THE HEAD of the Vatican’s mission department, Cardinal Ivan Dias, addressed the Conference on Tuesday night, outlining a measured strategy of evangelism by good example.
Speaking at a plenary session in the Big Top, Cardinal Dias, a former Archbishop of Bombay, who is now Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, spoke of the links between social justice and mission. He recommended good works rather than belligerent evangelism: “The most aggressive thing is our good example,” he said.
Beginning with references to the psalms and the Gospels, he urged Anglicans and Roman Catholics to work together, starting with “the points which unite the two Churches”.
Cardinal Dias emphasised “the necessity to be alert to the needs of our brethren relating to social and justice issues”. He drew warm applause for his restatement of the resurrection — “a God who found his way out of the grave” — and slightly less for that of “the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the universality of his salvation”.
His description of spiritual combat was striking. It is “aided and abetted by well-known secret sects, Satanic groups and New Age movements, to mention but a few, and reveals many ugly heads of the hideous anti-God monster”.
The Cardinal went on to define secularism, spiritual indifference, and relativism. “All of these seek to efface any reference to God or to things supernatural, and to supplant it with mundane values and behaviour patterns which purposely ignore the transcendental and the divine. Far from satisfying the deep yearnings of the human heart, they foster a culture of death, be it physical or moral, spiritual or psychological.”
To counter this: “we must be pro-active, and not merely reactive, in reading the signs of the times and projecting our missionary thrust. . . We must recall the prime importance of exemplary Christian living.”
In similar vein, he spoke of the need for unity: “For, in the present ecumenical framework in which Providence has willed to engage the Churches, a unity which binds
them together in the apostolic faith is intrinsic to the Church’s mis-
sion. . . But, when the diversity degenerates into division, it be-comes a counter-witness which seriously compromises their image and endeavours to spread the Good News.”
The Cardinal also commended inculturation and interreligious dialogue to help in mission. As part of the first: “Bishops must, therefore, encourage initiatives which aim at blending faith and culture harmoniously together through art, music, dance and liturgy, making something beautiful before God and men.”
As for the second, he suggested “holding firmly to what we believe, we listen respectfully” to those of other faiths, “seeking to discern all that is good and holy, all that favours peace and co-operation”, for “there exist in other religious and cultural traditions elements which are true, good and holy.” |
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