Christian Witness in a Multireligious World
Fio Mascarenhas, SJ
The Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, and the Office of Inter-religious Relations and Dialogue of the World Council of Churches, are sponsoring three meetings on this subject of "conversion." The first meeting was held in Lariano, near Rome, in May 2006. Here in Toulouse, we are participating in the second meeting, which is supposed to build on the findings of that first meeting. The third and final meeting of this three-phase project, to be held sometime in the future, will attempt to arrive at some conclusions which can give new impetus and direction to our common efforts at fruitfully evangelizing the whole of needy humanity.
The first meeting involved dialogue with people of other faiths. It was titled, Inter-religious Reflection on Conversion. 27 Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and members of traditional religions whole-heartedly welcomed the initiative of the Vatican and the WCC in convening that meeting. However, while acknowledging the usefulness of the meeting, they admitted at the end that there was no unanimity even on the meaning of the term "conversion," and they asked that the exercise continue so as to collectively evolve a "code of conduct" regarding conversions. They reaffirmed the "fundamental, inviolable, and non-negotiable right to freedom of religion of every human person," and that this included the right "to propagate the teachings of one's faith to people of one's own and other faiths, and also the freedom to embrace another faith out of one's own free choice."
At the same time, they declared that "freedom of religion enjoins upon all of us the equally non-negotiable responsibility to respect faiths other than our own, and never to denigrate, vilify or misrepresent them for the purpose of affirming superiority of our faith." Acknowledging that errors have been perpetrated and injustice committed by the adherents of every faith, they concluded: "Therefore, it is incumbent on every community to conduct an honest self-critical examination of its historical conduct as well as its doctrinal/theological precepts. Such self-criticism and repentance should lead to necessary reforms inter alia on the issue of conversion. A particular reform that we would commend to practitioners and establishments of all faiths is to ensure that conversion by "unethical" means are discouraged and rejected by one and all. There should be transparency in the practice of inviting others to one's faith We see the need for and usefulness of a continuing exercise to collectively evolve a "code of conduct" on conversion, which all faiths should follow. We therefore feel that inter-religious dialogues on the issue of conversion should continue at various levels."
Taking off from that meeting's conclusions, the title chosen for our own meeting here is, Towards an ethical approach to Conversion, Christian witness in a multi-religious world. The goal of our present meeting is to arrive at some agreement among us Christians as to how to continue to fulfill our Lord and Savior's mandate to preach and witness to the Good News about salvation and new life in Jesus Christ, in the new context of today's world of religious pluralism. I have been asked by the organizers to try to present the Catholic viewpoint on this subject, with a view to encouraging a discussion on the general theme of "Conversion." It is hoped that we will arrive at some agreement among ourselves about how to carry out the Great Mandate, all the while respecting the dignity of every person (a fundamental tenet of inter-religious dialogue). Evangelization is an imperative for every Christian, but experience shows that it is problematic in the way it is carried out by some Christians in today's multi-religious society. We Christians certainly must want to convert people to Jesus Christ, but never by unethical means, and never denigrating or undervaluing their dignity.
A 2002 document of the WCC entitled, "Religious plurality and Christian self-understanding," pointed out that today, "Christians in almost all parts of the world live in religiously plural societies. Persistent plurality and its impact on their daily lives are forcing them to seek new and adequate ways of understanding and relating to peoples of other religious traditions There is greater awareness of the interdependence of human life, and of the need to collaborate across religious barriers in dealing with the pressing problems of the world. At stake is the credibility of religious traditions as forces that can bring justice, peace and healing to a broken world." It went on to acknowledge, "Most religious traditions, however, have their own history of compromise with political power and privilege and of complicity in violence that has marred human history. Christianity, for instance, has been, on the one hand, a force that brought the message of God's unconditional love for and acceptance of all people. On the other hand, its history, sadly, is also marked by persecutions, crusades, insensitivity to Indigenous cultures, and complicity with imperial and colonial designs Further, most religious traditions exhibit enormous internal diversity attended by painful divisions and disputes. Given the context of increased polarization of communities, the prevalent climate of fear, and the culture of violence that has gripped our world, the mission of bringing healing and wholeness to the fractured human community is the greatest challenge that faces the religious traditions in our day."
My country, India, can provide a good example of a multi-religious society. Christians are only about 2% of the population of over 1 billion (of whom 75% are Hindu, and 10% Muslim, with Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, tribals and animists making up the remaining 13%). India is a secular state according to the Indian Constitution, but in the recent past at national level, and even now in some regional states, a very militant anti-Christian political party has been espousing the cause of Hindutva, and openly persecuting Christians by passing anti-conversion laws and imprisoning or causing physical harm to "missionaries." But apart from this new situation of hostility, the fact remains that after 2000 years of Christianity, Jesus Christ is still looked upon as a "Westerner," and Christianity as a foreign import. On the one hand, thousands are being drawn to Christ and are baptized every year in various parts of the country, but on the other, the proselytizing efforts of some Christian denominations and their pastors are proving to be big obstacles to the great cause of evangelization.
In such a context, I believe, it is worth recalling some insights and suggestions that our late Pope John Paul II proposed in his Letter to the Church of Asia, Ecclesia in Asia, dated 6 November 1999, and titled, "JESUS CHRIST THE SAVIOUR, AND HIS MISSION OF LOVE AND SERVICE IN ASIA." Insisting that evangelization is not an option, but a command of the Lord, and is therefore both our duty and privilege, this great Catholic leader pointed out that therefore the question is not whether or not to evangelize, but "the urgent question now facing the Church in Asia is how to share with our Asian brothers and sisters what we treasure as the gift containing all gifts, namely the Good News of Jesus Christ" (EA19).
He exhorted Catholics to proclaim Jesus with loving respect and esteem for every listener (EA20), taking care never to violate the listener's freedom of conscience (EA20), because the Holy Spirit is also at work in Asia's religions, cultures and philosophies (EA15). Such a new approach (of respect, dialogue, inculturation, etc) is not a strategy to beguile people, but an expression of the Church's fuller grasp of God's designs regarding the creation and salvation of the human family, and the Church's understanding of her duty to fulfill her mission in a new way. In the perspective of the Second Vatican Council, the Church is newly conscious of the all-embracing saving love of God who wishes to communicate himself and share eternal life with all people (DV3), and of the possibility of salvation for people even when they do not know Christ, or even God (LG16):
"All this applies not only to Christians but to all men and women of goodwill, in whose hearts grace is active invisibly. For since Christ died for all, and since all are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partners in the Paschal Mystery" (GS, 22)
"The Church is supremely aware of the reality of the inner man, of what is deepest and incorruptible. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, this inner spiritual' man matures and grows strong... The hidden breath of the Divine Spirit enables the human spirit to open, in its turn, before the saving and sanctifying self-opening of God" (DeV, 58).
"The breath of divine life, the Holy Spirit, in its simplest and most common manner, expresses itself and makes itself felt in prayer. It is a beautiful and salutary thought that, wherever people are praying in the world, there the Holy Spirit is the living breath of prayer..." (DeV, 65).
The Pope went on say that we must take the situation of the listener to heart, so as to offer a proclamation adapted to the listener's level of maturity (EA20), introducing people step by step to a full appropriation of the mystery (EA20). "If the Church in Asia is to fulfill its providential destiny, evangelization as the joyful, patient, progressive preaching of the saving Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ must be your absolute priority" (EA2). He suggested that we use an evocative pedagogy (using stories, parables, symbols, so characteristic of Asian methodology in teaching - EA20), employing images of Jesus which are intelligible to Asian minds and cultures, and at the same time faithful to Sacred Scripture and Tradition (Christ as the Enlightened One, the Teacher of wisdom, the Healer, the Liberator, the Spiritual "Guru", the Compassionate Friend of the poor, etc - EA20). He stressed "particularly the importance of the biblical word in passing on the message of salvation to the peoples of Asia, where the transmitted word is so important in preserving and communicating religious experience" (EA22).
A most important and new insight contained in this Letter to the Church in Asia is that whereas Christ's message of reconciliation and solidarity is very necessary for Asia, it could be obscured from the beginning by an untimely emphasis on the uniqueness of Christ as Savior. Instead, we must share in such a way that Jesus is perceived by the Asian people as the response to their needs ("their deepest questions answered, their hopes fulfilled, their dignity uplifted and their despair conquered" - EA14). The direct access to Christ should not be blocked by dogmatic statements which followers of other religions initially may find arrogant and offensive. The Pope's suggestion is that we let them first discover the attractive person of Jesus, and allow Jesus to slowly imprint Himself on their minds and hearts, eventually leading them in the Spirit to faith in Him (and eventual baptism).
John Paul II stressed that inter-religious dialogue is an essential part of evangelization: "Contact, dialogue and cooperation with the followers of other religions is a task which the Second Vatican Council bequeathed to the whole Church as a duty and a challenge... It is important for the Church in Asia to provide suitable models of inter-religious dialogue and suitable training for those involved" (EA31). There is also "need for a dialogue of life and heart... Inter-religious relations are best developed in a context of openness to other believers, a willingness to listen, and the desire to respect and understand others in their differences. For all of this, love of others is indispensable. This should result in collaboration, harmony and mutual enrichment" (EA31).
The Letter also stressed that "Evangelization and inculturation are naturally and intimately related to each other" (EA21). Inculturation is the incarnating of Christian life and the Christian message within a particular cultural context. Its primary focus is not so much liturgy but lifestyle: using the local language, art, music, dance, architecture, meaningful customs, etc. Inculturation is not a goal in itself but a necessary means to more effective evangelization. "Through inculturation, the Church, for her part, becomes a more intelligible sign of what she is, and a more effective instrument of mission... This has a special urgency today in the multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural situation of Asia where Christianity is still too often seen as foreign" (EA21). "The Holy Spirit is the prime agent of inculturation of the Christian faith in Asia," and therefore inculturation is "the obligatory path for evangelizers in presenting the Christian faith and making it a part of a people's cultural heritage In the process of encountering the world's different cultures, the Church not only transmits her truths and renews cultures from within, but she also takes from the various cultures the positive elements already found in them..." (EA21).
John Paul II often pointed out that "the first form of evangelization is witness" (RM42). He therefore reminded Asian Christians that "a missionary who has no deep experience of God in prayer and contemplation will have little spiritual influence or missionary success. The Church in Asia is called to be a praying Church, deeply spiritual even as she engages in immediate human and social concerns. All Christians need a true missionary spirituality of prayer and contemplation" (EA23). "A genuinely religious person readily wins respect and a following in Asia. Prayer, fasting and various forms of asceticism are held in high regard. Renunciation, detachment, humility, simplicity and silence are considered great values by the followers of all religions. Lest prayer be divorced from human promotion, the Synod Fathers insisted that the work of justice, charity and compassion is interrelated with a genuine life of prayer and contemplation, and indeed it is this same spirituality which will be the wellspring of all evangelizing work" (EA23). Hence, the service of human promotion, the dignity of the human person, preferential love of the poor, the Gospel of Life, health care and education, the environment, etc., are all integral parts of evangelization (EA32ff).
From these various insights culled from our late Pope's Letter to the Church in Asia, and with the situation of the Church in India as background, and also as follow-up to the Lariano Report, I would like to propose that all of us at this meeting, representing various Christian realities, express our unanimous conviction that it is according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ that:
We continue, with renewed energy and the anointing of the Spirit, to make every effort to bring the Good News to more and more of needy humanity.
When preaching the wonderful Good News of Jesus Christ, we never stoop to belittle or condemn other religions ("for the purpose of affirming the superiority of our faith," as the participants of the first meeting at Lariano put it).
We never use unethical means of "inducing" people to convert to our faith, e.g. by offering financial help or other material benefits.
As baptized Christians, we work in harmony with the pastors of other churches and denominations functioning in that geographical area, thus giving witness to true "Christian unity" (Jn.17:21).
We foster true ecumenism, and never (even tacitly) encourage "sheep-stealing."
We "evangelize" in a holistic way, and not "proselytize;" that is, we commit ourselves to make efforts to foster inter-religious dialogue and religious harmony in the local areas of our operation, and cooperate wholeheartedly in human welfare projects for the uplift of all people in that neighborhood.
etc., etc.
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Fr Fiorello Mascarenhas, SJ., is an international speaker and charismatic priest from Bombay, India. He worked as ICCRS (International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services, Rome) resident Director from 1981-1984, and became Chairman of its international Council in 1984. Thus he had many opportunities to meet personally with and dialogue with Pope John Paul II and Vatican officials about the strengths and weaknesses of the worldwide Catholic Charismatic Renewal. He has visited over 80 countries to preach at Leaders Seminars, Clergy Retreats, and Charismatic Conferences.
