John Paul II and Interreligious Dialogue (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: John Paul II and Interreligious Dialogue John T. Pawlikowski John Paul II and Interreligious Dialogue, edited by Byron L. Sherwin and Harold Kasimow; foreword by Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1999. 236 pp. $18.00. Sherwin and Kasimow have done an admirable job in presenting the thought of Pope John Paul II on interreligious relations. Essays by the editors as well as other scholars and religious leaders including the Dalai Lama, Masao Abe, Jose Ignacio Cabezon, Mahmoud Ayoub, and Wayne Teasdale constitute the bulk of the book. Cardinal Edward Cassidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and its Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, provides an appreciative introduction, while Bishop Michael Fitzgerald of the Vatican’s Commission for non-Christians concludes the volume with an extensive assessment of John Paul II’s contributions to interreligious dialogue. While the volume has some limitations which I shall refer to later, overall it is one of the most incisive, critically appreciative expositions of the full range of John Paul II’s writings on the subject of interreligious relations. In the first section of the volume co-editor Harold Kasimow examines in some depth John Paul II’s perspectives on interreligious dialogue in general, as well as on Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. For whatever reason John Paul II’s statements on Hinduism, presently the most controversial part of the Pope’s interreligious vision, are not treated in this volume. Kasimow is no apologist for John Paul II. He makes this quite clear in this first section. But he stands in great admiration of the Pope, whom he calls “the world’s most influential spiritual leader.” And he is highly impressed by the Pope’s evident deep commitment to interreligious dialogue. Kasimow identifies himself as a Jewish pluralist. Hence his basic framework is quite different from that of John Paul II, whom he correctly describes as an “inclusivist,” i.e., a person who believes all salvation ultimately comes only in and through Christ and hence Christianity is inherently superior to all non-Christian religions. Kasimow’s soulmates in the Christian community are far more theologians such as Paul Knitter and Brian Hebblethwaite. It would be interesting to know how Kasimow would evaluate the recent statement from the Vatican’s doctrinal commission which appears thoroughly to repudiate any pluralist position within Catholicism. Despite what he regards as the Pope’s inclusivist approach, he believes John Paul II [End Page 156] is far more nuanced in his thinking than many believe, and he admires the basic humanity that characterizes the Pope’s encounter with people of other faith traditions. Kasimow does observe a number of inconsistencies in John Paul’s thinking on interreligious matters and acknowledges the strong exception that some Buddhists have taken to a number of the papal statements regarding their tradition, particularly in John Paul II’s book Crossing the Threshold of Hope. These statements about Buddhism caused a severe strain in the Catholic-Buddhist dialogue that other Vatican officials had to work to repair. Part One of the book presents selected statements from John Paul II on interreli gious dialogue, and specifically on Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. The selection of texts is well done. This part of the book is one of the best textual collections currently available. It is a very valuable resource on its own. The remainder of the volume (Parts 2–5) provide commentary on John Paul II’s interreligious perspective by several persons representing the various religious traditions covered in the volume. The Buddhist response includes an interview with the Dalai Lama conducted by Wayne Teasdale and reflections by American Zen Buddhist Robert Aitken. In the course of his interview the Dalai Lama raises serious concerns about the Pope’s position on Tibet. He feels that Vatican policy has been far too soft regarding the Chinese government’s harsh policies toward Tibetan Buddhists. Masao Abe addresses what he considers defective interpretations of Buddhism in some of John Paul II’s writings. He takes issue with the Pope’s use of “atheism” with respect to Buddhism, and he believes the Pope has cast the emphasis in Buddhism on worldly detachment in much too negative...