Pope Francis' advisor cites Vatican II to encourage relations with 'neighbor' religions
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Cardinal Oswald Gracias, India's top prelate and key advisor to Pope Francis, has issued a stern warning against attempts by the Catholic Church to convert people of other faiths to Catholicism.
In terms of "our relationship to other religions we know longer refer to them as non-Christian religions or other religions" but "as neighbor religions" who are "together searching God and feeling a bond among ourselves," Gracias emphasized.
Gracias, who since 2013 has been a member of Pope Francis' inner advisory group the Council of Cardinals, explained that in the context of Asia, Catholics were only "about four percent of the whole population" and in some countries only one or two percent, with the exceptions of the Philippines and East Timor.
"I feel that the Synod should have an effect not only in transforming the Catholic church [and] the Christian churches but also the world," Gracias, who also holds the position of President of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, noted.
"We've got to respect other cultures," Gracias elaborated, explaining that after Vatican II, the Church was called to "understand much more the value and the necessity of accepting, respecting, understanding, and also enculturating the faith in different ways."
"I feel is a great richness in Asia, in India, in Korea, in Japan, [and in] all these countries," he observed. "By nature, we are synodals in India, in Asia," a region where "the culture is totally different, they would not understand another culture if it were imposed on them."
"The Church must build bridges and be a bridge itself. This means attention must be given to diverse cultures and religions, cultivating dialogue and synodality," he stressed.
"The Cardinal explained it is essential to build the Kingdom of God in countries with diverse local cultures – but not by proselytizing – differences must be valued. A synodal approach is necessary to avoid imposing notions or concepts," Vatican News commented on Gracias' address to journalists.
While the Synod of Bishops meetings over October have created ten study groups to examine issues like polygamy, the role of women and the female diaconate, and the poor, it has also created a group to look at the issue of evangelization in the virtual world.
The synodal report, however, understands the task of evangelization as focusing on the challenge to "weave bonds" and "build communities" and highlights aspects concerning "exchange between churches and dialogue with the world."
The text points out that, "as a Church and as individual digital missionaries we have a duty to ask ourselves how we can ensure that our online presence constitutes an experience of growth for those with whom we communicate."
The report cautions against some "Catholic digital influencers" who "not infrequently base their digital practices on spreading superficial or even distorted information and content regarding the Christian faith."
There is a "sometimes veiled, sometimes open divergence with respect to the ecclesial and pastoral journey of the contemporary Church or, in other cases, there is an 'eloquent silence' with respect to Francis' teaching […]."
"In this way, the great ecclesial issues are simply ignored, in favor of a more individualistic and devotional faith, disconnected from contemporary socio-cultural and ecclesial problems," the report laments.
In September, Pope Francis faced widespread criticism for sending out contradictory messages on the need for evangelization.
Later, Francis wrote to participants at the International Meeting of Prayer for Peace in Paris insisting we need to "allow ourselves to be guided by the divine inspiration present in every faith."
However, on his apostolic journey to Luxembourg and Belgium, Francis talked about rediscovering new "paths for evangelization, going beyond an approach of simple pastoral care to one of missionary proclamation."
"We must also remember that what drives us to be missionaries is not the need to meet quotas or to proselytize, but rather our desire to make known to as many brothers and sisters as possible the joy of encountering Christ," the pope told an audience in Luxembourg Cathedral.
He elaborated: "The changes in our time and the crisis of faith we are experiencing in the West have impelled us to return to what is essential, namely the Gospel. The good news that Jesus brought to the world must once again be proclaimed to all and allowed to shine forth in all its beauty."
Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.
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