Dei Verbum, Nostra Aetate and Interfaith Dialogue Marianne Moyaert

Abstract. — Nostra aetate was the first document in the history of the Church that expressed an appreciation of ‘non-Christian religions’ and announced the Church’s intention to promote friendly interreligious relations. This Declaration is usually read and interpreted in light of Ad gentes, Gaudium et spes, and Lumen gentium, the central question being how God’s universal salvific will relates to the particularity of the Christ event and the Church’s mission. However, NA is less often read in combination with the dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum. This is strange as, apart from its overall importance for the council, DV directly addresses revelation, a crucial question for a theology of religions. In this article, the author claims that the dialogical concept of revelation as formulated in DV is at the basis of the turn towards interreligious dialogue. The understanding of God as revealing himself in human history implies that dialogue becomes part of what it means to be God’s people. Furthermore, reading NA together with DV shows that God has also revealed himself to people of other religions. From this perspective, DV offers an important contribution to a theology of interreligious dialogue.

The intended purpose of the Second Vatican Council was, in general terms, the alignment of the Church with modern times. Pope John XXIII, who had called the Council, envisioned an aggiornamento as well as a ressourcement. The renewal and the return to the sources were deemed necessary both ad intra (within the life of the Church) as well as ad extra (concerning the ties with and the dialogue between the Church and the world). The Church’s self-understanding is tightly intertwined with the quest for its own role and calling in this world – this much is clear in the ensuing documents. The Church assumes that its place in the world includes sharing joy, sorrow, hope and love with all the inhabitants thereof.1 In line with this mission, the Church

* I would like to express my gratitude to Didier Pollefeyt, Stephan van Erp, Joris Geldhof for their thorough reading and suggestions. 1. See Gaudium et spes: Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, December 7, 1965, §1; http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/ documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html.

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believes that one of its duties is to “foster unity and love among nations.”2 The realisation that engaging in a dialogue with followers of other religions is part of what it means to be a church within the (modern) world gradually grew on the Council Fathers. Irrespective of the stance one might take concerning the recent discussion around the ‘continuity’ or ‘discontinuity’ of the Council, one cannot deny that this was, indeed, a turning point.3 The most notable document symbolising this shift is Nostra aetate, where for the first time ever in its entire history, the Church speaks in an appreciative manner about ‘non-Christian religions’, revealing its intention to promote friendly interfaith relations. Typically, this Declaration is read and interpreted in the light of Ad gentes (Decree on the Missionary Activity of the Church), Gaudium et spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), and Lumen gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church),4 focus- ing on the main question: the manner in which God’s universal salvific will relates to the particularity of the Christ-event and the missionary mandate of the Church. Nostra aetate is less often read in combination with the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum (On Divine Revelation).5 This is odd, because Dei Verbum is one of the main documents of the Second Vatican Council; it has left its mark on the council and the theological insights expressed therein also shine through a number of other documents, including Nostra aetate.6

2. Nostra aetate: A Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, §2; http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html. 3. See e.g. Neil Ormerod, “Vatican II – Continuity or Discontinuity? Toward an Ontology of Meaning,” Theological Studies 71 (2010): 609-636; Gerald O’Collins, “Does Vatican II Represent Continuity or Discontinuity?,” Theological Studies 73 (2012): 768-794; John O’Malley, “Vatican II: Did Anything Happen?,” Theological Studies 67 (2006): 3-33. 4. See for example Gerald O’Collins, The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013); Gavin D’Costa, Catholic Doctrines on Jews and Muslims (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014). 5. In an interview with Gavin D’Costa, Cardinal Danneels points out the lack of interest in Dei Verbum, although it remains one of the most important documents of the Council. See “Interviewed by Gavin D’Costa, Cardinal Danneels,” in Gavin D’Costa, The Second Vatican Council: Celebrating Its Achievements and the Future (Oxford: Bloomsbury, 2013), 165, 172. 6. See Robert Murray, “Revelation,” in Contemporary Catholic Theology: A Reader, ed. Michael Hayes and Liam Gearon (New York: Continuum, 2000), 13-24, p. 13. According to Murray Dei Verbum is “the most theologically concentrated” of the four major constitutions, “but in its wider relevance it both undergirds and touches most of the Council documents.”

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Moreover, the question of revelation is one of the most important questions in the theology of religions. How we answer the question of whether God has also revealed himself to non-Christians is of crucial importance for interreligious dialogue. In this article I argue first that the dialogical concept of revelation as formulated in Dei Verbum (especially in the first chapter) lies at the foundation of the ecclesial turn to interreligious dialogue, and to my mind, this also means that the importance of interreligious dialogue is theologically grounded. In short, how God has revealed himself, i.e., as a relational God who enters into history in order to start a conversation with humankind, has consequences for how we relate to others, who can also be called children of God. Dialogue is part of what it means to be God’s people. Reading Nostra aetate and Dei Verbum in conjunction with each other, it becomes clear that God also revealed himself to those of other faiths and that those religions are also a reflection of that revelation. Thus Dei Verbum can also contribute to a theology of interreligious dialogue.

Dei Verbum and Revelation

The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation is one of the most important doctrinal documents of the Second Vatican Council. It had a difficult gestation period and underwent several corrections and revisions over the course of the Council. Nevertheless, it is deemed to be a text of pivotal importance; according to Cardinal Danneels, it is the crown of Vatican II.7 Furthermore, the Jesuit Michael Barnes expressed the view that if the Council has come to be associated with theological dialogue, discussion and consultation, this association is due to the influence of Dei Verbum.8 It is not necessary to review all historical details of the inception of Dei Verbum, but it is sufficient to point out that the first schema of the Constitution on Revelation (De fontibus revelationis) was rejected inter alia because it was deemed to lack a biblical foundation, tended to trace revelation back to the contents of what is revealed (revelata), and was perceived as too ‘defensive’ in tone, something that was at odds with the

7. Godfried Danneels, “The Ongoing Agenda: A Council Unlike Any Other,” in D’Costa, The Second Vatican Council, 19-34, p. 26. 8. Michael Barnes, “Opening up a Dialogue: Dei Verbum and the Religions,” Modern Theology 29 (2013): 10-31, pp. 16-17.

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pastoral trajectory of the Council, the intention of which was to invite and not admonish.9 In the view of the Leuven theologian Lieven Boeve, the rejection of the preliminary schema “not only impacted subsequent discussions on revelation, Scripture and tradition, but it also influenced the dynamics of the whole council as such.”10 The Church left behind its anti-modernist stance. From this moment on, the development of tradition turned into dialogue; a dialogue with the sources, with other Christians (ecumenism), and, as we will later realise, with followers of other religions. As of that moment, the understanding of tradition would build on a concept of revelation that is anchored in dialogue, has a historical and dynamic dimension, and is Christological.

God’s Self-revelation The most notable achievement of Dei Verbum is a paradigm shift from a cognitive and propositional understanding of revelation to a personalist, relational and dialogue-based understanding of revelation.11 Revelation is no longer defined primarily through the contents of faith (revelata), but comes instead to reflect an encounter with God seeking to enter into dialogue with all humanity, thereby confirming the universal scope of revelation.12 This universal dimension is crucial to the theology of interfaith dialogue, as we shall see later. In his grace, God manifests himself in words and deeds, unceasingly extending himself to all people. In essence, God communicates himself (sese revelavit) and thereby invites (and does not impose, decree or require!) people to enter into a relationship with him and thus to come to share in the divine nature (DV §2). God wants us to enter into dialogue with him, so that by knowing him we may discover who we truly are. According to Dei Verbum, God’s motivation to do so becomes evident

9. With regard to the redaction history of the schema De fontibus revelationis, read Karim Schelkens, Catholic Theology of Revelation on the Eve of Vatican II: A Redaction History of the Schema De fontibus revelationis (1960-1962) (Leiden: Brill, 2010). 10. Lieven Boeve, ‘‘Revelation, Scripture and Tradition: Lessons from Vatican II’s Constitution Dei Verbum for Contemporary Theology,” International Journal of Systematic Theology 13 (2011): 416-433, pp. 418, 432. 11. Peter De Mey, “The Relation between Revelation and Experience in Dei Ver- bum: An Evaluation in the Light of Postconciliar Theology,” in Vatican II and Its Legacy, ed. M. Lamberigts and L. Kenis, Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovanien- sium 166 (Leuven: Peeters, 2002), 95-105, p. 95. 12. Joris Geldhof, Revelation, Reason and Reality: Theological Encounters with Jaspers, Schelling and Baader, Studies in Philosophical Theology 39 (Leuven: Peeters, 2007).

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in the fact that God reveals himself out of love for human beings, addressing them as a friend: Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (…) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (…) and lives among them (…), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself. (§2) In the end, the document is about how God relates to us and we to him.13 Various phases in God’s self-revelation can be distinguished, which shows that God is constantly involved in human beings and their fate: first, revelation presents us with “our first parents; after their fall [God’s] promise of redemption aroused in them the hope of being saved (see Gen 3:15) and from that time on He ceaselessly kept the human race in His care, to give eternal life to those who persever- ingly do good in search of salvation.” In a successive phase, God oriented himself to Abraham, with whom he made a covenant, and instructed Israel via Moses and the prophets. He thus prepared the coming of Jesus (evangelio praeparavit) (DV §3). The Old Testament witnesses to God’s revelation and the way in which people have responded. Christ is the completer of revelation. The common element in these different phases is the promise of salvation. Gerald O’Collins correctly points out that in Dei Verbum the history of revelation and the history of salvation are inextricably connected with each other (DV §4, §6). God’s self-revelation is an invitation to transformation, and not to subjection of oneself to God’s will. The most appropriate human response to God’s self-manifestation and offer of salvation is the life of faith (DV §5). Because we are involved in a relational event – an event between persons – the ‘present tense’ of revelation is confirmed. Revela- tion is not the communication of truths previously hidden; rather, it is an encounter between God and the human being. The answer of faith must be given now, constantly prepared by divine grace and the Holy Spirit (DV §5).14

13. Declan Lang, “A Word for Life: Vatican II on Revelation,” in The Second Vatican Council: Celebrating Its Achievements and the Future, ed. Gavin D’Costa and Elizabeth Harris (London: Bloomsbury, 2013), 34-43, p. 36. 14. Gerald O’Collins, “Vatican II’s Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum,” The Pastoral Review (March/April, 2013). http://www.thepastoralreview.org/index.php/ issues/past-issues/38-march-april-2013/117-vatican-iis-constitution-on-divine- revelation- dei-verbum (access July 1, 2015).

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Incarnation as the Culmination of Divine Self-revelation Christ’s life, death and resurrection represent the culmination of divine self-revelation in history: God’s self-revelation reached its fullness in the Christ-event,15 which stands for the ultimate expression of God’s involve- ment with and love for humanity. So great is the love of God for human beings that He became one of them – this is, par excellence, the expression of divine solidarity with humanity: “He comes to share our lives.”16 Christ, God’s only begotten Son, is the perfect embodiment of the Word of God (DV §4). It is in this sense that God’s revelation in Christ is ‘final’ and of ‘unsurpassable quality’.17 Whoever sees Christ sees the Father (John 14:9); in him, God is present in a very historical, real and palpable manner. Not only did he enter history, but he has also dwelt among human beings. Jacques Dupuis interprets this enfleshed communion thus: “In the Christian understanding of God’s single but organic design of salvation for humankind and of its historic unfolding, the Christ-event is the midpoint. It is the pivot upon which the entire history of the dialogue between God and humanity turns.”18 The outpouring of the Spirit completes and accomplishes revelation.19 This means that there can be no further revelations of God which would surpass, contradict or even improve God’s final revelation in Christ (DV §4). It is in this sense that one may affirm that God’s revelation in Christ has been completed. As Gavin D’Costa puts it: First, there cannot be new revelation which is ontologically different and/or independent of Christ, such that there is now a new addition to our knowledge of God which is entirely novel and totally unre- lated to God’s self-disclosure as Father, Son and Spirit. This does not require that there can be no ‘new’ revelation historically and

15. Cf. Heb 1:1-2: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” 16. Jacques Haers, “A Liberation Theological Perspective on Conflict Resolution: The Challenging and Empowering Experience of God’s Revelation in a World of Violent Conflicts,” in Encountering Transcendence: Contributions to a Theology of Christian Religious Experience, ed. Lieven Boeve, Hans Geybels, Stijn Van den Bossche, Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia 53 (Leuven: Peeters, 2005), 317-346, p. 334. 17. Cf. St. John of the Cross: “For, in giving us, as he did, his Son, who is his one and only Word, he spoke to us once and for all, in this single Word, and he has no occasion to speak further” (The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. 2, c. 22). 18. Jacques Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism (New York: Orbis, 1997), 221. 19. It is worth noting that the document does not offer a thoroughly developed pneumatology, and thus says little about the role of the Holy Spirit. Under the impetus of Pope John Paul II, a great deal of thought was given in the years after the Council to the role of the Holy Spirit in salvation history.

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geographically apart from Jesus Christ. The context of this onto- logical denial is to maintain that if God is God, and God has revealed himself as he is in the trinity, then there is no fourth or fifth God, such that alongside the Father, Son and Spirit resides Brahman and Allah (…) Second, there can be no new revelations in the sense of changing God’s self-disclosure as Father, Son and Spirit.20 (our emphasis) However, revelation implies the dynamics of ‘disguising’ and ‘revealing’, of ‘showing’ and ‘hiding’. Affirming the completion of the revelation in Christ does not mean that all else is clear, too. Especially within the scope of human finitude, the Catholic tradition upholds that the deeper meaning of God’s self-revelation has not been yet fully grasped by the tradition. The Church has received the fullness of truth in Christ; this, however, does not mean that the Church has also completely understood the full extent of this truth.21 Moreover, Dei Verbum holds that an over- emphasis on the perfection of God’s revelation in Christ might lead to an under-emphasis on “the glorious appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ” in the eschaton (DV §4). The eschatological dimension of revelation requires the Church to fulfil its status as a pilgrim church. Until the moment of Christ’s coming in glory, the Church must be aware that it sees things in a mirror dimly (1 Cor 13:12). This notion is reaffirmed in Pope John Paul II’s 1998 encyclical Fides et ratio, which affirms that “every truth attained is but a step towards that fullness of truth which will appear with the final Revelation of God: ‘For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully’ (1 Cor 13:12)” (FR §2). This realisation calls for a certain humility, the same kind of humility that was the hallmark of the Second Vatican Council. Instead of judging and admonishing from a position of certainty with regard to the final divine revelation, the Council Fathers encouraged trust and openness, calling upon the Church to lend a listening ear, to take the challenges of the times seriously, and to initiate a dialogue with the wider world without triumphalism.

20. Gavin D’Costa, “Revelation and Revelations: Discerning God in Other Reli- gions. Beyond a Static Valuation,” Modern Theology 10 (1994): 165-183, p. 169. 21. Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, “Dialogue and Proclamation: Reflection and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” 1991, §49 (www.vatican.va). “Moreover, the fullness of truth received in Jesus Christ does not give individual Christians the guarantee that they have grasped that truth fully. In the last analysis truth is not a thing we possess, but a person by whom we must allow ourselves to be possessed. This is an unending process.”

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Revelation in Other Religions? The Council Fathers spoke very appreciatively about the people of Israel, to whom God had spoken first and to whom “He would entrust His promises” (DV §14). The books of the Old Testament are a testimony to God’s self-revelation. These same books, then, give expression to a lively sense of God, contain a store of sublime teachings about God, sound wisdom about human life, and a wonderful treasury of prayers, and in them the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way. Christians should receive them with reverence. (DV §15) So, what about all the other religions? May we hold that God has revealed himself to followers of other religious traditions as well? Does God speak to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists? Do they hear his words, and can they discern his deeds in their own traditions? Does he invite them, as well, to partake in communion by revealing himself to them? And if so, what knowledge about God can we find in their traditions?22 Dei Verbum emphasizes that all revelation by God is self-manifestation. Rather than invoking the distinction between general and special revelation, the document speaks of God as one who reveals himself in acts and words. It emphasizes that all revelation goes back to one source: the three-in-one God – in that sense, all revelation is supernatural and also original. In connection with that, the salvific God-human being relationship depends on God’s free initiative to reveal himself and the free answer of faith by people (supported and also made possible by divine grace and the work of the Holy Spirit). Without revelation, without God’s self-manifestation, faith would not be possible at all. If Dei Verbum speaks of revelation as God’s self-manifestation, affirms that God speaks to those people as “friends,” and emphasizes that God does this “out of the abundance of His love,” then there is no reason at all to think that this would not apply to those of other faiths. As Jan-Hendrik Walgrave puts it: If we (...) believe that the person is a being-for-God, and that God’s grace was revealed in Christ with a universal appeal, then we must also believe that all religions are moved by one and the same fundamental striving, and that the merciful God is at work in this.23

22. For this two-part question, see also O’Collins, The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions, x. 23. Jan Hendrik Walgrave, Heil, geloof en openbaring, Bezinning en bezieling 4 (Kasterlee: De Vroente, 1968), 45. I wish to thank Joris Geldhof, who drew my atten- tion to this resource. See also Geldhof, Revelation, Reason and Reality, 173.

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Dei Verbum unreservedly confirms the global extent of God’s revelation by its reference to Rom 1:19-20: “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” With respect to other religions, it is regrettable that Dei Verbum does not refer to Gen 12:17-20, where God reveals himself to Pharaoh and also, later in Gen 14:18-20, to Melchizedek, and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Dan 2) via dreams and the interpretation of his dreams. One could also think here of the story of the three Magi from the East who were the first to view and worship the child Jesus (the high point and climax of God’s revelation) (Matt 2). Dei Verbum does not cite these and other passages. Nonetheless, on the basis of Dei Verbum (and the biblical tradition) it is theologically plausible to presuppose that the gracious God has also revealed himself to adherents of other religious traditions. Excluding the possibility would be an unwarranted limitation of God’s revelatory and salvific acts.24

A Theological Appreciation of Dialogue Dei Verbum, and the view of revelation developed in it, also lies at the foundation of the theological appreciation for dialogue between God and the human being, and among human beings themselves. Dei Verbum makes clear that God’s revelation cannot be reduced to a conceptual formulation or the disclosure of facts. God does not express truths of faith; he expresses himself. Although this is not often stated explicitly, it does have a major impact on how the Christian faith identity is related to others. As long as revelation is perceived in terms of ‘religious content’, revelation is implicitly seen as a ‘property’ managed and protected by the Church. Consequently, it is not available to outsiders. From this perspective, revelation becomes something of an esoteric knowledge, only accessible to the initiated.25 This kind of reasoning may feed a Church-centred triumphalism, leading to an us-and-them perception – us: God’s chosen people, and them: the heathens, the non-believers, the

24. D’Costa, “Revelation and Revelations,” 165-183. 25. Antonio Lopez, “Divine Revelation,” in Catholic Engagement with World Religions, ed. Karl J. Becker and Ilaria Morali, with the collaboration of Maurice Bormans and Gavin D’Costa (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2010), 230-243, p. 231.

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ones that will not be saved. This could result in a judgment and admon- ishment of non-Christian believers. Understanding revelation as God’s merciful and loving self-disclosure that endeavours to foster communion with humanity is an important theological foundation for the dialogue with other Christians, non- believers and followers of other religions. And thus, dialogue becomes intrinsic to what it means to be Church. This thought is stated again, in a more explicit manner, in the document Dialogue and Proclamation: The foundation of the Church’s commitment to dialogue is primarily (...) theological. God, in an age-old dialogue, has offered and continues to offer salvation to humankind. In faithfulness to the divine initiative, the Church too must enter into a dialogue of salvation with all men and women. (§38) This theological appreciation lends itself to a new turn towards an interfaith dialogue, which becomes evident notably in Nostra aetate. However one looks at it, this statement brings true change to the stance taken by the Church towards non-Christians. Turning towards dialogue does not detract from its calling to preach the gospel; additionally the Church recognises interfaith dialogue as a way to express its calling to be God’s people. It is relevant to quote Pope Francis’ recent statement in an interview: God is at work in the life of every person and every culture: the Spirit blows where He wills. Try to find out what God has done, and how He will continue His work. Study, sensitivity, and experience are needed to seek God in all things, in every field of knowledge, art, science, and political, social, and economic life. But it is also important to keep the mind and the heart open, and to avoid the spiritual illness of referring everything according to oneself.26 This spirit of openness and willingness to listen is characteristic of Nostra aetate, which is the document I would like to address next.

Nostra aetate

Nostra aetate is the shortest document of the Second Vatican Council, consisting of only five paragraphs. It was solemnly proclaimed on

26. Pope Francis I, quoted in Francis X. Clooney, “A Papal Mission for Jesuits: Dialogue and Discernment on the Frontiers,” America June 21, 2013 (http://americama- gazine.org/content/all-things/papal-mission-jesuits-dialogue-and-discernment-frontiers).

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28 October 1965, after a particularly difficult process of redaction.27 Originally, the intention was to issue a declaration on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, and to do so primarily in the wake of the dramatic events of the twentieth century. Out of political con- victions (the precarious situation in Palestine/Israel) and because in many countries Christians were not as concerned with the relationship with Judaism as with relations with Islam or, in Asian countries, with Buddhism and/or Hinduism, the scope of the document was ultimately extended to cover the relationship of the Church to non- Christian religions. That adjustment took considerable time, deliberation and discussion, as a result of which the document was finally approved, after being set aside for several periods, during the last session of the Council. Nostra aetate is a pragmatic and pastoral document that formu- lates a number of guidelines regarding the relationship between the Church and non-Christian religions. The Declaration was intended primarily to “foster unity and charity among individuals, and even among nations.”28 Charity, or love, is never abstract and is always directed toward flesh-and-blood human beings. This document recognises that human beings belong to particular cultures and religious traditions29 and also takes pains to avoid saying anything negative about other religions. The calm tone of this document is also worthy of note: it does not give a summary of doctrines that are for the most part not open for discussion, but rather adopts a conciliatory tone. By pointing to the positive values found in the other religions, it seeks to put an end to the negative prejudices of the past.30 The Council Fathers seemed to look with confidence at interreligious encounters, and were not too concerned that openness may lead to contamination, watering down or relativisa- tion of their own identity.

27. See Mathijs Lamberigts and Leo Declerck, “Vatican II on the Jews: A His- torical Survey,” in Never Revoked: Nostra aetate as Ongoing Challenge for Jewish-Christian Dialogue, ed. Marianne Moyaert and Didier Pollefeyt, Louvain Theological and Pastoral Monographs 40 (Leuven: Peeters, 2010), 13-56. 28. Nostra aetate §1. 29. Anton Houtepen, “Truth Enlightening All People: Christianity and Religious Pluralism after Vatican II,” in Vatican II and Its Legacy, ed. M. Lamberigts and L. Kenis, 207-232, p. 215. 30. Jacques Dupuis, Christianity and the Religions: From Confrontation to Dialogue (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002), 61.

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Human Solidarity The first paragraph emphasises primarily what all human beings have in common and what can lead to a sense of solidarity. This solidarity con- stitutes the basic theological foundation for dialogue and cooperation among religions. The unity of humankind is stressed and placed within a theological framework: all people share a common origin, coming from the one human race created by God to populate the earth. Each person is created in the image of God. As such, all humanity is one family, and we are all brothers and sisters. Moreover, the Declaration states that Divine Providence – evidence of goodness (salvation) and the plan of salvation (revelation) – extends to all people. It is not only God’s universal salvific will that is confirmed here but also the universal reach of God’s revelation. Thirdly, we not only share a common origin, but the goal of human history is likewise the same for all, namely, the God who is Three-in- One. The same divine plan of salvation, which God definitively revealed in Christ, applies to all people. This concept is theologically important in the sense that it excludes the idea that God may have, as it were, several different plans of salvation, a possibility that had been raised in the post-Conciliar theology of religions.31 Even more important, it seems to me, is the notion that because we are all children of the one Father, we must also treat each other as brothers and sisters. The document states that entering into friendly relations with other religions is a way of fulfilling this task, or rather, this privilege. How we understand our relationship to God must find expression in how we relate to others (in this case to those with different beliefs). Or, to echo Dei Verbum, the manner in which God has chosen to reveal himself, i.e., as a relational God who enters into history and reaches out to humanity, has implications for how we relate to others, who can also be called children of God and should be treated as such. This principle was similarly repeated at the end of the Declara- tion, with a call to brotherhood with all human beings, created in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:26): “We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God.” From this theological anthropology there follows a confirmation of the irreducible dignity of the human person and of the rights flowing from it, principles that are also

31. Mark Heim, Salvations: Truth and Difference in Religion (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1995).

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affirmed in Gaudium et spes §26 and in Dignitatis humanae, the Dec- laration on Religious Freedom. Finally, Nostra aetate reproves all forms of discrimination and intolerance. In this way, as Cardinal Bea stated, this Declaration sought “co-operation in that same mission (...) of which it is written: ‘Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called sons of God’ (Matt 5:9).”32

The Human Being as a Hermeneutical Being In a following consideration, the document shifts from a theological to a more anthropological perspective. The human being is presented as a hermeneutical being that asks fundamental questions about meaning and seeks truth. Human reason is a gift of God that is to be treasured, for by listening to human reason we can find God in creation, in interper- sonal encounter, and, as Nostra aetate seems to be saying, in other religious traditions. Human dignity consists precisely in self-awareness and in the freedom and capacity to ask questions about existence, the meaning of which is not immediately obvious.33 And thus human beings ask themselves existential questions: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence comes suffering and what purpose does it serve? What is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate, inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going? (NA §1) Human beings expect, according to the Council Fathers, that the various religions offer an answer to the mysteries of human existence via teachings, rules of life and sacred rites. From this anthropological perspective, religion is closely interwoven with the quest for meaning, and that in itself is a good reason for the document to speak positively about religions. Ultimately, the human being is not only a hermeneutical being

32. “Prior to the Voting on the Amendments to the Declaration, 14 October, 1965,” in Augustin Cardinal Bea, The Church and the Jewish People: A Commentary on the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (London, Dublin and Melbourne: Geoffrey Chapman, 1966), 169-172, pp. 171-172. 33. See the Belgian Bishops’ Conference, De geloofsbelijdenis van de Kerk: Katho- lieke katechismus voor volwassenen. With a foreword by Cardinal Danneels and Cardinal Simonis (Turnhout: Brepols, 1986), 14-15.

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but also, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church would later confirm, a religious being (§28) who longs to know God: The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for. (§27) One could conclude from the above that religions are nothing more than the result of the human search for meaning and thus have nothing to do with God’s self-revelation. In my view, that does not do justice to Nostra aetate, certainly not if it is read in conjunction with Dei Verbum. The human being is not only a hermeneutical being but also a religious one, who longs for God, while God longs for the human being. God – so we know – ceaselessly draws people to Himself by revealing Himself to them. In light of Dei Verbum, we could state that the downward movement of God, who unceasingly seeks contact with all people and reveals Himself, is answered by an upward movement of people who desire and seek God and God them. The dynamics finds its deposit in the religions: From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense. (NA §2) Given what we have seen above regarding Dei Verbum, which holds that God is constantly involved with all people, it is plausible to state that this understanding of God (however vague it may be) is also the result of divine intervention, a divine self-manifestation. That self-manifestation and the human understanding of it do need to be brought to completion, but its divine origin should not be doubted. The emphasis of the equal origination of the revelation to those of other faiths (we will be more specific below) and God’s revelation in Christ points to the continuum of revelation history. Can one thus not say that the religious traditions are the deposit of the way in which people, understood as hermeneutical and religious beings, have wrestled with this self- manifestation and that these religions thus, however vaguely, also contain the traces of God’s words and acts? This also seems to be confirmed in the important passage in the second paragraph of Nostra aetate on what is true and good in the traditions.

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What Is True and Good in the Different Traditions?

The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men (radium illius Veritatis). Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself. The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men. (§2) (our emphasis) Nostra aetate confirms, as does Dei Verbum, that the Christ-event was the climax of God’s salvific work in history; God’s revelation reached its completion in Jesus Christ. In Christ, who is “the way, the truth and the life,” human beings find the “fullness of religious life.” This passage echoes the words of Dei Verbum, where Christ is said to “com- plete the work of salvation” (§4).34 It is for this reason as well that the Church is called to proclaim the gospel, the good news, and to invite those of other faiths to accept Christ through baptism. The importance of the Church’s missionary activity was affirmed in particular in the Decree Ad gentes. The document does not, however, follow an antithetical structure: fullness is not contrasted with emptiness, as if there were nothing to be found in other religions. On the contrary, Nostra aetate is quite nuanced, pointing out that these religions “often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men (radium illius Veritatis).” This is, by the way, a clear reference to John 1:9, to which Dei Verbum also alludes in §4: “Then, after speaking in many and varied ways through the prophets, ‘now at last in these days God has spoken to us in His Son’ (Heb 1:1-2). For

34. “To see Jesus is to see His Father (Jn 14:9). For this reason Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and mani- festing Himself: through His words and deeds, his signs and wonders, but especially through his death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover he confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal” (DV §4).

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He sent His Son, the eternal Word, who enlightens all men, so that He might dwell among men and tell them of the innermost being of God (see John 1:1-18).” Various important points come to the fore here. First, this passage (and the reference in John) points out that the truth that can be found in the other traditions is of divine origin; this truth is the result of God’s self-revelation through the Word. Second, this confirms the continuum of revelation history, to which I referred above. (The question, by the way, can be raised as to whether the fact that Dei Verbum does not explicitly mention the distinction between general and special revelation is not also a way of emphasising this continuity.) Moreover, it is to be noted that Truth is written with a capital ‘T’ and in the singular, indicating that the truth in other religions is of divine origin and not purely the fruit of a human quest for meaning. Where the text speaks about what is true in the other religions, ‘vera’ is written with a lowercase ‘v’. In this way the document indicates that the truth that can be found in other traditions cannot surpass the Truth that alone enlightens the whole of humanity. Nevertheless, the document does state that there is truth in those traditions, and that the source of that truth (with a lowercase ‘t’) is Truth (with a capital ‘T’). This passage has to be read in light of Lumen gentium §16, where a similar formulation can be found. There we read that the truth and goodness that can be found in these religions is a gift of grace from him who enlightens all human beings: Christ. Both Nostra aetate §2 and Lumen gentium §16 refer to the Gospel of John 1:9, which affirms that “the true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” This is a critique of a minimalist and reductionist interpretation that would dismiss these elements of truth as something that people can attain by using natural reason. The universal scope of Christ as light and life for the whole world is hereby confirmed.35 This also means that we can presume that traditions and elements of divinely revealed truth can be found in non-biblical religions as well.36 Given that these elements of truth flow from the same Truth, they likewise share in its divine nature even if they do not have the same degree of fullness.

35. O’Collins, The Second Vatican Council on Other Religions, 79. 36. See Francis Sullivan, “Vatican II on the Salvation of Adherents of Other Religions,” in After Vatican II: Trajectories and Hermeneutics, ed. James Heft and John O’Malley (Grand Rapids, MI and Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2012), 68-95, p. 78. The fact that elements of divinely revealed truth can be found in ‘non-Christian religions’ was also affirmed in Lumen gentium §17: “seminatum” (sown). The notion of ‘seminatum’ again refers to the divine origin of these elements of truth and goodness.

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Moreover, it is interesting that Lumen gentium §16 goes further than Nostra aetate. Lumen gentium §16 calls everything that is true and holy in other religions a preparation for the Gospel, which implies that other religions have a positive role to play in revelation and salvation history. They are not merely the result of the human search for meaning but are a preparation for the Gospel. This passage in Lumen gentium is, according to Gavin D’Costa, an expansion of the way in which praepa- ratio evangelica was always traditionally understood.37 Traditionally, only Israel was viewed as constituting a preparation for the Gospel. Although it cannot be concluded from this that other religions are on a par, as far as revelation is concerned, with Israel that was chosen by God and with whom He made a covenant, nevertheless, it again expresses a certain continuity as well as an appreciation for the role of the religions in revelation history. This explains why Nostra aetate states that the Church is called to “recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men,” even though they must also be “healed, uplifted, and perfected for the glory of God” (cf. Ad gentes §9). In this way, dialogue becomes a place where Catholics can discover, together with others, another faith where God reveals himself. And yet this does not mean that the preaching of the gospel has become unnecessary because of engagement in interreligious dialogue. Such dialogue and proclamation are two dimensions of the Catholic Church’s broader task of evangelisation. Although this attitude is often perceived as ambiguous, it can be understood in the light of what it means to be Church in the tension between what is already and what is not yet, to which Dei Verbum also refers. Inasmuch as the Church is already the sacrament of the Kingdom of God, it is called to proclaim Jesus Christ. To the extent that the Church recognises that although receiving the fullness of revelation in Christ, its human element dictates that it still must plumb the depths of the meaning of that revelation in the quest for truth, it commits itself to joining with others along its pilgrimage. Whereas proclamation is aimed at the conversion of followers of other religions, that they may become followers of Jesus within the Church community, inter religious dialogue finds its ultimate meaning in the joint turning to the one God under the impulse of the work of the Spirit.38 It is a

37. Gavin D’Costa, Vatican II: Catholic Doctrines on Jews & Muslims (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 99-107. 38. Dupuis, Toward a Theology of Christian Pluralism, 383.

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place where Catholics, along with those of other faiths, can discover where God reveals himself.

On the Importance of Nostra aetate There are some theologians who downplay the importance of Nostra aetate.39 They point to the fact that this document is only a declaration and thus does not have the same weight as a dogmatic constitution or even a decree. Furthermore, Nostra aetate, precisely because it is only a declaration, does not formulate fully developed systematic reflections on the many theological challenges posed by the multiplicity of religions. It is true, this document does not offer any binding or fully worked-out teaching that could answer the many difficult questions relating to sote- riology (can non-Christians be saved, and if so, how?), Christology (what does the unicity of Christ mean in the light of religious plurality?), ecclesiology (what to do with the longstanding adage no salvation outside the Church?) and revelation (are the other religions channels of God’s revelation?). As a consequence, the document is sometimes treated with condescension as only a pastoral document with little dogmatic weight. Quite apart from the fact that I disagree with the implied depreciation of pastoral theology reflected in this view, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise, in four points, the importance of this document. Firstly, I would point to the fact that this text is the first Church document in which something positive is said about other religions.40 It is worth noting that, in addition, the Council Fathers tried to do justice to the distinctiveness of those religions, even if they did not intend to discuss them in detail. Although Nostra aetate stresses solidarity among all people, this does not give rise either to superficial statements about the religions or to a one-sided focus on interreligious commonalities. The differences among religions are acknowledged and identified.

39. E.g. Ilaria Morelli, “Misunderstandings about Interreligious Dialogue,” an online interview in two parts, Jan. 14 and 16, 2005. See: www.zenit.org/: “To attribute a doctrinal value to the Nostra Aetate declaration falls, in my understanding, into great ingenuousness [sic] and historical error.” 40. Cardinal Bea introduced the discussions of the third draft of Nostra aetate during the third session (20 November 1964) with the following words: “I may be permitted to underline in particular the importance of this Declaration in so far as it deals with non-Christian religions. No Council in the history of the Church, unless I am mistaken, has ever set out so solemnly the principles concerning them. This consideration must be given full weight.” Bea, The Church and the Jewish People, 168.

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Secondly, it would be short sighted to measure the weight of this document solely by its dogmatic status. It is much more important, it seems to me, to take into consideration the reception history of Nostra aetate. It is certainly no exaggeration to say that this document succeeded in bringing about a veritable revolution in the relations between the Church and other religious traditions, prompting a shift from a mono- logue to a dialogue. This change was implemented institutionally with the establishment of the Secretariat for Non-Christians (1964), and also found concrete expression in a number of symbolic interreligious gatherings, in which church leaders reached out their hands to other religious leaders.41 Even more important is the fact that at a grassroots level a large number of interreligious groups came into existence, in which believers from different traditions read each other’s sacred writings, prayed together or joined forces to address shared ethical challenges (e.g., poverty and social exclusion).42 Thirdly, I have argued that the ideas developed in Nostra aetate were underpinned by a certain conception of revelation that can be found in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. Here and there I have also made a few detours to Lumen gentium and Ad gentes. What emerges from these is that the turn to dialogue was also carried forward by the more ‘authoritative’ documents. Fourthly, the fact that Nostra aetate is only a declaration and hence does not contain a fully developed systematic theology of religions can be a positive feature. The document is but a first step. It means, in my view, that the Council Fathers recognised the complexity of the field of theology of religions and that much more time, study and dialogue would be necessary in order to delineate an adequate theology of religions. It is as though the Council Fathers understood that the formulation of a theology of religions would demand much more theological reflection and that such theological work would have to be carried out in conjunction with dialogue and a thorough study of the other religions.

41. The later Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (1988). 42. On the different forms of dialogue, see Marianne Moyaert, “Interreligious Dialogue,” in Understanding Inter-religious Relations, ed. David Cheetham, Douglas Pratt and David Thomas (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 193-217.

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Conclusion

I have argued how both Dei Verbum and Nostra aetate offer a very important stimulus to the theological appreciation of interreligious dialogue, and this is also how these documents are received within the Catholic Church. In the past fifty years there has been an enormous amount of dialogical activity in that regard. If we truly recognise that there is an element of truth in other traditions, and if we can confirm that these elements stem from the one Truth that enlightens every one, then the challenge is to discover, through dialogue and a study of the texts, rites and rules of those traditions, what those elements of truth are and how they can enrich and deepen our (mutual) understanding of God’s self-revelation. The recognition that there is revelation in other religions is, in other words, an important theological motivation for interreligious dialogue.

Marianne Moyaert is a Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), where she holds the Chair in Comparative Theology and the Hermeneutics of Interreligious Dialogue. She has recently authored In Response to the Religious Other: Ricoeur and the Fragility of Interreligious Encounters (2014) and edited (with Joris Geldhof) Interreligious Dialogue and Ritual Participation: Boundaries, Transgressions and Innovations (2015). Her research focuses on the hermeneutical, ethical, and theological presuppositions of interreligious dialogue. She holds a research grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The title of her project is Crossing Borders: Inter- religious Ritual Sharing as a Challenge to the Theology of Interreligious Dialogue. Address: Marianne Moyaert, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der God geleerdheid, De Boelelaan 1105, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected].

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