Evangelizing Muslims and Interreligious Dialogue

Pope Benedict XVI’s emphasize on the evangelical mission of the Catholic Church alarms the Muslim side of interreligious dialogue, Sandro Magister reports at chiesa.com . Magdi Cristiano Allam’s baptism by the Pope at the Easter Vigil caused consternation in the Islamic world, as well as in some parts of the Church . Magdi Allam maintains a high profile in the Italian Church, on which more below.

Mustafa Cherif, an Algerian Islamic scholar involved in discussions with the Church, singled out a December 3, 2007, doctrinal note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith affirming that “evangelization is aimed at all of humanity,” and seeking to correct “a growing confusion which leads many to leave the missionary command of the Lord unheard and ineffective.”

Cherif warned against efforts to convert Muslims in the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions’ monthly publication Monde e Missione . Cherif characterized as “incomprehensible and deplorable” the conviction earlier this month of four Algerian Muslims converts to Christianity under a new law that punishes apostasy with prison. But he added that Christians should not proselytize: “Our Catholic friends in Algeria, who have been here for fifty years, have never tried to convert anyone, although they do have the right to witness to their faith. This, in spite of the fact that the current pope frequently recalls the central nature of the evangelizing mission for the Catholic Church.”

“Last December,” Cherif added, “the Vatican published a doctrinal note that reaffirms the mission of evangelizing non-Catholics . . . . Sometimes, nonetheless, after leaving to evangelize the world, many priests and pastors have set themselves to learn from the people they have encountered and from their culture, without necessarily seeking to divert them from their original religion.”

Cherif is one of the 138 Islamic scholars who will meet with the Vatican next November as part of the Muslim response to Benedict XVI’s September 2006 Regensburg address.

As Magister reports, unease at the prospect of Catholic efforts to evangelize Muslims overshadows the high-profile efforts at interreligious dialogue now underway, notably the June 4 conference in Mecca at which Saudi King Abdullah called for “meetings with brothers belong to other faiths.” On June 9, Pope Benedict XVI met with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, which had convened in Rome under Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran to draft new guidelines for Catholic clergy to interact with other religions.

Cardinal Tauran stated that evangelization will be at the center of such interaction: “We know that the Holy Spirit works in every man and every woman, independently of his religious or spiritual creed. But on the other hand, we must proclaim that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God has revealed to us the truth about God and the truth about man, and for us this is the Good News. We cannot hide this truth under a bushel basket.”

In a June 10 interview with terrasanta.net , Cardinal Tauran put the dialogue with Muslims in context: “What was interesting about our discussions was that we did not concentrate on Islam, because in a way we are being held hostage by Islam a little bit. Islam is very important but there are also other great Asiatic religious traditions. Islam is one religion.” Regarding the Saudi conference, the cardinal said, “The King has in mind this tripartite dialogue between Christians, Muslims and Jews, and I think he’s beginning to convince his own people.”

Magdi Allam, meanwhile, was one of the readers of texts introducing a Mass at the Macerata Stadium before thousands of pilgrims preparing to leave for the Loreto shrine. Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco, the archbishop of Genoa, officiated, and the Mass meeting was addressed by Father Julian Carrion, the president of the Communione e Liberazione movement.