3.

Developing Awareness for Dialogue in the Catholic Church

3.1 Ecclesiam suam, the Charter of Dialogue
Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Ecclesiam suam (1964) may be regarded as the charter of
dialogue, a document contemporary with the II Vatican Council. The encyclical speaks about
the Church’s need for dialogue with the modern world in nos. 12, 13 and 14. No.12 speaks
about “the relations which the Church must establish with the surrounding world in which it
lives and works.” The encyclical recognizes the nature of the present modern world in no. 13:
“Taken as a whole, it is a world which offers to the Church not one but a hundred forms of
possible contacts, some of which are open and easy, others difficult and problematic, and many,
unfortunately, wholly unfavorable to friendly dialogue.” The encyclical entrust the Council to
determine the extent and complexity of this problem of the Church’s dialogue with the modern
world and to do what it can, to devise suitable methods for its solution.

3.2 The II Vatican Council

The II Vatican Council produced ground-breaking documents on religious pluralism, interfaith
dialogue and religious liberty. The key Council documents relevant to interfaith are:
1. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium which emphasizes Church as the
universal sacrament of salvation (LG 48)
2. The Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostrae
Aetate
3. The Declaration on Religious Freedom, Dignitatis Humanae
4. The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes
These documents in particular brought forward new ideas in the official language of the
Church.
3.3 The Two Dicasteries
3.3.1 Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID)
On Pentecost Sunday, 1964, Pope Paul VI instituted a special department of the Roman
Curia for relations with the people of other religions. Know at first as the Secretariat for Non
Christians, in 1988 it was renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
(PCID). On March 19, 2022 by an Apostolic Constitution 1, Praedicate evangelium (“preach the
Gospel”) Pope Francis changed the name of this Council to Dicastery for Interreligious
Dialogue.
1964, Pope Paul VI > Secretariate for Non-Christians> Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) in 1988> Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, 2022.

3.3.1a. Nature and Goals of DID

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An apostolic constitution (Latin: constitutio apostolica) is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the pope. By their
nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Apostolic constitutions are issued as papal bulls because of their solemn,
public form.
Among types of papal legislation, apostolic letters issued motu proprio are next in solemnity. In law, motu proprio (Latin for
"on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a
document issued by the pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him. Such a document may be addressed to the whole
church, to part of it, or to some individuals.
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DID is the central office of the Catholic Church for the promotion of interreligious dialogues in
accordance with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the declaration Nostra
Aetate. It has the following responsibilities:
1) to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the
followers of others religious traditions;
2) to encourage the study of religions;
3) to promote the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue
4) to provide resources and guidance for the work of dialogue that is being done in local
Catholic Churches
5). To sponsor events that foster a spirit of dialogue and fraternity with various groups
representing other religious traditions.

The views of the Catholic Church on dialogue have been developed in the two documents
produced by the former PCID: The Attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Followers
of Other Religious Traditions: reflections on Dialogue and Mission (1984), and Dialogue
and Proclamation (1991).

3.3.2 The Dicastery for Culture and Education

Pope Paul VI on 9 April 1965 created the “Secretariat for Non-believers” which in 1988
became the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-believers, as a focal point for the dialogue
with people of goodwill who profess no specific religion. Then John Paul II founded the
Pontifical Council of Culture in 1982 with the aim of establishing dialogue between the Church
and the cultures of our time, so that they could open themselves up to the Christian faith. On 25
March 1993 John Paul II with the Motu Proprio Inde a Pontificatus united the Pontifical
Council for Culture to the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-believers to establish a
single organism. Finally, in 2012 Pope Benedict XVI united to the Council the Pontifical
Commission for the Cultural Goods of the Church. All of this is represented by the
name Pontifical Council for Culture. On March 19, 2022 by an Apostolic Constitution,
Praedicate evangelium (“preach the Gospel”) Pope Francis merged this Council with the
Congregation for Catholic Education and became known as Dicastery for Culture and
Education.

3.3.2a Mission of Dicastery for Culture

Through this Council the Church opens up to that great, dynamic, troubled and multiform world
of contemporary culture. In this new period of history where a new humanism was arising, and
the Church, faithful to its own traditions, was aware of the universality of its mission, entering
into communion with the different forms of culture, a communion that would enrich the Church
as much as the cultures through this council.
The Council has been given the following tasks:
- To promote the encounter between the saving message of the Gospel and the cultures of our
time, often marked by unbelief or religious indifference, in order that they may be increasingly
open to the Christian faith, which creates culture and is an inspirational source of science,
literature and the arts.
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- To manifest the Church’s pastoral concern in the face of the serious phenomena of the rift
between the Gospel and cultures
- To foster the Church’s and the Holy See’s relations with the world of culture, by undertaking
appropriate initiatives concerning the dialogue between faith and cultures, and intercultural
dialogue.
- To establish dialogue with those who do not believe in God or who profess no religion
provided they are open to genuine co-operation.
- To keep up with the cultural policies and activities of governments throughout the world.
- To facilitate Church-culture dialogue at the level of universities and research centers,
organizations of artists and specialists, researchers and scholars, and to promote meetings of
note in and through these sectors of culture. Until here test
4. II Vatican Council Documents
4.1 Extra Eclessiam Nulla Salus based on Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium and Ad
Gentes
A Bishop and martyr of 3rd Century St Cyprian’s famous statement, Extra Eclessiam
Nulla Salus–Outside the Church there is no salvation, which was the dictum of the Catholic
Church until Second Vatican Council is explained in the light of the Lumen Gentium.
LG no. 48 emphasizes that the Church is the universal sacrament of salvation. “Christ,
having been lifted up from the earth has drawn all to Himself. Rising from the dead He sent His
life-giving Spirit upon His disciples and through Him has established His Body which is the
Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, He is
continually active in the world that He might lead men to the Church and through it join them to
Himself and that He might make them partakers of His glorious life by nourishing them with
His own Body and Blood.”
LG 14 teaches: All salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is
His Body. The Church is necessary for salvation and Christ is the Mediator and the way of
salvation, present to us in his body which is the Church. Jesus insisted the necessity of the faith
and baptism for salvation which is obtained in the Church through baptism as a door. Those
who know that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ and
refuse to enter it or remain in it, they will not be saved.
LG 16 and Ad Gentes 7 (Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church) teachess:
However, this affirmation is not aimed to those who through no fault of their own do not
know Christ and his Church. But those whom do not know Christ and His Gospel but seek God
with sincere heart, and moved by grace and try to do His will as they know through the dictates
of their conscience, those too may achieve eternal salvation.

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4.2 Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate
Proclaimed By His Holiness Pope Paul VI on October 28, 1965

Commonalty of Humankind
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between
different peoples are becoming stronger; the Church examines more closely her relationship to
non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among
nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws
them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race
to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His
manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the
elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations
will walk in His light.(3)
Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition,
which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the
meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what
purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and
retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses
our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?

Recognition of a Supreme Being

2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain
perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of
human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even
of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious
sense.
Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the
same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in
Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible
abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the
anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a
flight to God with love and trust.
Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this
changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able
either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher
help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the
restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising
teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and
holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life,
those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds
and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all. Indeed, she
proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom
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men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself
(2 Cor 5:18-19)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the
followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian
faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well
as the socio-cultural values found among these men.
Moslems
3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and
subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has
spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as
Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.
Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor
Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await
the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up
from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer,
almsgiving and fasting.
Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians
and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual
understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind
social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.
Judaism
4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that
spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.
Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings
of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets.
She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (Gal 3:7)-are
included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is
mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The
Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through
the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor
can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto
which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles (Rom 11:17-24) Indeed, the Church
believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles making both one in
Himself (Eph 2:14-16).
The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the
sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs
are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom 9:4-5), the Son of the
Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as
most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish
people.
As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation, (Luke 19:44)
nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading
(Rom 11:28). Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does
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not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle
(Rom 11:28-29). In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that
day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and
"serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Isa 66:23; Ps 65:4; Rom 11:11-32).
Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod
wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above
all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.
True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ
(John 19:6) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without
distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of
God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from
the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of
the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and
the spirit of Christ.
Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the
patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's
spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at
any time and by anyone.
Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death
freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation.
It is, therefore, the burden of the Church's preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign
of God's all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.
Fellowship among the Nations
5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any
man, created as he is in the image of God. Man's relation to God the Father and his relation to
men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: "He who does not love does not
know God" (1 John 4:8).
No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between
man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it
are concerned.
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or
harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary,
following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently
implores the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12),
and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of
the Father who is in heaven.(15)
4.3 II Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World (Gaudieum et Spes (nos. 19-21):
Kinds of Atheism and Its Causes
19. Human dignity rests above all on the fact that humanity is called to communion with
God. The invitation to converse with God is addressed to men and women as soon as they are
born. For if people exist it is because God has created them through love, and through love
continues to keep them in existence. They cannot live fully in the truth unless they freely
acknowledge that love and entrust themselves to their creator.
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 Types of Atheism
Many, however, of our contemporaries either do not at all perceive, or else explicitly
reject, this intimate and vital relationship with God. Atheism must therefore be regarded as one
of the most serious problems of our time, and one that deserves more thorough treatment. The
word atheism is used to signify things that differ considerably from one another. Some people
expressly deny the existence of God. Others maintain that people cannot make any assertion
whatsoever about God. Still others admit only such methods of investigation as would make it
seem quite meaningless to ask questions about God. Many, trespassing beyond the boundaries
of the positive sciences, either contend that everything can be explained by the reasoning
process used in such sciences, or, on the contrary, hold that there is no such thing as absolute
truth. With others it is their exaggerated idea of humanity that causes their faith to languish;
they are more prone, it would seem, to affirm humanity than to deny God. Yet others have such
a faulty notion of God that when they disown this product of their imagination their denial has
no reference to the God of the Gospels. There are also those who never enquire about God;
religion never seems to trouble or interest them at all, nor do they see why they should bother
about it.
Reasons for Atheism
Not infrequently atheism is born from a violent protest against the evil in the world, or
from the fact that certain human ideals are wrongfully invested with such an absolute character
as to be taken for God. Modem civilization itself, though not of its very nature but because it is
too engrossed in the concerns of this world, can often make it harder to approach God. Without
doubt those who wilfully try to drive God from their heart and to avoid all questions about
religion, not following the dictates of their conscience, are not free from blame. But believers
themselves often share some responsibility for this situation. For, in general, atheism is not
present in people's minds from the beginning. It springs from various causes, among which
must be included a critical reaction against religions and, in some places, against the Christian
religion in particular. Believers can thus have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism.
To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching
falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather
than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion.
Systematic Atheism
20. Modem atheism often takes a systematic form. There are a number of reasons for this,
among them an insistence on human autonomy so great as to put obstacles in the way of any
degree of dependence on God. For those who profess atheism of this kind freedom means that
humanity constitutes its own end and is the sole maker, in total control, of its own history. They
claim that this outlook cannot be reconciled with the assertion of a Lord who is author and end
of all things, or that at least it makes such an affirmation altogether unnecessary. The sense of
power which modern technical progress produces in people may encourage this outlook. One
form of modern atheism which should not be ignored is that which looks to people’s economic
and social emancipation for their liberation. It holds that religion, of its very nature, frustrates
such emancipation by investing people’s hopes in a future life, thus both deceiving them and
discouraging them from working for a better form of life on earth. That is why those who hold
such views, wherever they gain control of the state, violently attack religion, and in order to
7
spread atheism, especially in the education of young people, make use of all the means by
which the civil authority can bring pressure to bear on its subjects.
The Attitude of the Church Towards Atheism
21. The church, faithful to its obligations both to God and humanity, cannot cease, as in
the past, [16] to deplore, sadly yet with the utmost firmness, those harmful teachings and ways
of acting which are in conflict with reason and with common human experience, and which cast
humanity down from the noble state to which it is born.
It tries nevertheless to seek out the secret motives which lead the atheistic mind to deny
God. Well knowing how important are the problems raised by atheism, and urged by its love for
everyone, it considers that these motives deserve an earnest and more thorough scrutiny.
The church holds that to acknowledge God is in no way to diminish human dignity, since
such dignity is grounded and brought to perfection in God. Women and men have in fact been
placed in the world by God, who created them as intelligent and free beings; but over and above
this they are called as daughters and sons to intimacy with God and to share in his happiness. It
further teaches that hope in a life to come does not take away from the importance of the duties
of this life on earth but rather adds to it by giving new motives for fulfilling those duties. When,
on the other hand, people are deprived of this divine support and without hope of eternal life
their dignity is deeply impaired, as may so often be seen today. The problems of life and death,
of guilt and of suffering, remain unsolved, so that people are frequently thrown into despair.
Meanwhile, everybody remains a question to themselves, one that is dimly perceived and
left unanswered. For there are times, especially in the major events of life, when nobody can
altogether escape from such self-questioning. God alone, who calls people to deeper thought
and to more humble probing, can fully and with complete certainty supply an answer to this
questioning.
Atheism must be countered both by properly presenting true teaching and by the full and
complete life of the church and of its members. For it is the function of the church to render
God the Father and his incarnate Son present and as it were visible, while ceaselessly renewing
and purifying itself' under the guidance of the holy Spirit.[17] This is brought about chiefly by
the witness of a living and mature faith, one namely that is so well formed that it can see
difficulties clearly and overcome them. Many martyrs have borne, and continue to bear, a
splendid witness to this faith. This faith should show its fruitfulness by penetrating the entire
life, even the worldly activities, of those who believe, and by urging them to be loving and just,
especially towards those in need. Lastly, what does most to show God’s presence clearly is the
familial love of the faithful who, being all of one mind and spirit, work together for the faith of
the Gospel [18] and present themselves as a sign of unity.
Although the church altogether rejects atheism, it nevertheless sincerely proclaims that all
men and women, those who believe as well as those who do not, should help to establish right
order in this world where all live together. This certainly cannot be done without a dialogue that
is sincere and prudent. The church therefore deplores the discrimination between believers and
unbelievers which some civil authorities unjustly practice, in defiance of the fundamental rights
of the human person. It demands effective freedom for the faithful to be allowed to build up
God's temple in this world also. It courteously invites atheists to weigh the merits of the Gospel
of Christ with an open mind.
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 For the church knows full well that its message is in harmony with the most secret desires
of the human heart, since it champions the dignity of humanity’s calling, giving hope once more
to those who already despair of their higher destiny. Its message, far from diminishing humanity
helps people to develop themselves by bestowing fight, life, and freedom. Apart from this
message nothing is able to satisfy the human heart: "You have made us for yourself, o Lord, and
our heart is restless until it rest in you."[19]