Visiting cardinal reflects on future of dialogue
Oct 13, 2006
The war on terror, as well as the recent controversy over Pope Benedict XVI’s statements about Islam, has pushed the need for interfaith dialogue to the forefront of the world’s attention.
(pittsburghcatholic.org, October 13, 2006) Nevertheless, the divisions that have emerged over the centuries between members of the Christian family remain important, said Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Oct. 9 at Duquesne University’s Second Annual Holy Spirit Lecture and Colloquium.
“How can we hope to work for peace in the world when Christians cannot reconcile their differences among themselves?” he asked.
In his address, the cardinal focused on the emerging trends in ecumenism, particularly the rise of non-denominational Pentecostalism throughout the world, and explored the role that the Holy Spirit plays in dialogue between Christian brethren.
Ecumenism 101
Cardinal Kasper’s intellect and ecumenical sensitivity have garnered considerable acclaim throughout the world. Beginning in 1979, when he was selected to serve on the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission, Cardinal Kasper has been at the forefront of ecumenical and interfaith relations. Now 73 years old, the cardinal speaks passionately about the need for ecumenical and interfaith understanding in an increasingly complex and unstable world.
Ecumenism asks a simple question: How should Catholic Christians relate to other Christians and people of other faiths? Until only recently, the question was moot because the various strains of Christianity didn’t relate to each other at all. Centuries of interreligious wars, anti-Catholic and anti-Protestant persecution in various regions of the world and misinterpretation and misunderstanding had taken their toll. Even today, a few evangelicals and fundamentalist Protestants reject ecumenical conversations with Catholics altogether.
Relations began to thaw with the Second Vatican Council. Through its decrees on relations with other faiths, the Eastern churches and other Christians, the council fathers taught that Catholic Christians had a unique responsibility to reach out to other faiths and other Christians with respect.
Some embraced the dialogues more wholeheartedly and enthusiastically than others, delving deeply into other religious traditions. Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist spiritual writer, was particularly interested in the relationships between Catholicism and Eastern religions, for instance.
Still, questions persist. How far should these dialogues go? Obviously, Christian unity is a worthy goal, but how should it be achieved? When confronted with all the differing religious groups and the potential for religious strife, many in today’s world find it easier to see all religions as being essentially the same. By advocating tolerance and downplaying differences, they hope to build on what all faiths have in common.
Even in the Second Vatican Council, the church looked askance at this approach, though the church’s objections weren’t the result of lingering malice or intolerance against other faiths, as some in the media sometimes suggest. Instead, it came from realizing that the world’s religions are truly different and downplaying those differences won’t make them go away. From the perspective of church teaching, the issue isn’t ignoring differences but respecting them.
In practice, this stance is simultaneously conservative and liberal. On the conservative side, it recognizes that the distinctive natures and identities of religious traditions need to be respected and maintained. Clear differences need to be made between Catholicism and other faiths, and those differences have consequences.
Yet, at the same time, Catholicism does not regard ecumenical and interfaith conversations as pointless. Ecumenical and interfaith dialogues have been known to be invaluable in changing misperceptions, resolving conflicts and helping Catholics understand and deepen their own faith. By taking their own and other traditions seriously, Catholics can become better Christians.
Ecumenism and the Holy Spirit
The question of ecumenism, the cardinal said in his address, is one of dialogue and exchange, not confrontation. The idea of dialogue is important theologically, too, because it brings the Holy Spirit into play.
In the past, the cardinal said, ecumenical conversations were seen as trying to restore a divided Christian family to a single, unified church. But while these conversations were important, and while they could at times make great strides toward unity, the emphasis on unity in Christ as the primary goal of ecumenism has also made those conversations difficult.
In order for all of their differences to be resolved, at least some Christians would have to compromise some of their vital beliefs. Somebody would have to give something up. There would have to be “winners” and “losers,” which defeats the whole purpose of Christian unity.
The lesson of ecumenism since the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Kasper said, is that Christian unity must come from a higher source, somewhere beyond church politics and the actions of individual people. “We, as human beings, cannot make or organize unity,” he said.
The Holy Spirit, the cardinal said, offers a “principle of unity,” gently nudging Christians of different traditions together, challenging them to see each other as brothers and sisters, and encouraging them to act together.
The Holy Spirit isn’t a spirit of relativism, he said. It doesn’t erase differences or make them unimportant. Rather, it changes how Christians view and discuss their differences. Not only does it prompt them to converse theologically about the issues that separate them, but it also encourages them to speak in truth and love about the ordinary aspects of daily life. It encourages Catholics and Protestants to step outside of the sharp institutional divisions that normally pull them apart.
The Holy Spirit also figures prominently in the rise of new Christian movements like Pentecostalism and charismatic evangelicalism, which currently count more than 600 million adherents worldwide. These Christian groups are quickly growing, not only in the developing world but also within the United States, where social changes and alienation make the intense, personal faith experiences of charismatic Christianity particularly attractive.
Pentecostalism presents a new type of ecumenical challenge, the cardinal said. Where other Christian traditions were true denominations with leaders and institutional structures with whom the Catholic Church can meet, many Pentecostal churches reject any understanding of church beyond the individual congregation. Pentecostalism remains a complex movement, and its diversity makes coming to any sort of common understanding difficult.
In addition, many Pentecostal and charismatic groups are virulently hostile to the Catholic Church. In South America and Africa, as well as the United States, large percentages of the charismatic population were once Catholic. Engaging charismatic Christians in these areas involves dealing with groups whose intentions may be less than admirable and recognizing, perhaps painfully, areas where the church has not served its people well.
Looking at charismatic Catholicism, which began in a prayer meeting at Duquesne University in the 1960s, the cardinal urged Catholics to see the growth of Pentecostalism as an opportunity. The evangelical revival of charismatic Christianity can awaken the church to the need for renewal, evangelization and community within its parishes, he said. It can also awaken the faithful to the need to deepen their faith and articulate their beliefs, to once again be proud to be Catholic.
Quoting Pope John Paul II, the cardinal reiterated that Catholics today are living in fascinating times. The call of Jesus to be one in Christ is difficult, but it also prompts Catholics to deepen their faith and work for renewal in addition to improving relations with other Christians. If it can do this, the cardinal concluded, ecumenism would have given the Catholic Church “an opportunity to realize her own nature” in new and fruitful ways.
Visiting cardinal reflects on future of dialogue