Ecumenical Info

Spirituality of Dialogue

August 2005

By Rev. Michael Demkovich, O.P.

In July Archbishop Michael Sheehan and the religious leader of the Muslim community in Albuquerque, Imam Isam Rajab, issued a joint statement condemning the bombings in London and all terrorism in the name of religion. The also called both the Catholic and Muslim communities to pray for peace. They said: Terrorism is the work of militant extremists who do not represent the true nature of Islam. Jesus and Mohammed were men of peace.

Now, more than ever it is important for all men and women of faith to grow in understanding the true nature of other religions. It calls us to a depth of personal awareness and conversion. Often times our sense of self-righteousness gets in the way, preventing us from true dialogue. In one of his sermons St. Augustine tells us:

Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticize, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others. (19)

As we enter into dialogue we must be mindful of St. Augustine's caution otherwise we will fail to see God's work but only our own.

Here in New Mexico the Archdiocese of Santa Fe has had a long and mutually enriching Dialogue with the Jewish community and we are now beginning to initiate a dialogue with the Muslim community as well. In 1999 Cardinal Arinze of the Pontifical Council on Inter-religious Dialogue sent a letter to the Presidents of the Bishop's Conference. The letter addresses the "Spirituality of Dialogue" and contains some important elements for us to keep in mind as we engage other religions. It is available online at the Vatican website .

Paragraph 5 is worth looking at as it addresses Christian identity in Dialogue:

The Christian who meets other believers does so as a member of the Christian faith community, and therefore as a witness to Jesus Christ. It is important that the Christian should have a clear religious identity. Interreligious dialogue does not demand that the Christian should set some elements of Christian belief or practice aside, putting them as it were between parentheses, much less putting them in doubt. On the contrary, other believers want to know clearly whom they are meeting.

It is our firm conviction that God wants all persons to be saved (cf 1Tim 2:4) and that God can give his grace also outside the visible boundaries of the Church (cf LG 16; Redemptor Hominis 10). At the same time the Christian is aware that Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, is the one and only Saviour of all humanity, and that only in the Church which Christ founded are to be found the means of salvation in all their fullness. This should in no way induce the Christian to assume a triumphalistic attitude or to act out of a superiority complex. On the contrary, it is with humility and with a desire for mutual enrichment that one will meet with other believers, while holding firmly to the truths of the Christian faith. Interreligious dialogue, when conducted in this vision of faith, in no way leads to religious relativism.

Our inter-religious dialogue is part of our witness to Christ and what is most important is not what we say, but who we are in the dialogue. Humility, honesty and integrity are key qualities and today these can be quite rare. If a person is insecure in his or her Catholic Faith they will lack the ability to genuinely enter into dialogue. Rather than sharing who Jesus is by the example of our lives, we fail to "seek the face of God" within the dialogue.

Appropriately the letter goes on inviting us to grow in our appreciation of one another.

The Christian who engages in interreligious initiatives feels more and more the need to understand other religions in order precisely to understand better the followers of these religions. It will be seen that there are many points of contact: belief in one God who is Creator, the aspiration to transcendence, the practice of fasting and almsgiving, recourse to prayer and meditation, the importance of pilgrimage. The differences, however, should not be overlooked. A Christian spirituality of dialogue will grow if both these dimensions are maintained. While appreciating the workings of the Spirit of God among people of other religions, not only in the hearts of individuals but also in some of their religious rites, the uniqueness of the Christian faith will be respected.

As I look at the political climate, the lack of civility, it seems to me that this Spirituality of Dialogue is not only true of inter-religious dialogue but of all dialogue all well. Perhaps we can learn from St. Augustine the honesty of genuine personal conversion that will allow us to enter into a true spirituality of dialogue.