the modern-day Catholic Church that desires dialogue in order to encounter others. This church desires to identify and highlight those elements and concepts that mankind has in common and that serve to unite. This of course means that those elements that tend to underscore areas of divergence and difference are relegated to a place of less importance, and are even considered counterproductive to the aims of the Church in dialogue. Reflecting on Evangelii gaudium, Celestino provides a clear example of this way of thinking. "Particular attention is reserved for Judaism: we cannot consider Judaism an extraneous religion because together we believe in the uniqueness of God that acts in history and that gave as a gift His revealed Word. The welcoming of the values of Judaism enriches the Church, even if it doesn't accept some of Christianity's convictions...Particular importance is also assigned to the Church's relationship with Islam. This is because together with the Muslims we confess the same faith of Abraham and adore the same merciful God and believe also in a final judgment" (p. 192).

From this we can deduce that the Church that desires to encounter others is not a church that highlights and underscores the distinctives of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead it is a church that highlights that which it has in common with other world religions, even if those religions promulgate teachings and doctrines that are contrary to those of the Bible. This is due to the fact that "the exchange of different beliefs enriches our cultural understandings that then have a tremendous impact on our own religious experiences" (p. 196). "We need, therefore, to interact with different cultures and different people and learn to appreciate the religious values present in Hinduism, Buddhism, and in Islam..." (p. 211). In light of this, Celestino's following reasoning is not surprising: "Interreligious dialogue does not have as its aim the conversion of others, even though at times it supports it" (p. 220).

In light of these comments, it would seem safe to assume that the Catholic Church doesn't promote evangelism and mission. If the goal of dialogue is not the conversion of the other, there is no need to preach and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, correct? There seems to be no need for evangelization. Are these accurate assumptions? According to Celestino (and many other Catholics), the answer to that question is an emphatic "no!" It is, however, at this point that we run into the inevitable contradictions that this approach to dialogue and mission present. Despite the fact that the Church ought to give precedence to that which unites all of mankind; and despite the fact that it ought to appreciate the values of other religions; and despite the fact that the goal of dialogue is not conversion, we also read that "Christians must consider as undeniable and irrevocable the proclamation...of salvation in Christ, the one and only mediator between God and man...so that neither fraternal dialogue nor the exchange and sharing of human values are allowed to diminish the Church's responsibility of evangelization" (p. 219).

Pardon? Are these two lines of thought compatible? If Jesus Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man by which man can be saved, why exactly should the goal of dialogue not be conversion? If salvation is in Jesus Christ alone, why exactly must the Church seek to appreciate the religious values of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc.? Do not all these religions deny the clear biblical teachings of a Christ that died and rose from the grave in order to save mankind from sin? Affirming other religions while considering as undeniable and irrevocable the proclamation of salvation in Christ are competing concepts that are in complete contradiction. It is one or the other, but both cannot be true at the same time.

The problem is by no means a lack of clarity in Scripture. The Bible is crystal clear. Jesus himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). The historian Luke affirms these words: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4: 12). The goal of dialogue and gospel proclamation are always clear. They are for the sake of the nations and for the glory of God alone, so that "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before (Him)" (Psalm 22:27).

Dialogue is extremely important. The church must partake in dialogue. The church must look outside of its walls in order to encounter others and engage with them in dialogue. Dialogue opens doors for the good news of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed. That said, dialogue must be accompanied by clear and well defined boundaries. It must be characterized by clear definitions to terms that are key to faithful gospel proclamation. Otherwise the risk of contradiction is extremely high, and the mission of the church becomes blurred and unrecognizable, to the point that the distinctions between the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of other world religions are hard to determine. The church must be in dialogue, but it must also defend at all costs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, however, the church that desires encounter, described by Celestino and characteristic of modern-day Roman Catholicism, is not capable of defending the gospel. Let us pray that this changes and that the Catholic Church experiences a true, biblical reformation.