"In the process of salvation by co-operating with grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as sustained

"In the process of salvation by co-operating with grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as sustained by the sacraments and by works of love, because faith without works is dead."

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Introduction: Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue: What the Catholic Church Really Teaches

 


Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue: What the Catholic Church Really Teaches

Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue are two of the most discussed and misunderstood parts of modern Catholic life. For some, these efforts are hopeful signs of peace. For others, they raise concerns about relativism or even theories that the Church is helping to build a one-world government or a one-world religion. These ideas circulate often enough that they demand a clear and honest look.

This article sets the groundwork for a broader series on how the Catholic Church understands other religions. My aim is straightforward: explain what the Church actually teaches, address the common fears head-on, and share my own desire for clarity about the Church’s identity. I want the Church to speak plainly that it believes it is the one true Church established by Christ, the ordinary means of salvation, and the surest path to God. At the same time, I understand why the Church engages the world with patience, respect, and a genuine interest in human dignity.

The Church’s approach is not soft relativism. It is not a secret plot. It is an attempt to build a better world and to invite others, through honest conversation and the quiet force of witness, to discover Christ and the Church He founded.

1. The Foundations of Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue

The modern Catholic approach begins with the Second Vatican Council. Three documents matter most:

  • Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church)

  • Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism)

  • Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions)

Each document affirms something essential: the Catholic Church does not abandon her claim to truth when she reaches out to others.

Lumen Gentium 8 states, “This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church.” This phrase makes a strong claim. The fullness of Christ’s Church is found in Catholicism. It does not deny that elements of grace exist elsewhere, but it affirms that the Catholic Church carries the complete and visible structure willed by Christ.

Unitatis Redintegratio 2 reinforces this confidence: “Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only.” Ecumenism, then, is not a negotiation about truth. It is a process of drawing all Christians toward the unity Christ desires, a unity that the Church believes it already possesses in its fullness.

Finally, Nostra Aetate 2 speaks about non-Christian religions: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.” This statement confuses some people, but it is not relativism. It simply acknowledges what St. Paul recognized in Athens: God can leave traces of Himself even where the fullness of revelation has not yet been received.

The key point is simple: the Church engages other religions not as an equal among equals, but as a confident witness to Christ.

2. Is This Religious Relativism?

The straightforward answer is no.

The Church’s teaching authority has repeatedly rejected relativism:

  • Redemptoris Missio 5 (John Paul II): “The Church's mission is jeopardized if she loses her sense of Christ as the one Savior.”

  • Dominus Iesus 22 (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 2000): “Relativistic theories… contradict the faith of the Church in the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ.”

These are not vague suggestions. They are direct, firm statements.

The common confusion comes from the Church’s willingness to praise whatever is “true and holy” in other religions. But recognizing truth wherever it appears is not the same as claiming all religions are equal. Thomas Aquinas put it simply: grace builds on nature. Wherever goodness or truth exists, God is already at work.

The Church’s dialogue with others flows from this reality. It respects human dignity, listens sincerely, and seeks common ground without surrendering a single point of doctrine.

3. Is It a Conspiracy for a One-World Religion or the New World Order?

These fears grew over the past century, especially when the Church began speaking more openly with other religions. Some see interreligious gatherings, papal meetings with non-Christians, or statements about peace as evidence of a secret plan to merge all religions into one system under a central authority.

There is no credible theological or magisterial support for this idea.

In fact, the Church repeatedly teaches the opposite:

  • The Church rejects syncretism (mixing religions), for example in Dominus Iesus.

  • The Church rejects indifferentism, which claims all religions are the same.

  • The Church defends the freedom of religion, which contradicts any notion of forced global unity.

The Church does promote peace, understanding, and cooperation on humanitarian issues, but cooperation is not capitulation. When the Vatican collaborates with other religious leaders on poverty, war, ecology, or human rights, it does so as a moral voice, not a political architect.

If anything, the Catholic Church resists centralized global control. It defends subsidiarity, which states that no larger authority should take over what smaller communities can accomplish themselves. This principle, rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, runs against the idea of a monolithic global system.

4. My Personal Perspective: A Wish for Clarity

I share your desire for clarity. Many Catholics do. We want the Church to speak plainly:

Christ founded one Church.
That Church is the Catholic Church.
Union with Christ and His Church is the ordinary path to salvation.

We want this said without hesitation, but also without arrogance. With love, but without confusion. With respect for others, but without losing mission.

I understand the tension. I understand the frustration when official statements feel cautious or diplomatic. It is natural to want the Church to stand tall and clear in a world that often rejects certainty.

Yet I also understand the Church’s reasoning. Many people today carry wounds or prejudices about Christianity, and dialogue often opens doors that proclamation alone cannot. As Pope Benedict XVI once said, “Truth is not imposed. It proposes itself through love.”

5. The Church’s Real Intention: Witness, Not Assimilation

Interreligious dialogue has two purposes:

A. To work together for the common good

This includes peace, justice, protection of human dignity, and solidarity. In a world full of violence and division, Christians cannot stand isolated.

B. To evangelize through presence and witness

This is sometimes called “indirect evangelization” or “passive evangelization.” It removes obstacles, builds trust, and allows people to encounter Christ through the Church’s example.

John Paul II was clear about this in Redemptoris Missio 56:

“Dialogue does not dispense from evangelization.”

In other words, dialogue sets the stage for people to find Christ. It is not a replacement for preaching the Gospel. It is a companion to it.

Seen this way, interreligious dialogue is not an abandonment of mission. It is an extension of it.

6. Why Dialogue Can Lead Others to the Church

History shows that respectful dialogue often makes others more open to Christianity. Many converts describe how:

  • A Catholic friend

  • A charitable act

  • A patient explanation

  • A moment of shared prayer

  • A thoughtful discussion

became the first step to their conversion.

Pope Benedict XVI repeatedly taught that the Church grows less by argument and more by attraction. Interreligious dialogue embodies that approach. It does not hide Christ. It makes the soil fertile so that Christ can be found.

7. Setting the Stage for the Series

This introduction prepares us for a deeper exploration of questions such as:

  • How does the Church view Protestant communities?

  • How does it understand Eastern Orthodoxy?

  • What is the Church’s view of Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism?

  • How does Catholicism understand salvation outside the visible boundaries of the Church?

  • What does the Church expect from Catholics when they engage with other religions?

Each of these topics deserves its own space, not only for accuracy, but also to show how the Church holds two truths in a careful balance:

There is no salvation apart from Christ.
There are many ways Christ’s grace reaches the human heart.

The tension between these truths is not contradiction. It is the mystery of a God who is both just and merciful, both precise and generous.

Conclusion

Ecumenism and interreligious dialogue are not about diluting the Catholic faith. They are not about merging religions. And they are certainly not about helping create a New World Order.

They are part of the Church’s mission to promote peace, protect human dignity, and draw others toward Christ through witness. The Church continues to affirm that it is the one, true Church established by Christ, and it holds that all salvation comes through Him.

My own wish is for greater clarity. I want the Church to proclaim its identity with boldness and simplicity. Yet I also see the wisdom in the Church’s patient approach. Dialogue is not surrender. It is an invitation.

And sometimes, an invitation is the first step toward conversion.

Annotated Bibliography with Hyperlinks

Primary Magisterial Sources

Benedict XVI, Pope. Address to the Roman Curia. 21 December 2012.
Explains Vatican II’s intentions and corrects misreadings.
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20121221_curia-romana.html

Benedict XVI, Pope. Meeting with Representatives of Other Religions. 17 September 2008.
Clarifies how dialogue works without relativism.
https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080917_interreligious.html

Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed., 1997.
Doctrinal foundation for ecclesiology and interfaith teaching.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Dominus Iesus. 2000.
Key text rejecting relativism and clarifying the uniqueness of Christ.
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html

Francis, Pope. Evangelii Gaudium. 2013.
Discusses evangelization, dialogue, and mission today.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html

John Paul II, Pope. Redemptoris Missio. 1990.
Reaffirms that dialogue never replaces proclamation.
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio.html

John Paul II, Pope. Crossing the Threshold of Hope. 1994.
Personal reflections on faith and other religions.
(Commercial book) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/95587/crossing-the-threshold-of-hope-by-his-holiness-john-paul-ii/

Paul VI, Pope. Evangelii Nuntiandi. 1975.
Landmark document on evangelization in the modern world.
https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi.html

Second Vatican Council. Lumen Gentium. 1964.
Defines the nature and identity of the Church.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html

Second Vatican Council. Unitatis Redintegratio. 1964.
Official decree on ecumenism.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html

Second Vatican Council. Nostra Aetate. 1965.
Foundational text for relations with non-Christian religions.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html

Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae.
Philosophical and theological framework for grace and truth.
https://www.newadvent.org/summa/

Secondary Scholarly Sources

Catholic Ecclesiology and Mission

Dulles, Avery. Models of the Church. 1987.
Explores five major ways of understanding the Church.
(Commercial) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/40876/models-of-the-church-by-avery-dulles/

Dulles, Avery. “The Catholic Church and the Ecumenical Movement.” Theological Studies, 1975.
Theological analysis of Catholic ecumenism.
https://doi.org/10.1177/004056397503600102

Ratzinger, Joseph. Called to Communion. 1996.
Clear presentation of Catholic ecclesiology.
https://ignatius.com/called-to-communion-ccp/

Ratzinger, Joseph. Truth and Tolerance. 2005.
Responds to relativism and discusses world religions.
https://ignatius.com/truth-and-tolerance-ttpp/

O’Malley, John W. What Happened at Vatican II. 2008.
Definitive historical account of Vatican II.
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674062185

Schatz, Klaus. Papal Primacy. 1996.
History of papal authority and its meaning.
https://litpress.org/Products/1564/Papal-Primacy

Ecumenism

Beckwith & Hall, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies. 2021.
Major academic reference for ecumenical theology.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-ecumenical-studies-9780199600847

Murray, Paul D. Receptive Ecumenism. 2008.
Explores how churches can learn from one another without compromise.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/receptive-ecumenism-and-the-call-to-catholic-learning-9780199659012

Rusch, William G. Ecumenism: A Movement Toward Church Unity. 1985.
Introduction to the ecumenical movement.
https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9780800618550/Ecumenism

Interreligious Dialogue and Theology of Religions

D’Costa, Gavin. The Meeting of Religions and the Trinity. 2000.
A Trinitarian defense of interfaith engagement.
https://www.orbisbooks.com/the-meeting-of-religions-and-the-trinity.html

D’Costa, Gavin. Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People After Vatican II. 2019.
Examines post–Vatican II Catholic theology on Judaism.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/catholic-doctrines-on-the-jewish-people-after-vatican-ii-9780198830207

Dupuis, Jacques. Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism. 1997.
Influential text exploring how Christ works outside Christianity.
https://www.orbisbooks.com/toward-a-christian-theology-of-religious-pluralism.html

Knitter, Paul F. Introducing Theologies of Religions. 2002.
Standard overview of Christian approaches to other religions.
https://www.orbisbooks.com/introducing-theologies-of-religions.html

Phan, Peter C. Being Religious Interreligiously. 2004.
Perspectives on interfaith engagement from Asian Catholic theology.
https://www.orbisbooks.com/being-religious-interreligiously.html

Swidler, Leonard. After the Absolute. 1990.
Classic work on the necessity of global dialogue.
https://fortresspress.com/after-the-absolute/

Catholic Social Teaching and Global Cooperation

Hollenbach, David. The Common Good and Christian Ethics. 2002.
Shows why Catholics work with others for social justice.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/common-good-and-christian-ethics/2F24819456F2ECFC4446A5F7A98CD144

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. 2004.
A go-to handbook for Catholic moral and social teaching.
https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

Weigel, George. Evangelical Catholicism. 2013.
Advocates for a confident and missionary Catholic identity.
https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/george-weigel/evangelical-catholicism/9780465032939/

Historical and Contextual Works

Chadwick, Owen. A History of the Popes 1830–1914. 1998.
Explains the historical roots of modern Church tensions.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-history-of-the-popes-18301914-9780198269809

Galli & Olsen, eds. Christian History: The Modern Ecumenical Movement. 2002.
Provides the broader historical context behind ecumenism.
(Archive) https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/issue/79/the-modern-ecumenical-movement

McGreevy, John T. Catholicism: A Global History. 2022.
Explains how global Catholicism changed from the 1700s to today.
https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324003890

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