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Dei Verbum, Nostra Aetate and Interfaith Dialogue Marianne Moyaert

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Dei Verbum, Nostra Aetate and Interfaith Dialogue Marianne Moyaert Louvain Studies 39 (2015-16): 43-62 doi: 10.2143/LS.39.1.3144265 © 2016 by Louvain Studies, all rights reserved 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. 001_98826_LouvainStudies_2015_1.indb 43 22/04/16 09:10 44 MARIANNE MOyaert 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 ‘continu- ity’ 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 rela- tions. 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 salv- ific will relates to the particularity of the Christ-event and the mission- ary 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/docu- ments/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.” 001_98826_LouvainStudies_2015_1.indb 44 22/04/16 09:10 DEI VERBUM, NOSTRA aetate AND interfaith DIALOGUE 45 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 revela- tion. 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. 001_98826_LouvainStudies_2015_1.indb 45 22/04/16 09:10 46 MARIANNE MOyaert 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 inter- faith 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 dia- logue with him, so that by knowing him we may discover who we truly are.
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