By Emmanuel Ojeifo
On 28 October 1965, the Second Vatican Council, a gathering of over 2500 Catholic bishops from all over the world, promulgated a historic document that marked a turning point in the Catholic Church’s relationship to non-Christian religions, including Islam. Titled Nostra Aetate in Latin, the document has its English rendering as “The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.” This declaration is the smallest in volume of all the sixteen documents promulgated by Vatican II (1962-1965). It is slightly above 1700 words, but it is packed full with deep and profound insights into the Catholic understanding of other religions.
“In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions,” the document noted in its opening paragraph. Although it spoke about areas of common grounds between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions in general like Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism among others, Nostra Aetate had a lot to say about the esteem and respect that the Catholic Church has for followers of the religion of Islam.
Whenever we are confronted with a religion different from our own, our first instinct is usually to reject it. We often tend to see what is wrong with it rather than what it right. Nostra Aetate follows the other path. It starts by acknowledging areas of common affinity between Christianity and Islam, especially our common heritage in the faith of Abraham, and urges Christians to genuinely seek to understand, appreciate and promote what is good in Islam. With openheartedness, the document declared: “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” (NA 3).
While speaking about Islam, Nostra Aetate said: “The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth… Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the Day of Judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting” (NA 3). The document further reminds all Christians that the way of Christ demands us to love our neighbours, whether they are followers of our religion or not, for all genuine religion has its focus as the worship of the one True God, albeit in different ways.
As believers in one God, our both religions should unite us in the worship of God and in our joint commitment to address common human problems that affect all human beings. Our religions can also help us to approach life positively and to answer some of humanity’s most puzzling questions bordering on our common origin and destiny. Such questions, according to Nostra Aetate include: “What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Where has suffering come from 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: where do we come from, and where are we going?” Whether we are believers or not, these are common questions that disturb us all.
It would seem like a tall order today when we hear Nostra Aetate urging us to discern and affirm those elements in Islam that genuinely reflect rays of beauty, truth and goodness. In an age where the actions of violent religious extremists are threatening to destroy the foundation of many years of good relations between Muslims and Christians, we can easily get drawn into the logic of extremism by engaging in accusations and counter-accusations, which further erode mutual trust and respect. Thankfully, in a November 2013 document on evangelization titled “The Joy of the Gospel,” which he published barely seven months after he became the spiritual leader of the world’s 1.5 billion Catholics, Pope Francis advised all Catholics to avoid the danger of running into generalisations about Islam. “Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism,” he said “our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.”
With regard to quarrels and hostilities which have arisen in the past between Christians and Muslims, Nostra Aetate calls us to purge our memories and urges “all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom” (NA 3). Such is the goodwill that Nostra Aetate enjoins on all of us.
Since its promulgation in 1965, Nostra Aetate has inspired countless initiatives between the Catholic Church and other non-Christian religions in the work of promoting peace, justice and reconciliation in the world. Earlier in 1964, Pope Paul VI established the Secretariat for Non-Christians, later renamed in 1988 as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID). As the central office of the Catholic Church for the promotion of interreligious dialogue, PCID has been in the forefront of fostering mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of other religious traditions; encouraging the study of religions and promoting the education of persons dedicated to the work of dialogue. The Pontifical Institute for the Study of Arabic and Islam (PISAI), which arrived in Rome from Tunis in 1964, has been the Catholic Church’s study and research centre for cutting-edge scientific and theological scholarship in Islam, with teachers and students drawn from different parts of the world.
There is also the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims (CRRM), established by Pope Paul VI in 1974. This consultative body is made up of eight Catholic leading experts in Christian-Muslims dialogue from diverse countries of the world. Among the eight experts is a Nigerian Catholic priest and prolific writer, Rev. Fr. Cornelius Omonokhua who is also the Director of Mission and Dialogue at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja.
Back home, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the highest decision-making body in the Nigerian Catholic Church, has a Department in the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria devoted to the promotion of inter-faith dialogue. This department has the full complement of staff and resources and is headed at the episcopal level by Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese. Interestingly, Bishop Kukah is also the Chairman of the Inter-religious Dialogue Committee of the Catholic Bishops of West Africa. Two other trailblazers in this field of promoting inter-religious dialogue across global frontiers are John Onaiyekan, Cardinal Archbishop of Abuja, and Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos and President of CBCN.
Cardinal Onaiyekan was for many years Co-President of the Nigerian Inter-religious Council (NIREC) with the Sultan of Sokoto, and after his term of office he and the Sultan established the Nigeria Inter-Faith Action for Peace. In 2012, the Cardinal and the Sultan both won the Leadership Newspaper Persons of the Year for their work in building bridges of peace, friendship, mutual respect and harmonious coexistence among people of all faiths in Nigeria. Their names also appeared on the list of shortlisted persons for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize, a sign that their work for peace was receiving international recognition. In 2013, Cardinal Onaiyekan was elected as Co-President of the World Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (WCRL-RfP) with headquarters at the UN headquarters in New York. This high responsibility affords him the opportunity of being in the global vanguard of promoting inter-faith dialogue, especially in difficult situations. He also sits on the 17-member Global Agenda Council on the Role of Faith in the World Economic Forum, where he is bringing a touch of religion and spirituality to bear on discussions about the future of global economy.
All of these and many other initiatives have been inspired by the hand of friendship and openness, which the Catholic Church extended to all non-Christian religions with the coming on of Nostra Aetate 50 years ago. The whole aim is to preserve with open hearts and minds that which reflects the beautiful, the good and the true in all religions. There is to be no place for religious bigotry and hatred. “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” (NA 5).
* Ojeifo is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Abuja ([email protected]).
