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To: AskStPhilomena
Pope John Paul has strongly and repeatedly endorsed the "spirit of Assisi" as “an invitation to dialogue between the great monotheistic religions in the service of the human family”.

That refers to the establishment of temporal peace.

What happened to the urgent need for infidels and idolaters to return to the "one, true Church"?

My direct contact with peoples who do not know Christ has convinced me even more of the urgency of missionary activity, [italics in original] a subject to which I am devoting the present encyclical ... Missionary activity specifically directed "to the nations" (ad gentes) appears to be waning, and this tendency is certainly not in line with the directives of the Council and of subsequent statements of the Magisterium. Difficulties both internal and external have weakened the Church's missionary thrust toward non-Christians, a fact which must arouse concern among all who believe in Christ. For in the Church's history, missionary drive has always been a sign of vitality, just as its lessening is a sign of a crisis of faith. (JP II, Redemptoris Missio, 1-2)

The Church therefore cannot forgo her missionary activity among the peoples of the world. It is the primary task of the missio ad gentes to announce that it is in Christ, "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6), that people find salvation. Interreligious dialogue "cannot simply replace proclamation, but remains oriented towards proclamation". (JP II, Novo Millenio Ineunte, 40)


15 posted on 11/18/2004 4:42:59 PM PST by gbcdoj ("I acknowledge everyone who is united with the See of Peter" - St. Jerome)
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To: gbcdoj

"It is the primary task of the missio ad gentes to announce that it is in Christ, "the Way, and the Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6), that people find salvation. Interreligious dialogue "cannot simply replace proclamation, but remains oriented towards proclamation"." (JP II, Novo Millenio Ineunte, 40)

Unfortunately, human nature dictates that most people will always follow the path of least resistance - prelates included.

Thus when they perceive two options such as missionary proclamation and interreligious dialogue, even if they believe that both are oriented to the same end, they will always take the path of dialogue rather than proclamation.

The mission of the Church will continue to wane until dialogue is given a much lower profile, and Catholics repent of their universalism and return to belief in a need for that mission: - Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus!


18 posted on 11/18/2004 5:46:21 PM PST by Tantumergo
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