Mutual respect and esteem

Cardinal Ratzinger was asked whether this didn8217;t smack of 8220;fundamentalism8221;. If there is no common ground between religions, what becomes of the effort for a dialogue between faiths? The Cardinal was uncompromising; such dialogue, he said, should not be 8220;a substitute for missionary activity and for the urgency of an appeal to conversion8221;. He reiterated the Church8217;s opposition to any 8220;false idea of tolerance8221; which allows respect for other beliefs because it rejects the possibility of any objective truth.

I have no quarrel with the Pope8217;s declaration that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. He is free, as is every man and woman, to say what he believes to be correct. But does it not smack of arrogance to claim that every other path to God is a false trail? Not just Hinduism or Judaism, for instance, but other Christian denominations as well?

Dr George Carey, archbishop of Canterbury, was particularly offended at the statement that: 8220;Ecclesial communities that have not preserved the valid episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery are not churches in the proper sense8221;. This, the Anglican leader said, fails to represent 8220;the deeper understanding that has been achieved through ecumenical dialogue8221;.

The Vatican was unruffled by this and similar angry reactions. Archbishop Marcello Zago admitted that the Vatican8217;s missionary activities had roused opposition in Asia 8212; particularly Hindus in India and Muslims in Indonesia and elsewhere. But, he stated, the missionary activity of the Church required a drive to convert all people to the true faith. 8220;Fighting for justice or to overcome hunger are aspects connected with mission. But at times there is a lack of that balance which always places at the center of any missionary activity, living the Gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaiming him to others.8221;

It also appears that the princes of the Church believe that missionary activity is a one-way street. Cardinal Giacomo Biffi is high in the Vatican8217;s hierarchy, and his name pops up when the current Pope8217;s successor is discussed. He has publicly called for every mosque in Italy to be shut down; Muslims, he says, should not be permitted to worship in Italy as long as Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations prevented Christians from practising their faith.

This is a bit of a dilemma, is it not? Or should I say a challenge to secularism? That concept has become second cousin to plasticine in some Indian hands. A Maharashtrian friend told me of the VVIP who declared at a Ganesha Chaturthi function that the festival epitomised secularism8217;! With friends like that, it does not need enemies to become the laughing stock of India.

Let us, however, try to rescue secularism from the grave which its ardent supporters insist on digging for it. There can, I think, only be two real conceptions of secularism. First, it can mean a complete separation between religion and government, not contempt but disinterest. Second, and this is how we in India have chosen to define it, secularism can be an equal respect for all faiths.

But 8212; this is the nub 8212; respect has to be a two-way street. You cannot expect respect, nor even a hands-off attitude, if you persist in denigrating my faith. Dr Radhakrishnan described Hinduism as: 8220;A movement, not a position. A process, not a result. A growing tradition, not a fixed revelation.8221; That is the antithesis of the uncompromising attitude adopted by the latest declaration from the Vatican.

The problem was recognised decades ago by the historian Arnold Toynbee. He discussed it briefly in a preface written for the Britannia Perspectives. Aside to bibliophiles: if you can find a copy, buy it 8212; it was written to celebrate the Encyclopedia Britannica8217;s second centenary, and there is no point waiting for the third one in 2068! Here is a brief excerpt from the conclusion of the essay:

8220;There may or may not be only one single absolute truth and only one single ultimate way of salvation. We do not know. But we do know that there are more approaches to truth than one, and more means of salvation than one.8221;

8220;This is a hard saying for adherents of the higher religions of the Judaic family Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but it is a truism for Hindus. The spirit of mutual good-will, esteem, and veritable love 8230; is the traditional spirit of the religions of the Indian family. This is one of India8217;s gifts to the world.8221;

Professor Toynbee was writing in 1968, an era that encouraged free thought and experimentation. Attitudes have hardened since then; if there is any 8220;mutual good-will8221; or 8220;esteem8221; for other faiths in Dominus Jesus8217; then I for one have missed it.

The publication of Dominus Jesus8217; should not be made an occasion to demand that Indian Christians prove their patriotism. But I do have a request: Respect my faith as I do yours. If that is asking too much, stop denigrating it. Secularism, please remember, is not a burden to be borne by Hindus alone.

But doesn8217;t it smack of arrogance for the Vatican to claim that every otherpath to God is false? Not just Hinduism or Judaism, but other Christian denominations too?