Dialogue as a new way of being church

Last year (2024), the Church celebrated 60 years of Ecclesiam Suam of Pope Paul VI. In this encyclical letter, the Pope sets Dialogue as the agenda for the Church. The word Dialogue, as a description of communication within the Church, is new. It is not found in pre-conciliar ecclesiology. As such, dialogue expresses an important reality being promoted by the Church since Vatican II.  Pope Paul VI was convinced that “The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it lives. It has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make.” (ES 65).  He saw dialogue as the new way of being Church.  There is no other way. One could say that the synodal process initiated by Pope Francis is in line with the vision of his predecessor, Paul VI. This dialogue, says the Pope, begins in the mind of God. “Indeed, the whole history of man’s salvation is one long, varied dialogue, which marvelously begins with God and which He prolongs with men in so many different ways” (ES 70). Since Vatican II the Church has taken a new attitude, indeed a new approach, towards other churches, other religions, including a new approach to cultures, which are viewed in a positive way. 

By issuing Ecclesiam Suam, Paul VI wanted to “demonstrate with increasing clarity how vital it is for the world, and how greatly desired by the Catholic Church, that the two should meet together, and get to know and love one another” (ES 3). This is clearly crystallized in the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world (Gaudium et Spes) and in the declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions (Nostra Aetate). Ecclesiam Suam was written in the spirit of aggiornamento that called for a change of mindset and renewal of attitudes. Thus, it became imperative to Pope Paul VI to “examine the mental attitude, which the Catholic Church must adopt regarding the contemporary world.” (ES, 58), thus, setting the Church’s agenda for dialogue. This agenda is guided by three fundamental principles: (a) A deepening self-knowledge on the part of the church (ES 9-40); (b) Renewal and reform within the church (ES 41-57), (c) Greater dialogue between the Church and the world (ES 58, 108).

Dialogue was so dear to Paul VI that he created in 1964 the Secretariat for non-Christians, now the dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and in 1965 he created the Secretariat for Dialogue with non-believers. Pope John XXIII had already crated the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity in 1960, while John Paul II created the Pontifical Council for Culture in 1982. The creation of these offices show important dialogue is for the life of and the mission entrusted to the Church. Pope Paul VI’s message is still relevant today.  Dialogue is rooted in the Church’ self-awareness of her identity and mission.  Consequently, Church members are called to a pastoral conversion, from a church that looks inwards to a church that looks forward and engages with the world. This has been echoed by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium.

 It is in this line, that the Tangaza Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies (IRDIS), sponsored by the Missionaries of Africa, endeavours to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue, as part and parcel of the evangelizing mission of the Church. Therefore, the Church exhorts us, through dialogue and collaboration, to recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among different cultures and religions. (NA, 2). The Council of Europe defines intercultural dialogue as “an open and respectful exchange of views between individuals and groups belonging to different cultures that leads to a deeper understanding of the other’s global perception.”

This deeper understanding of cultural diversity is a pre-requisite of social cohesion and peaceful co-existence among tribes, nations and religions. IRDIS offers a variety of programmes, both academic as well as practical, that prepare and equip pastoral agents to minister in intercultural and interreligious environments. Students are introduced into the knowledge of the religious other. The knowledge of their cultural and religious setting is fundamental. At least, this is the basic conviction that we, and our partners in interreligious dialogue, have come to appreciate. Those who participate in our Annual Summer School on Christian Muslim dialogue in Africa tell us how the programme is transformative. They come to the programme with fear and apprehension. But all agree at the end that the introduction to the religious other has helped them overcome their prejudices and has opened their mind to accept the different other.

A group of Muslims from Uganda which attended one of our Summer School programmes took the initiative to contact our confreres at Lourdel House in Uganda. Since then, they have been in contact and do joint activities. For some of them it was the first time to have such a concrete experience of interreligious dialogue. They told me that they had not experienced it before. Likewise in 2018 we invited our partners from Iran to our first Summer School in that year. As a sign of appreciation of the programme, they made it compulsory for each of their intake. We are now on the 5^th edition of the programme. In the past, confreres were systematically introduced to local languages and local cultures. Through a lengthy period, confreres came to appreciate the richness of the cultures that they encountered. Those language centres have become true laboratories for intercultural dialogue.

We cannot underestimate the importance of training and ongoing formation. The Society could take advantage of our own institutions such as IFIC and IRDIS to train confreres in encounter and dialogue. Real dialogue is possible only in the presence of mutual knowledge and acceptance of cultural and religious values. Intercultural and interreligious dialogue are an antidote to the rising of religious tensions, radicalisation, extremism and interfaith violence. Today we cannot ignore the role of religion in peacebuilding and social cohesion. As we celebrate 60 years of Vatican II, let us embrace the path of renewal set in motion by John XXIII and faithfully carried out by his successor. Dialogue is the way of the future. This dialogue is built on our common shared values, in the appreciation of cultural and religious diversity. There is no turning back.

By: Innocent H. Maganya, M.Afr.