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Proclamation and
Dialogue:
Partner
Expressions of
Evangelization
by Thomas Ryan,
C.S.P.
It is important
for evangelizers
and ecumenists
to stay in
active dialogue
with one another
because the
church's
reflection
deepens and
evolves. A prime
example of this
is the place of
dialogue in the
evangelizing
mission of the
church.
Paul VI, while
encouraging
interreligious
dialogue in his
encyclical Ecclesiam
suam (1964),
did not take a
position on the
exact place that
such dialogue
might occupy in
the church's
mission. The
reason is that
his own
diagnosis of the
value of these
religions
remained quite
negative. In his
apostolic
exhortation
Evangelii
Nuntiandi
(EN -1975), #53
puts other
religious
traditions in
the role of
representing the
"natural"
religiosity of
human beings,
whereas
Christianity was
the only
"supernatural"
religion.
Consequently,
the others were
seen only as
"beneficiaries"
of the church's
evangelizing
mission, still
conceived
primarily in
terms of the
"proclamation"
of the gospel.
EN does not
mention
dialogue.
Similarly,
Vatican II
encouraged
dialogue with
other religions,
but it did not
declare it to be
part of the
church's
evangelizing
mission. This
has only come in
three subsequent
documents,
Dialogue and
Mission
(1984),
Redemptoris
Missio
(1990), and
Dialogue and
Proclamation
(1991).
In Dialogue
and Proclamation
(D & P), the
Church's
reflection on
the theology of
mission
undergoes a
significant
qualitative
change in coming
to view dialogue
as something
intrinsic to
evangelization.
It is part of
the working out
during the
post-Vatican II
years, of a
broad and
comprehensive
notion of
evangelization
in which
dialogue
represents a
constitutive
dimension. In
this evolved
understanding,
dialogue is in
itself a form of
evangelization.
How is this so?
In D & P,
"evangelization
refers to the
mission of the
Church in its
totality" (#8),
in the various
elements of
which it is
composed.
"Dialogue", an
integral part of
that mission,
indicates "all
positive and
constructive
interreligious
relations with
individuals and
communities of
other faiths
which are
directed at
mutual
understanding
and enrichment .
. . in obedience
to truth and
respect for
freedom" (#9).
"Announcement"
or
"proclamation"
is "the
communication of
the gospel
message , the
mystery of
salvation
realized by God
for all in JC by
the power of the
Spirit. It is an
invitation . . .
to entry through
baptism into the
community of
believers which
is the Church
(#10).
These
distinctive
definitions make
clear that,
while dialogue
is already in
itself
evangelization,
evangelization
cannot be
reduced to
dialogue. The
two are
different in
scope. Dialogue
does not seek
the conversion
of others to
Christianity but
the convergence
of both dialogue
partners to a
deeper shared
conversion to
God. By
contrast,
proclamation
invites others
to become
disciples of
Christ in the
Christian
community.
In the 1984
document of the
then Secretariat
for
Non-Christians
(now PCIR), the
church's
evangelizing
mission is
presented as a
"single, but
complex and
articulated
reality" (#13).
It lists five
principal
elements:
1. witness
2. "the concrete
commitment of
the service of
humankind and
all forms of
activity for
social
development and
for the struggle
against poverty
and the
structures which
produce it";
3. liturgical
life, prayer,
and
contemplation'
4. "the dialogue
in which
Christians meet
the followers of
other religious
traditions in
order to walk
together towards
truth and to
work together in
projects of
common concern";
5. finally,
announcing [the
kerygma] and
catechesis.
The Paulist 2002
General Assembly
reconfigured the
community's MDS
from a
triangular
approach to
mission
(Evangelization,
Reconciliation,
and Ecumenism)
to an approach
of the hub and
the spokes. The
hub is
evangelization,
because it
encompasses the
mission of the
church in its
totality. A new
line in the
opening
paragraph of the
MDS says we
recommit
ourselves to
evangelization
in all its forms
as our central
mission.
There is the
hub. The spokes
are the five
points above,
with points 1,
2, 4, and 5
expressed in our
MDS as Work for
Christian Unity
(1 and 4),
Reconciliation
(2, 5),
Interreligious
Relations (1,
4), and
Evangelization
(1,2,4,5).
Number 3,
"liturgical
life, prayer and
contemplation",
is of necessity
woven into the
fabric of daily
life in our
ministry
settings and
communities.
"The totality of
the Christian
mission,"
according to
Dialogue and
Mission,
"embraces all
these elements"
(#13). It
further explains
that dialogue
assumes various
forms. The four
forms (#'s
30-35) it
describes have
now become an
accepted
reference point
in
interreligious
relations:
1. Dialogue of
life, open and
accessible to
all, which takes
place between
neighbors and
colleagues
2. Dialogue of
action,
expressed in
common
commitment to
works of justice
and human
liberation
3. Intellectual
dialogue in
which scholars
engage in an
exchange about
their respective
religious
legacies with
the aim of
promoting mutual
enrichment
4. Dialogue of
spiritual
experience, the
sharing of our
experiences in
prayer and
contemplation,
in a common
search for the
Absolute
These four forms
of dialogue are
specifically
mentioned in the
new paragraph on
Interreligious
Relations in our
MDS:
This work
engages us in a
dialogue of
life, action,
spiritual
experience, and
theological
exchange.
Further, in the
same paragraph,
we explicitly
recognize that
dialogue cannot
be reduced to
being an
instrument of
proclamation; it
has value in
itself as an
authentic
expression of
evangelization:
These forms
of dialogue,
good in and of
themselves,
deepen our
understanding of
one another and
cultivate
respect for
diverse
religious
heritages as we
journey together
in and toward
truth.
In his
encyclical
Redemptoris
Missio, Pope
John Paul II
further develops
this theme. In
interreligious
dialogue the
church seeks to
discover the
"seeds of the
Word" that are
found in the
persons and in
the religious
traditions of
humankind. The
church is
stimulated "both
to discover and
acknowledge the
signs of
Christ's
presence and of
the working of
the Spirit, as
well as to
examine more
deeply her own
identity and to
bear witness to
the fullness of
revelation which
she has received
for the good of
all" (#56).
That the Spirit
of God is
universally
present and
operative in the
religious life
of the "others"
and in the
religious
traditions to
which they
belong is
another
postconciliar
rediscovery.
This emphasis
does not appear
in the writings
of Paul VI, but
it is a
recurring theme
in the teaching
of his
successor, John
Paul II. Jacques
Dupuis writes
that "The
presence and
universal action
of the Spirit of
God among the
'others' and in
their religious
traditions
represent John
Paul II's most
important
contribution to
the theological
foundation of
interreligious
dialogue". The
pope says that
the "firm
belief" of the
followers of
other religions
is "an effect of
the Spirit of
truth operating
outside the
visible confines
of the Mystical
Body (Redemptor
Hominis,
#6).
John Paul II
takes the
theological
foundation of
dialogue which
was presented by
the Council-the
unity of origin
and of destiny
of the human
race through
creation and
redemption-as a
"mystery of
unity" which
unites all human
beings, whatever
the differences
in their
circumstances
might be: "The
differences are
a less important
element than the
unity which, by
contrast, is
radical, basic,
and decisive"
(#3). This
universal unity,
he writes,
"based on the
event of
creation and
redemption,
cannot but leave
a trace in the
reality lived by
human beings,
even those
belonging to
different
religions" (#7).
To that "mystery
of unity," the
foundation of
dialogue, the
pope added yet
another element:
the active
presence of the
Spirit of God in
the religious
life of the
"others",
mentioning
specifically
their prayer:
"We may think
that any
authentic prayer
is aroused by
the Holy Spirit,
who is
mysteriously
present in the
heart of every
human being"
(#11). This
presence of the
Spirit, he wrote
in
Redemptoris
Missio,
extends not only
to the religious
life of
individuals,
but also to the
religious
traditions
to which they
belong: "The
Spirit's
presence and
activity affect
not only
individuals but
also society and
history,
peoples,
cultures, and
religions"
(#28).
D &P invokes a
threefold
theological
foundation for
interreligious
dialogue: the
common origin
and the single
destiny of the
human race in
God, universal
salvation in
Jesus Christ,
and the active
presence of the
Holy Spirit. To
these three, a
fourth might be
added, hinted at
in D & P: the
universality of
the Reign of
God. By
responding in
the sincere
practice of
their religious
tradition to
God's call
addressed to
them, believers
of other
religious faiths
truly
become-albeit
without being
formally
conscious of
it-active
members of the
Reign. Their
religious
traditions
contribute in a
mysterious
manner to the
construction of
the Reign of God
in the world.
That accounts
for the deep
communion in the
Spirit that
interreligious
dialogue is able
to establish
between
Christians and
members of other
living faiths.
They are walking
together, joint
members of the
Reign of God in
history, toward
the fullness of
that new
humanity willed
by God for the
end of time, of
which they are
called to be
co-creators
under God.
Proclamation and
dialogue exist
in a dialectical
relationship in
the dynamic
process of the
church's
evangelizing
mission. There
is an
inescapable
tension between
them-the tension
between the
"already" and
the "not yet".
As Dupuis
writes, "Insofar
as the Church
remains on her
pilgrimage,
together with
the 'others',
towards the
fullness of the
Kingdom, she
engages with
them in
dialogue;
insofar as she
is the sacrament
of the reality
of the Kingdom
already present
and operative in
history, she
proclaims to
them Jesus
Christ in whom
the Kingdom of
God has been
established"
(pp.225, 226).
In its "Theses
on
Interreligious
Dialogue," the
Theological
Advisory
Commission of
the Asian
Bishops'
Conference
recognized that
the Church does
not monopolize
God's action in
the world. While
it is aware of a
special mission
of God upon
earth, it has to
be attentive to
God's action in
the world, as
manifested also
in other
religions. This
twofold
awareness
constitutes the
two poles of the
Church's
evangelizing
action-Proclamation
and Dialogue-in
relation to
other religions.
Proclamation is
the expression
of the Church's
awareness of
being in
mission.
Dialogue is the
expression of
its awareness of
God's presence
and action
outside its
boundaries.
Proclamation is
the affirmation
of and witness
to God's action
in oneself and
in the Church.
Dialogue is the
openness and
attention to the
mystery of God's
action in the
other believer.
We cannot speak
of one without
the other. Thus,
interreligious
dialogue is a
form of sharing,
of giving and
receiving. It is
not a one-way
process. It must
really be a
dialogue, not a
monologue.
D & P echoes
this by saying,
in a passage
that should
guide Paulist
reflection on
the value of
holding together
in one Mission
Direction
Statement both
Evangelization
and
Interreligious
relations:
Interreligious
dialogue and
proclamation,
though not on
the same level,
are both
authentic
elements of the
Church's
evangelizing
mission. Both
are legitimate
and necessary.
They are
intimately
related, but not
interchangeable
. . . The two
activities
remain distinct,
but . . . one
and the same
local church,
one and the same
person, can be
diversely
engaged in both
(#77).
As a Paulist who
both engages in
formal
interreligious
dialogue with
Jews, Muslims,
Buddhists, and
who preaches
PNCEA missions,
I recognize
myself-and I
hope other
Paulists can,
too-- in the
line: "The two
activities
remain distinct,
but one and the
same person can
be diversely
engaged in
both."
The Paulists
have a longer
history of
proclamation
than of
ecumenical and
interreligious
dialogue. Our
current
community MDS
calls us to
recognize that
we, as do all
Christians, have
something to
gain from both
ecumenical and
interreligious
dialogue. Our
own faith will
be enriched. We
will be able to
discover at
greater depth,
through the
experience and
testimony of
others, certain
aspects and
dimensions of
the Divine
Mystery. We will
gain a
clarification
and a
purification of
our faith as the
encounter with
the other raises
questions and
forces us to
revise
gratuitous
assumptions. We
will uproot
deep-seated
prejudices and
overturn certain
narrow
conceptions and
outlooks.
It is because of
these fruits
that we must
say, as we
clearly do in
our MDS, that
the encounter
and the exchange
have value in
themselves. They
are an end in
themselves.
While from the
outset, they
presuppose
openness to the
other and to
God, they also
effect a deeper
openness to God
of each through
the other.
As Dupuis
summarizes it:
Thus dialogue
does not serve
as a means to a
further end.
Neither on one
side nor on the
other does it
tend to the
"conversion" of
one's partners
to one's own
religious
tradition.
Rather it tends
toward a deeper
conversion of
each to God. The
same God speaks
in the heart of
both partners;
the same Spirit
is at work in
both. It is the
same God who
calls and
challenges the
partners through
one another, by
means of their
mutual witness.
Thus they
become, as it
were, for each
other and
reciprocally, a
sign leading to
God. The proper
end of the
interreligious
dialogue is
ultimately the
common
conversion of
Christians and
the members of
other religious
traditions to
the same God-the
God of Jesus
Christ-who calls
them together
with one
another,
challenging them
through each
other. This
reciprocal call,
a sign of God's
call, is surely
mutual
evangelization.
It builds up,
between members
of various
religious
traditions, the
universal
communion which
marks the advent
of the Reign of
God (p. 234).
At the same
time, D & P does
not hesitate to
state that
dialogue, while
representing an
authentic
expression of
evangelization,
remains oriented
toward
proclamation.
That is to say,
in the process
of dialogue, we
will at some
point surely
bear witness to
"the hope that
is in us."
Sharing the
gospel-proclamation--
represents the
peak of the
Church's
evangelizing
mission. The
2002 Paulist
General Assembly
showed clear
recognition of
this in the
opening line of
its revised MDS
paragraph on
Evangelization
when it said:
Evangelization .
. . originates
and culminates
in the preaching
of the Good
News.
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