Vatican II and interreligious relationships

Dec 17, 2015

SHAH ALAM: 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to non-Christian Religions). What better moment in time than this to reflect its impact on the Church, what has changed within the Church, what continues to change in the modern world and how the Church is responding to the challenge?

Fifty-five participants from 14 churches in and around Kuala Lumpur, from as far as Batang Berjuntai, came each night Nov 30 - Dec 1, to the Church of the Divine Mercy to listen to Dr Edmund Chia from the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.

Popes John 23rd and Paul VI had presided over the Vatican II meetings between 1962 and 1965. It was  the era of nuclear brinksmanship between the US and the USSR. It was also the post World War 2 decolonisation period when many African, Asian and Latin American countries became independent.  The diversity of race, language, faith, culture and ethnicity was as dazzling as it was confusing! Vatican II had to suddenly deal with the presence of more than 2400 representing much of this diversity.

It challenged the old order and aggiornamento — updating the Church  — had to be the order of the day. Pope John 23rd brought his ideals of interfaith inclusivity to the Vatican Papacy, having interacted with rabbis and Muslim scholars while he was a nuncio in Bulgaria. These personal experiences had equipped him to rise to the challenge of the times. He made Vatican II such a landmark event  in Church history because “discernment” was no longer confined to scripture but to the reality of the sufferings, struggles and real-life experiences of the people of God throughout the world.

The Church was no longer to be dominated by Europeans. The foreign bishops were accompanied by their own advisors and expert theologians. Some of these were Protestants, who had a headstart in Biblical studies since the Reformation when Martin Luther broke away from Rome. The main debate in the Church today continues between the hermeneutics of continuity — or those supporting tradition and the old order versus the hermeneutics of discontinuity, and modernists advocating a radical shift from the past.  “Hermeneutics” is the historical critical  approach to understanding faith in light of the interpretation of texts that take into account the socioeconomic, religio-political and even the psychological challenges of the modern world. This debate continually clarifies and refines the movement of the Holy Spirit as it reveals the face of God from the lived experiences of God’s people.

The Catholic Church’s stand that “there is no salvation outside the Church” prior to Vatican II changed after Nostra Aetate to the position that “the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in the non Christian Re ligions.” The Church had become much more open. The Liturgy was now no longer only in Latin but in the languages of the people. The laity became more involved with Church.

Nostra Aetate is one of the shortest of the Vatican II documents, yet its impact has been very notable. There are five paragraphs, comprising 1,600 words, that deal with Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. But the longest paragraph is devoted to Judaism, considered the enemy of Christianity for many centuries, arising from the fact that Jesus was crucified by his own  people.

Popes John Paul II and Benedict were challenged, in the closing decades of the last century, to lead the Vatican into the Assisi interfaith peace events. They were responding to the call of Church leaders from Asia, Africa and Latin America.  Dr Chia’s  video clips showed the power of the “theology of symbols” where popes are seen, for the first time, visiting synagogues and mosques and standing alongside leaders of other faiths as a community of believers.

They were showing their followers that respecting peoples of other faiths is the first step in the reconciliation process, not only with followers of the “Book,” namely the Jews and Muslims but also with Buddhists, Hindus and peoples of indigenous faiths. Interfaith Dialogue became key terms for these proceedings, held regionally and internationally..

Pope Francis continues to break with Papal tradition by his humble leadership example, by washing the feet of prisoners and women, and actively engaging with the poor as seen during his recent visit to Kenya’s slums. The Holy Spirit moves in ways inviting the people of God  to embrace change