Expert: Rick Jackson - 4/29/2007

Question
Dear Rick,

                We use the phrase "Roman Catholic" in place of "Catholic" to avoid confusion. Most Christian faith groups acknowledge the Nicene Creed and thus regard themselves as "Catholic," at least as far as being part of the "catholic and apostolic church." Within any one given faith group, the meaning of the term "Catholic" is relatively clear. But our site deals with all Christian denominations and all other religions. To assure clarity and to avoid ambiguity, we use the term "Roman Catholic" when referring to the church headed by the pope in Rome. We use similar terms (e.g. Evangelical Catholic, Anglo-Catholic) when referring to some other faith groups.  Is it true that Catholicism really fits with the bible the whole bible? I got people barking at me left to right saying my church or religion for that matter is false and that we are worshipping Satan and also Idol worshipping I am so fed up with this non sence who is right is this wrong what they said about Catholics?

Why do Catholics need to dialogue with the major world religions?



The immediate purpose of dialogue is not to convert them to Christianity but to begin to learn about them and the role that their faith plays in their lives, just as Christianity does in our own. The dawn of the new millennium is the ideal moment to call on the Holy Spirit to help us all come together in a common dialogue that highlights the ways in which we are alike rather than those in which we differ.

In exploring the five major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity) in my course at Georgetown University, my purpose is not to view world religions through a Christian lens as such but to help my students look at followers of major religious traditions as persons of faith who are open to dialogue. Giving students the freedom to articulate their understandings while providing them with a foundation upon which to base their explorations usually results in not a diminishment, but a strengthening of their faith. They learn more about themselves and are better able to understand the role different religions have played and continue to play in the growth and development of the U.S. The class is an effort to live up to the mandate of Vatican II to engage in interreligious dialogue that promotes greater harmony and understanding among the many peoples and nations of this rapidly shrinking world. Today, as we prepare to welcome a new millennium, dialogue also addresses the hopes outlined by Pope John Paul 11: "...The eve of the Year 2000 will provide a great opportunity, especially in view of the events of recent decades, for interreligious dialogue....ln this dialogue the Jews and Muslims ought to have a pre-eminent place" (The Coming Third Millennium).

I tell those non catholics and  anti catholics this: as well:What is Mary's relationship to Catholics living today?
Before the Second Vatican Council, Catholics kept Mary on a pedestal, emphasizing her privileged uniqueness. We were so busy craning our necks to look up to her that we missed out on her presence at our side. But the Fathers of Vatican II offered new advice. Paraphrasing Lumen Gentium, they said: "Look again. Mary is a human being who, like us, needed to be redeemed by her Son. She is a model who goes before us, guiding our pilgrimage of faith. She assures us that we too are capable of fidelity to God's call."

We know from Mary's experience as well as our own that hope does not immunize us against doubt, suffering or spiritual setbacks. Her humanity left her vulnerable to misunderstanding Jesus' mission, enduring the stress of his conflicts with religious authorities, bearing the devastation of his humiliating death. Can any parent who has witnessed his or her child's violent death doubt that the green shoots of hope in Mary's heart were trampled and nearly extinguished at Calvary? Yet she endured. And when the early Church gathered to pray for the Spirit's coming, she poured out that same heart in confident expectation.

If we see ourselves as God's works of art ("I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;/Wonderful are your works"-Ps 139:14), we will honor Mary as God's masterwork. We will treasure the mystery by which she is "potentially every woman, every man." We will emulate her interiority, her prayerfulness, her trust, her hope. For she is an accessible model for all ages. Jackson are we the only true religion that is of God. and all others that arent catholic false?  

Answer
Hi CR.

1. "Is it true that Catholicism really fits with the bible the whole bible?"

Don't forget: It is the catholic (small "c") church that GAVE us the Bible.  For 300 years, the early Christians had no Bible...certainly no New Testament.  There is not a single Roman Catholic doctrine or practice that contradicts anything in the Bible.

2. "Why do Catholics need to dialogue with the major world religions?"  Because we are commanded to do so; by Christ to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." and by the apostle to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"

Dialog is especially with non-Catholic Christians to help show them what they are missing.  They mean well and strive to serve Christ.  We share that in common...so we need to behave as if we really do believe that the Body of Christ (his Church) is one.

3. "are we the only true religion that is of God. and all others that aren't catholic false?"

The Church does not present our faith that way.  See, for example, this section of the Catechism (Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 3, Article 9, Paragraph 3, SubSection 3, Heading 4: The Church and non-Christians):

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,  "the first to hear the Word of God."  The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ",  "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."

840 And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.

841 The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day."

842 The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race:

   All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."

844 In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors that disfigure the image of God in them:

   Very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair.

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.

I hope this has helped answer your questions.

Rick.
www.catholictruths.com