Mission and/or Dialogue: A Roman Catholic Perspective

Abstract

Historically in the Roman Catholic church, mission and dialogue have been seen as being in opposition. Since Vatican II, however, they have come to be seen as complementary. This does not and should not remove tension between them. That tension can be creative if Christians see other religious traditions as valuable. Too often the past missionary activity of Catholicism has been neither metanoia to new consciousness, new life and orientation, nor a life of grace and being graced, but a forced and imposed proselytism which Jesus himself rejected (Mt. 23: 15). Prior to Vatican Council II (1962-1965), mission and dialogue in all but rare instances were in opposition. Nonetheless, the Christian gospel does not repudiate dialogue with any authentic cultural heritage, since such is necessary in both the humanization and divinization of peoples.' In the thirty years since Vatican Council II, in mainstream Catholic theology and practice, mission and dialogue have come to be seen as il ed with mystery, indeed, in Hidd n Heart of the Cosmos, as the title of a rthcoming book by Brian Swimme would have it. . In an interview I did with David Tracy (published in Am rica, October 14, 95), Tracy took great p ins to insist that he church involves three elements: th tel ectual, the mystical (or the realm of piety), and the institutional. Historically ristianity is at its be t when all three are h althy; defacto it is hard to get the mixre right. John Keenan's The Gospel fMark: A Mahayana Reading (Maryknoll, NY: Buddhist-Christian Studies 17 (1997). ? by University of Hawai'i Press. All rights reserved. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.111 on Tue, 09 Aug 2016 06:29:43 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ROMAN CATHOLIC PERSPECTIVE complementary. This does not eliminate, however, a creative tension between them, again both in theory and praxis. I will expand upon these positions in three moves: first, through the teaching of Vatican Council II, papal teachings, theological conferences, and Vatican synods; second, through summarizing an operative theology of mission and dialogue; and finally, drawing several conclusions. DEVELOPMENT OF CHURCH TEACHING Prior to Vatican Council II mission and evangelization were terms that referred to establishing Catholic communities in foreign lands among new peoples, namely the external work or mission of extending Catholic life.2 Although this older definition is not negated, it is now used with greater nuance to include both the internal and external work of the Catholic church. The Catholic individual, born as such, or the Catholic family or parish, in the process of sanctification is the work and/or the mission of Catholicism as well as individuals or communities external to the church either in western Christian countries or elsewhere in the greater religious world. Dialogue, likewise, is a reality that takes place both internally and externally to Catholicism itself. This central insight that mission and dialogue operate concurrently both internally and externally to the Catholic community becomes fundamental to whatever questions are raised to either and to contextualize any response to such questions. The Vatican Council II did not issue a uniform and consistent distinction between mission and dialogue. This became the work of theologians and bishops from around the world, especially from the Asian churches, along with groups within the Vatican itself who tried to articulate guidelines for the practice of the universal church. It is not uncommon that praxis precedes theory but generally theoretical guidelines are intended to articulate normative practices for the global institution. The tension between mission and dialogue works itself out in terms of whether one maximizes or minimizes the value(s) of other cultures and religions. If one sees value, significant and revelatory value in the world religions, the tension between mission and dialogue is minimized and viewed as creative; if one gives little value to other religious traditions, the tensions between mission and dialogue are aggravated.3 Even before the end of the council, Pope Paul VI established in 1964 the Secretariat for Non-Christians, but Pope John Paul II in 1989 renamed it the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. This indicates both the centrality given to dialogue with the religions of the world and the development of Catholic thinking in twenty-five years. The first use of the term dialogue (colloquium in Latin) appeared in the documents of 1965 having as its object all humanity, the faithful of other religious communities, all Christians, and even those within the Roman Catholic church itself. CathoThis content downloaded from 207.46.13.111 on Tue, 09 Aug 2016 06:29:43 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms