"DOMINUS IESUS" WON'T HURT REAL DIALOGUE, PROFESSOR SAYS

Interview with an Expert in Eastern Religions

ROME, OCT. 1, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- An expert on Eastern religions says the Vatican's recent declaration about the Catholic Church as the "universal sacrament of salvation" will not hurt genuine dialogue between religions.

Father Gaetano Favaro, is professor in the Institutes of Religious Sciences of Milan and Brescia, and the department of theology in Lugano commented on the "Dominus Iesus" (The Lord Jesus) declaration to the Italian newspaper Avvenire.

"Dominus Iesus," published Sept. 5 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has come under criticism from other religions for its tone and its reiteration of the Second Vatican Council's teaching that the one Church of Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church."

Father Favaro said that despite the criticism, "the Church continues to be the universal sacrament of salvation and 'mendicant of wisdom.' It underlines the definitive and completely original revelation of Jesus Christ, the one Savior, but it is very aware of the good the Holy Spirit brings about in men's hearts and in the different religious traditions."

Father Favaro, who is a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, or PIME, said he does not see an obstacle to genuine dialogue in the document's publication, a dialogue "which cannot disregard the truth," he said Sept. 30.

He added, "John Paul II himself stressed this in his message to the congress on 'Men and Religions,' held in Lisbon [see ZENIT, Sept. 26, 2000]. We must not slow down the steps of dialogue, which does not ignore the real differences, but neither does it cancel the common condition of pilgrims. ... We must all be more intrepid on this road."

"In all recent teachings, there is room for search and the reaffirmation of the need for inculturation of the Gospel," the theologian said. "Undoubtedly, the relation with Eastern philosophies and with postmodern relativist thought is a complex aspect."

--Avvenire: Why is it not possible to accept relativism or Eastern philosophies?

--Father Favaro: The relativist position, with respect to truth, ignores the metaphysical dimension of the historical Incarnation of the eternal Logos, reducing it to the mere appearance of God in history. Moreover, a certain convergence between the Western rationalist mentality and Eastern symbolic thought led to the increasingly widespread conviction of the impossibility to express and communicate divine truth, including Christian revelation.

These are positions that characterize postmodern thought and so-called weak thought, but which are also found in Eastern thought. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, himself was clear. During the press conference he identified the relativist philosophy that is at the root of so much post-metaphysical Western thought and Asian negative theology.

--Avvenire: Hence the specific risk of a dangerous syncretism ...

--Father Favaro: Above all, the negation of the personal unity between the eternal Word and Jesus of Nazareth, who died and resurrected. There is no lack of theologians who wish to dialogue with the Asian world, who are committed to the inculturation of the Gospel, and who often use the categories of negative theology, imbibing the great Hindu tradition, which has never separated religion and the philosophy of mysticism.

For some currents of this religious tradition, the world tends to be pure illusion, and the same is true of everything that pertains to history. One can immediately see the consequences of this position in regard to the birth and death of Christ. The "Dominus Iesus" declaration does not block theological research and does not subscribe exclusively to one theology to the detriment of others, but attempts to put these theologies on guard so that they will not come to a dead end.

Then there is the question of Buddhism, with the problem of the silence of God and on God. It seems that in some Buddhist currents, no question about God can even be asked ... because the question already implies the answer. However, if the Absolute cannot be configured or represented, then one is left with the impossibility of expressing oneself on the reality of God.

--Avvenire: As a result, in the name of dialogue, the worth of Revelation and of the incarnation of Christ would be devalued.

--Father Favaro: The risk exists and, with it, the danger of casting doubt on the essential unity of the saving plan of God that enters history. This is what Ratzinger himself points out as the "ideology of the dialogue." As a result, there is the risk of placing other traditional religions on the same plane as revealed faith, degrading the unique and universal character of salvation in Christ.

--Avvenire: There are those who maintain, specifically, that when there is belief in Christ as the only Savior, dialogue is impeded.

--Father Favaro: The document must be seen in a dynamic historical context, keeping in mind its specific objective: a text directed to the Catholic Church that affirms the truths about Christ against certain degeneration. It does not affirm simplistically the exclusivity of historical Christianity, but rather affirms the exclusivity of salvation through Christ, one and true Son of God.

This oneness of mediation also acts in other religions, at least in those in which the work of the Holy Spirit is recognized. A Hindu is saved not so much by his religion but only through Christ. This is what "Redemptoris Missio," which the document refers to, defines with the name "participant mediations." The dialogue must be built on these "mediations," appreciating the good that exists in the religious traditions.

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