AT THE FOOT OF THE MASTER On Inter-Religious Dialogue

Fr. M. Amaladoss

Position of the Church and Path for future

Loyola - IDCR Chennai had organised an evening session with Fr. M. Amaladoss sj to present the picture of the climate of inter-religious dialogue in the Catholic Church five decades after Vatican II on February 07, 2013. Dr. Israel Selvanayagam, Lutheran professor of religion, responded to the lecture enfleshing the protestant counterpart on the topic. At the outset, the event was a moment of learning in a cordial atmosphere of friendship, sharing, laughter, discussion and introspection. In his lecture, Fr. Amaladoss highlighted the general openness in the Catholic Church towards other religions of the world and its theological conviction about their contribution towards the well-being of the world at large under divine guidance  It contained a systematic presentation of its official beginning with the Vatican II and development down the centuries. There were direct quotes from Vatican II documents, Statements on the other religions (inter-religious dialogue) from FABC and CBCI to strengthen his thesis. However, he never failed to point the current recession in its openness with the arrival of the new Pope. It was interesting reminder from Fr. Amaladoss that the inter-religious dialogue began long before Vatican II in India.

Here are some salient points at random:

1.      No Indian theological denies the fact that Jesus Christ is the saviour of the world. But, there are quite many ways he chooses to reach the people other than church. On this point, we go by the previous Pope.

2.      Salvation is the work of God, through his son the second person of the trinity with the help of the Holy Spirit. Religions therefore are facilitators of the divine-human encounter. Church is one among them.

3.      We need therefore shift from Ecclesiocentrism to the Kingdom of God.

4.      The scriptures of other religions are inspired.

5.      We need to conceive baptism no more as a passport to salvation but as a call to live our commitment to Christ. We should, as a result, be least anxious about missionary work (saving the world) but open for freely willed conversions.

6.      Apart from intellectual and spiritual exchanges between religions, ‘daily life’ is the platform for dialogue.

7.      There is great openness and secularism in our country.  

8.      Hence there is a hope of continual exchange, peaceful co-existence and mutual enrichment.

In response, while everyone appreciated and welcomed his ideas, some were skeptical about, i) the relevance of religion in the world today, ii) the response from other religions, and iii) his position on evangelisation. Generally, there arose a consensus on joining hands with others. 

It was a great evening sitting at the feet of the Master on Inter-religious dialogue.