[BJP News]: It's Conquest, Not Just Conversion

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>[bJP News]: It's Conquest, Not Just Conversion

>Sun, 8 Oct 2000 13:29:24 -0400

>

>Title: It's Conquest, Not Just Conversion

>Author: Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

>Publication: Indian Express

>October 06, 2000

>

>As a State guest of India in December 1999, Pope John Paul II declared in

>Delhi his mission to "plant the cross in Asia" in the current millennium.

>The announcement of this mission signaled alarm to non-Christians,

>Christians, and even to a few Catholics. The expression "plant the cross"

>is an obvious metaphor for conquest, consistent with the history of the

>Catholic Church and its stated ideology. Paradoxically, this concept of

>conquest is far removed from the deeply personal realm of religion, much

>less spirituality. But concealed in the choice of words "plant the cross"

>is an even more disturbing dimension to this message, one that is

>well-understood by, and no doubt directed to, Roman Catholic theologians.

>The Roman Catholic tradition holds that Christ, like common criminals, was

>crucified on a garbage dump outside of the gates of the city of Jerusalem

>so

>that his sinful blood, when spilled, would not pollute the Holy City.

>However, being who he was, the tradition holds, the spilling of Christ's

>blood on this site had the effect of purifying it and making it a holy

>site.

>Planting the cross, therefore, means both claiming for God what is

>estranged

>from God, and purifying that which is impure. The sentiments covertly

>reflected in this phrase "planting the cross" used by Pope John Paul II in

>December 1999 were made clear in the recent declaration "Dominus Iesus"

>issued by the Vatican August 6, 2000 and brought to public attention in a

>press conference on September 5.

>

>In this controversial and disquieting document, the Pope opened with a

>clear

>directive to Catholic theologians to obey the scriptural mandate to

>"baptize

>all nations." That the Church's mission is one of conquest rather than

>personal religious conversion is made clear in this incongruous expression

>"baptize all nations." This is corroborated throughout the document which

>impresses upon its faithful the necessity to convert all people to

>Christianity. They are reminded that they have a mandate "to proclaim and

>establish among all peoples the kingdom of Christ and of God," noting that

>God "cannot be detached either from Christ or the Church." Attempting to

>pacify reactions to the Pope's statements in Delhi, Archbishop Alan de

>Lastic of New Delhi downplayed the Pope's remarks by saying that he was

>merely referring to a "conversion of heart." In this recent declaration,

>however, the Vatican is clearly concerned with correcting just such

>interpretations of the mission of the Church. Nothing new is stated in the

>declaration in terms of the Church's doctrinal position. But in order to

>execute its mission of complete global conversion to Catholicism, the

>Church

>has historically allowed its real agenda to be concealed. Now, however,

>the

>sense of urgency to complete the mission of converting all people has

>caused

>the Church to abandon all pretense about its mission.

>

>Lamenting that at the close of the second millennium "this mission is still

>far from complete," the document declares that "God wills the salvation of

>everyone through the knowledge of the truth." Since this 'truth', which is

>a non-verifiable belief, is entrusted only to the Church, however, and

>"because she believes in God's universal plan of

>salvation, the Church must be missionary." The universal scale and

>fundamentalist stance of this position, taken by all proselytizing

>religions, have far reaching consequences. The non-negotiable goal of the

>Catholic Church is conversion of each and every person in the world, not

>just to Christianity, but to Catholicism. There are no exceptions. Every

>person, including non-Catholic Christians, who values his or her beliefs,

>culture and intellectual integrity has been put on notice that all of these

>are, have been, and will continue to be under systematic assault by the

>Roman Catholic Church.

>

>The document repeatedly makes clear the Vatican's position that salvation

>is

>only possible through Christ, mediated through the Roman Catholic Church.

>Non-Christian religions are unequivocally declared inadequate. At best,

>they may have some prayers and rituals that are preparatory to the

>Christian

>Gospels. These are not, however, considered to be of "divine origin" nor

>to

>have "salvific efficacy." But even more condemning than this is the

>contention that some rituals in these non-Christian religions "constitute

>an

>obstacle to salvation." This open disparagement of non-Christian

>religions,

>without making any attempt to understand them, is in stark contradiction to

>the Church's profession of tolerance, compassion and the "sincere respect

>which the Church has for the religions of the world." There is no

>tolerance

>here, much less respect. On the contrary, there is an attempt to justify

>what amounts to destruction of all non-Christian religions.

>

>Consistent with this view, the document specifically targets religious

>pluralism, viewing the thinking behind it as a danger to "the Church's

>constant missionary proclamation." The document itself is, in fact, meant

>to be a "remedy" for this thinking and expressly states its aim to "rule

>out

>in a radical way" the thinking that "one religion is as good as another."

>With this type of agenda, where is the place of inter-religious dialogue,

>so

>assiduously pursued by the Church? This is made clear. Inter-religious

>dialogue, the declaration states, "is part of the Church's evangelizing

>mission." The palpable contradiction between dialogue and the stated

>evangelizing mission of the Church is evident. Dialogue is an exchange of

>ideas among equals, ideally towards a mutually enlarged understanding.

>There is no mutual exchange intended here, rather, a commitment on the part

>of one group to coerce another into a predetermined outcome. Dialogue is a

>misnomer for coercion. It is not surprising, therefore, and to their

>credit, that two Rabbis refused to participate in an October 3 symposium on

>dialogue as a protest against this document, forcing the Vatican to cancel

>the symposium. The remarks of a secretary of the Vatican's office might

>more appropriately apply to anyone who enters into dialogue with the

>Church.

>"It is difficult to have a dialogue when one side is missing."

>

>In the light of its stated views on non-Christian religions, there is no

>equality in such inter-religious dialogues either. The declaration offers

>a

>convoluted response to this by saying, "Equality, which is a

>presupposition

>of inter-religious dialogue, refers to the equal personal dignity of the

>parties in the dialogue, not to doctrinal content, nor even less to the

>position of Jesus Christ." One wonders what would possibly be the concept

>of personal dignity referred to here. What personal dignity is accorded a

>human being, a

>

>rational being, when one is invited into a dialogue with the covert intent

>of hijacking one's reason? What personal dignity is accorded a person when

>his or her religion, the sacred core of his or her being, is denigrated and

>targeted for destruction?

>As for the sacred writings of religious traditions, the document claims

>that

>the designation "inspired texts" applies only to the canonical books of the

>Old and New Testaments. The sacred books of other traditions are not

>regarded as revealed works of divine origin, and if they have any merit in

>them at all, they "receive from the mystery of Christ the elements of

>goodness and grace which they contain." In the world view of the Church,

>this statement, in effect, endangers the survival of every one of the

>world'

>s sacred works, except the Bible. Works that do not reiterate Biblical

>teachings are heretical and those that do, derive their merit from "the

>mystery of Christ" and are, therefore, redundant. In the burning of the

>library at Alexandria, history has shown us the disastrous consequences of

>precisely this thinking.

>

>At the recent United Nations Summit of World Religious Leaders, a Roman

>Catholic Cardinal defended the Church's right to convert by citing Article

>18 of the United Nations Bill of Rights which grants everyone the "freedom

>to change his religion or belief either alone or in community with others."

>In light of the Pope's intention to "plant the cross" globally, and the

>doctrine and intentions set forth in the "Dominus Iesus" the Church has

>declared a position that threatens to place it in violation of several

>human

>rights assured by this Bill. One of the basic principles stated in the

>preamble of the Bill of Rights is the freedom of belief. The same Article

>18, cited by the Cardinal. grants every human being the "right to freedom

>of

>thought, conscience and religion." A systematic, often coercive and even

>covert effort to impose one's religion on another is a clear violation of

>this basic human right. Article 5 of the Bill of Rights states that no one

>shall be subjected to degrading treatment. The denigration of one's

>religion, the humiliation that accompanies the conversion experience, and

>declaring another's religion as an "obstacle to salvation" are all

>violations of the dignity ensured to every human being. Article 19 grants

>every person the freedom to hold opinions, and matters of belief, no matter

>how fervently held, are matters of opinion. Article 22 ensures that

>everyone is entitled to the cultural rights indispensable for his dignity.

>Every convert from a non-Christian tradition suffers an irreparable

>alienation from his culture and, tragically, from his own family. The

>family, in turn, is alienated from the community. With the conversion

>experience come shame, isolation, deep personal conflict and ultimately,

>the

>seeds for discord. History testifies to the devastating loss of rich and

>diverse cultures, gone forever in the aftermath of religious conversion.

>Article 26 (2) requires that education "shall promote understanding,

>tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups."

>The Church knows better how much religious "understanding, tolerance and

>friendship" it promotes in its schools. Human rights violations plague

>every member of the United Nations, but the Vatican, not just as a member

>state but as a religious body has a special responsibility to honor the

>very

>basic human rights of every human being, rights which, as a member of the

>United Nations, it has pledged to protect.

>

>The Vatican's document is an eye-opener for all those who believe in

>religious pluralism. They have to safeguard their noble belief, as even

>Mahatma Gandhi did all through his life.

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