We All Belong to One Human Family

2 July 2009

“The first thought that comes to my mind while sharing these few thoughts with you is that we all belong to one human family. The Introduction of the Second Vatican Council Declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the relations of the Catholic Church with believers of other religions merits to be quoted: “One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men…” (N. 1).

The unity of the human family constitutes the ultimate foundation of a global solidarity and the basis for the research for common ethical values, which fortunately arouse a growing interest in our days. 

Often a question is asked: “Do objective moral values exist capable of uniting men and of procuring for them peace and happiness?”. How believers answer such a question?

Believers are convinced that ethics cannot only produce norms of behavior, but must shape the human conscience and help to discover the demands of natural law: we have to do good and to avoid evil. This is a fundamental principle which imposes itself to everybody and which allows dialogue with persons of different religions and cultures. So as believers, we must be able indicate to our fellow men and women that our values are fundamental for our fellow men and women in order to foster mutual comprehension, recognition and cooperation among all the members of the human family.   

           The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 constitutes one of the highest expressions of the conscience of modern history. No doubt it has contributed to make men and women of our time aware of the patrimony of values inherent to the human person and to its dignity. 

Believers nevertheless are in a position of giving a new light teaching that man has been created in the image of God. They have been created equal. They have received from the Creator inalienable rights among which the right to live, to be free and to look for happiness. 

So consequently we have to measure the progress of science and of technology not only according to their results, but also according to their capacity to defend the specificity of the human person and to check if the spiritual fundamental values are prevailing over our instinctive reactions. It is why so often pope Benedict recalls the nobility of reason which manifests itself through authentic human behavior of the person and of the society. It is therefore always urgent to check if in our life the truth prevails over ambiguity. A trend to separate human rights from the ethical and rational dimensions should be resisted.

The legislator should behave in a manner which is ethically responsible because politics cannot make abstraction of ethics nor civil law and legal order can make abstraction of a superior moral law.

The great religious wisdoms and philosophies have to witness to the existence of a moral patrimony widely shared, which forms the basis of every dialogue on moral questions; this patrimony expresses a universal ethical message that man can decipher. The form and the extension of these traditions can considerably differ according cultures and situations, but nevertheless they remind us of the existence of a patrimony of moral values common to all human beings. For example, the “golden rule”, ‘do not do to any body what do you not want to be done to you” (Tb 4: 15) is found, under a form or another, in the majority of the traditions of wisdom.

Individuals and communities are able, in the light of reason, to recognize the fundamental orientations of an ethical behavior consistent with the nature of the human subject himself.

I hope these few thoughts can open the way to our reflection, as we are going to share our convictions about important issues!

The Role of Religious Leaders in Building A Peace

Based on Tolerance, Mutual Respect and Cooperation
Astana, 1 July 2009

Mr. President,

Eminencies, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Friends

            My first thought is an expression of gratitude to God All Loving and Almighty Who gave us the grace to come together in this welcoming country, rich of its great variety of ethnicities, traditions, cultures and religions. Kazakhstan is a clear demonstration that harmony can match with diversity!

            I bring you the greetings and good wishes of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI whom I have the honour to represent at this gathering. The Pope follows with interest this important event and prays that it be a valuable contribution for the peace and harmony among persons and communities of various religions.

            I intend to speak of how the Catholic Church understands peace, how to build peace and what is the specific role of religious leaders at this end.

1. Peace 

            Christians consider peace as a gift from God and at the same time the ‘fruit’ of human hands. It implicates at the same time God and man. Christ said to his disciples, before his death and resurrection, that he leaves them “his peace”. Christians have therefore a particular vision of peace. It is not only the absence of war, or the balance of terror, but is the sum of many goods, especially that of security. It is the fruit of justice. War, on the contrary, with all its chain of horrors, is one of worst tragedies that can occur to communities and nations. Peace grows like a precious plant, it needs continuous caring. Humanity needs promote a culture of peace always and everywhere.

            May I mention two particular initiatives of the Catholic Church at the service of peace. The first one: the establishment of a Day of Prayer for Peace the 1^st January, and the sending by the Pope of a Message for Peace to the political leaders of the World. The second one: the establishment of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace which manifests the intrinsic link between peace and justice.

2. Basis of Peace

The theme of this Congress indicates three basis of peace: tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation.

2.1. Tolerance

            Tolerance has a rather negative meaning; it could nevertheless be considered a lesser evil, a minimum. A brother is not just to be tolerated; he has to be loved.

2.2. Mutual Respect

            Respect is a core value, a fundamental concept in human relations. Without it, nothing good could be achieved even if other noble sentiments are present like pity, compassion etc. Respect of the other does not mean acceptation of what he believes or approval of his behaviour. It is rather an attitude of consideration based of the fundamental and inalienable dignity of every human being.         

2.3. Cooperation

            This means working together for the common good and to help those who are in all kinds of need, especially the most needy.

            The issue of cooperation among believers of different religions has been often raised. Many ask that dialogue go beyond nice elites’ exchange, to go from words to deeds.

            The Catholic Church teaching retains four major forms of dialogue: the dialogue of life, the dialogue of action, the dialogue of theological exchange, and the dialogue of religious experience. What interests us more in this case is “the dialogue of action in which Christians and other collaborate for the integral development and liberation of people.” (Dialogue and Proclamation. Reflections and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Joint Document of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples, Vatican City 19 May 1991).

            As we are speaking of the basis of peace, let us remember the four pillars of peace mentioned in the encyclical Pacem in Terris of Pope John XXIII: Truth, Justice, Love and Liberty. No peace without justice, no justice without love, no love without liberty. It is my pleasure to inform you that these peace foundations have been the object of a Christian-Muslim Colloquium held in Rome in 2003.   

3. Building Peace and the Role of Religious Leaders

            In the process of peace building, religious leaders occupy an important role, even a decisive one. Along with the family and the school, they are among the most important educators. They teach and educate through their words and especially through their example. If their teaching is one of respect of every person, his or her dignity, rights - especially in the religious field -, of universal fraternity, pardon, benevolence, the fruits will certainly be peace among persons and communities. You know that religions are some times accused of being source of conflict, this is why many look at them with suspicion, even with fear. It is therefore our responsibility as religious leaders to prove that they are mistaken and that the vocation of religions and of religious leaders is to promote and to protect the divine precious gift of peace.

Dear Friends,

            Our world is what we want it to be; our future is the one we choose and construct together. Our presence as religious leaders, scholars and personalities representing our respective communities is an evident expression of our wish and commitment of friendly and constructive relations among the followers of all religions. Let us work for peace, build peace, give and receive peace!

Interreligious Dialogue; A Risk or an Opportunity?
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran

Canisius Lecture – Boston College, 2 April 2009

          The plurality of beliefs and religious memberships in western societies is one of the distinctive features of the beginning of the 21^st century.    Certainly, Christianity remains dominant but it is not a point of reference. Generally speaking religion became for many an option and the fact of being a member of a church an irrelevant question: believing without belonging. Centuries of rationalization have led Westerners to ignore their Christian roots.  The Enlightenment, Scientism and the Marxist and Nazi Totalitarianism of the last century have contributed to place the human person at the center of reality.  In so doing, man has had the illusion to be the measure of everything.  The consequence has been that many of our contemporaries have been convinced - and are still convinced - that what human reason cannot explain or justify, simply does not exist.  The supernatural has been in principle, eliminated.  Nothing exists outside of what I can see, hear or verify. 

          But here comes the paradox.  Before the eclipse of the religious dimension of life, we are witnessing a remake of religious landscape on a more individualistic and emotional mode.   Because of four factors:

1.The sects

2.The new Catholic communities coming from the Charismatic movement

3.the success met by the traditional asiatic religious traditions and I am thinking of Buddhism

Ant the lasting presence of Muslims representing all forms and types.   They represent between 3% and 5 % of the European population. 

          Acts of terrorism justified by a small group of rebellious Islamists, material and cultural poverty, the hazards of the environment, have generated a pervasive feeling of precariousness.  So many of our fellow men and women have come to ask themselves the fundamental questions which are listed in the Declaration of the Second Vatican Council on Relations of the Church to non-Christian religions (Nostre Aetate):  "What is the meaning and purpose of life?  Where does suffering originate?  How can genuine happiness be found?  What happens at death?".  Perhaps we have forgotten too quickly that man is the only creature who questions about the world and wonders about himself.  

          So many speak about the resurgence of religion.In reality it is not a return to Christianity, but a resurgence of religions in their diversity. There is no religiously homogeneous society:  Americans know that better than any others.  

          As I mentioned before the active presence of numerous Sects which are attracting ordinary people by the simplicity of their message and the warmth of their community life; the seduction that oriental religions exercise on the secularized European citizen.  (Buddhism, for example, has become the third largest religion in France and Islam are factors which  have contributed to this change of approach to religion)        Islam in particular (the 2^nd largest religion) has become in Europe and Muslims has sought greater visibility for their religion.   They ask for places of worship, the possibility of wearing distinctive religious garb; in a word, they are asking for room for God in public dialogue. So in a way we can say that we are condemned to dialogue with other religions.  They are the expression of the quest of men and women of all times and all cultures to find answers to the unsolved riddles of human existence. 

I. What is Dialogue Then?  

          I found a definition in Dictionnaire des notions philosofiques (PUF 1990 vol 1, p. 642): "There is dialogue when individuals or human groups are in disagreement on a point that they deem essential, and try to resolve their differences, exchanging arguments and objections instead of relying on violence."  

          Applied to interreligious dialogue this definition helps us to understand that, in the context of religion, it is not a question of being kind to others, or pleasing them.  It is not even a negotiation. In negotiation I find a solution to problems and the matter is closed.  In interreligious dialogue I take a risk.  Certainly I am not going to give up my own convictions.  But I let myself be called into question by the religious convictions of another; and I accept taking into consideration arguments that are different than my own or those of my community.  In such a situation it is important to state that it is not religions that dialogue among themselves but rather believers that do it.  Believers are the subject and the destination of dialogue.  Dialogue does not necessarily mean agreement. It supposes that everyone can affirm what he himself believes.  The primary purpose of interreligious dialogue is to know the religion of my neighbor, not to convert the other, even if this dialogue creates a climate propitious to conversion.  

          So we can say that interreligious dialogue is an occasion to deepen my own convictions. As Christians we confess that Jesus Christ is the single mediator between God and Man (1 Tim 2:5).   We are not asked to find the lowest religious common denominator.  Or to say that all religions teach more or less the same thing (that would be relativism). No, it is rather an occasion to state that all believers, and all those who are looking for the Absolute, have the same dignity.  Dialogue supposes equality between partners but not equality between doctrines.  For us, Jesus and the founders of other religions cannot be put on the same level: He is the One who has revealed in a unique and definitive manner who is God: no one has ever seen God; it is the only Son who is nearest to the Father's heart who has made Him known. (John 1:18).

          But according to our Christian faith, we also recognize that God is present in every person since the first moment of life, much before anyone belongs to a religion. "Those who through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation… whatever good or truth is found amongst them is considered by the Church to be a preparation for the Gospel."  (Lumen Gentium, 16)  So we can say that every human being is fundamentally structured by this presence and this calling.

          Then we can understand better what the Encyclical of Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio , affirms (n. 56): 

"Dialogue does not originate from tactical concerns or self-interest, but is an activity with its own guiding principles, requirements and dignity. It is demanded by deep respect for everything that has been brought about in human beings by the Spirit who blows where he wills. Through dialogue, the Church seeks to uncover the 'seeds of the Word,' a 'ray of that truth which enlightens all men'; these are found in individuals and in the religious traditions of mankind. Dialogue is based on hope and love, and will bear fruit in the Spirit. Other religions constitute a positive challenge for the Church: they stimulate her 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."

          If the Holy Spirit is at work in every human being, if in every human being there is the light of Christ, the consequences are no less than amazing.  It means that all the positive that we discover in other religions is not only darkness but shares in the great Light that enlightens all the other lights.All that is true in a religion awaits its completion in Christ.  And at this point we have to read St Justin in his first Apology: "Those who have lived in conformity with the Word are Christians."  Pope Benedict XVI two years ago in an audience on March 22, 2007, commented:  "Every person as a rational being shares in the Logos, carrying within himself a 'seed', and can perceive glimmers of the truth. Thus, the same Logos who revealed himself as a prophetic figure to the Hebrews of the ancient Law also manifested himself partially, in 'seeds of truth', in Greek philosophy."

          And then the same the Pope mentioned another quotation of Justin in his Second Apology (13:4):  "Whatever things were rightly said among all men are the property of us Christians".  You have recognized the concept of Logos Spermatikom.   So we turn to read Nostra Aetate again:  "The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in this religion.  She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and concepts although deferring in many ways from her own teaching, often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men." (2)

          The other religions represent for us Christians a challenge to be met.    They compel us to recognize the signs of the presence of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit.  We are compelled to witness to the integrity of revelation.   So the question arises:  

II. What are the Conditions of Dialogue?

1.  The partners must have a clear-cut idea of their spiritual identities.  They have the duty and therefore the right to proclaim their own beliefs and at the same time, respect the beliefs of the other.  There can be no charity without respect of the otherness of the ideas of the other believers.  Religions must be a source of Peace  The catechesis in our parishes, the teaching in our seminaries and universities, must be more and more profound in order to transmit to the younger generation the specificity of their faith. Dialogue cannot be built on ambiguity.  

2.  Regular meetings must be organized in order to learn more about the religious beliefs of the others, thus dispelling fear of the other, because ignorance begets fear. We must be honest with our partners; we cannot hide our differences.A Christian who has discovered that "Jesus is the unique mediator between God and Man" (1 Tim 2:5) cannot keep to himself such good news!  Let us listen to Pope Benedict "Such great gifts are never destined to one person.  In Christ the great Light is born.  We cannot put it under the bushel basket on the lampstand." (Discourse to the Roman Curia 21-12-07)

3.  To consider the other not as a rival, but as a fellow seeker of God.  To respect the otherness of the other, his beliefs, his culture and his convictions, means that I consider that he has the same dignity, the same rights as I do.  Sometimes people say, "error has no rights".  But "error" is an abstraction; it is not a person.  A person keeps his fundamental rights even when he is wrong.   Sometimes when taking part in roundtables or academic meetings we are listening to a succession of monologues. No one really listens to what the other is saying.  To welcome the other is also to listen to him in silence because we our convinced that other religions do possess a ray of the Truth which enlightens all human persons.  All this avoiding the pitfalls of confusion and relativism.  Then interreligious dialogue is an exchange of gifts which is occurs through four different modalities of human activity:          

1. dialogue of life:good neighborly relations with non-Christians which encourage the sharing of joys and troubles;

2. dialogue of works: collaboration with a view to the well-being of both groups, especially people who live alone, in poverty or sickness;

3. dialogue of theological exchange which permits experts to understand in depth the respective religious heritages;

4. dialogue of spiritualities which makes available the riches of the life of prayer of both groups to anyone in either group; Interreligious dialogue therefore mobilizes all those who are on their way towards God or towards the Absolute.

III.Then comes my last consideration. Interreligious Dialogue is a decisive contribution to the harmony of our societies.

          Believers who carry on the kind of dialogue I tried to illustrate do not pass unnoticed since citizens who adhere to religion are the majority. There is a religious factor that is at the heart of social life. By their number, by the length of their traditions, by the visibility of their institutions and their lives, believers are easily identified.  They are appreciated or they are opposed, but they never leave one indifferent.   Civil authorities cannot ignore them.  Moreover they can benefit from them by the number of values which can help greatly to the common good:

1.    respect for the dignity of the human person and his rights

2.    sense of brotherhood and mutual assistance.

3.    human maturity which helps to avoid being enslaved by consumerism and profit alone.

4.    a know-how of living "diversity in unity" as we can see from worshiping assemblies.

IV. Conclusion

          To conclude then, I return to the title of my lecture: Interreligious dialogue, a risk or an opportunity?  Of course you have guessed my answer: It is both.  

          Interreligious dialogue is a risk because when I ask a follower of another religion, Who is your God?, How do you live your faith in your everyday life?, I leave myself open to the same question coming to me soon after, and I shall have to give an account of my own religious convictions.   

          Interreligious dialogue is also an opportunity because I am invited to reflect about my own religion keeping my Christian identity. We must always remember that it is not religions which carry on dialogue but rather the believers, concrete men and women belonging to specific communities.

          I should say that in a way believers in today's world are heralds of a two-fold message:

1.    Only God is worthy of adoration.  Therefore all idols made by men (wealth, power, appearance, hedonism) constitute a danger for the dignity of the human person, God's creation.

2.    In God's sight all men and women belong to the same race, to the same family and are all called to encounter him after death.

            So we can say that believers are prophets of hope.  They do not believe in fate.  They know, that gifted by God with a heart and an intelligence, they can, with His help, change the course of history in order to shape their lives according to the project of the Creator, that is to say to make of humanity an authentic family.

          For us Christians, we look at Jesus as a model in our efforts towards dialogue.  First of all, he is aware of "being sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 15:24). But, this has not kept him from welcoming to all those he met along the road, especially those rebuked and foreigners.  Misunderstanding and rejection never prevented him from announcing the Good News, not even death.

          Furthermore, if God is in himself dialogue (Father, Son and Holy Spirit); if the Christian life is a dialogue between God and each one of us; if we recognized that God is at work in every human person, then we can understand that interreligious dialogue is a consequence of such reality and we can understand better what Pope Paul VI affirmed in his Encyclical Letter, Ecclessium Suam: ""The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it lives. It has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make." (n. 65)

          Interreligious dialogue is our responsibility. As marked out by BSVI "We are called to give a new impetus to interreligious and intercultural dialogue by means of our common research and by highlighting and disseminating everything in our respective spiritual heritages that helps to strengthen fraternal ties between our communities of believers. I insist once again. Interreligious research and dialogue are not an option but a vital need for our time. (Address to the Members of the Foundation for Intercultural and Interreligious Research and Dialogue, 1 February 2007). 

          As we celebrate the Pauline year, let us rightly remember the words of that man of dialogue who Paul was when he wrote to Timothy: "God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of Truth. (1 Tim 2:4)