Vatican City — Responding to allegations, particularly from Russian Orthodox and Anglican leaders, that the Catholic Church was “poaching for souls,” the Holy See’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) released a statement affirming its “right and duty” to evangelize among nonbelievers and welcome converts into the Church.
The 19-page “Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization,” declares that evangelization is “an inalienable right and duty, an expression of religious liberty…
“The incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and age. It is entrance into the gift of communion with Christ.”
“Every person has the right to hear the “Good News’.” The “Note” said. “Every Christian has the
corresponding duty to help people meet Jesus Christ, a task that must be accomplished not only be words, but also by one’s actions”
The “Note” was sent from the CDF to conferences of bishops worldwide to be made public December 14, 2007, when it was to be published in L’Osservatore Romano.
It was signed by William Cardinal Levada, prefect of the CDF, and Salesian Archbishop Angelo Amato, CDF secretary.
The CDF issued the statement because of a “growing confusion” about the Church’s missionary
mandate, the “Note” said. For example, some maintain that “any attempt to convince others on religious matters” somehow infringes upon the freedom of the person. Some argue that conversion to Christ and to the Catholic faith should not be promoted because it is possible for people to be saved without explicit faith in Christ or formal incorporation in the Church. The “Note,” CDF said, “is intended to clarify certain aspects of the relationship between the missionary command of the Lord and respect for the conscience and religious freedom of all people.”
The CDF highlighted anthropological, ecclesiological, and ecumenical implications of evangelization.
Citing anthropological implications, the “Note” said that human freedom cannot be separated from its integral reference to truth. Teaching and dialogue, it said, constitutes “a legitimate endeavor and a service capable of making human relationships more fruitful.”
Communication of religious truths so that they might be accepted by others is also in harmony with the natural human desire to have others share in one’s own goods, the “Note” said.
Evangelizers themselves benefit from evangelizing, it added. “Every encounter with another person or culture is capable of revealing potentialities of the Gospel which hitherto may not have been fully explicit and which will enrich the life of Christians and the Church.
The “Note” underscored the attitudes which should accompany evangelization and said that whatever fails to respect the dignity and religious freedom of the partners in dialogue, such as coercion or improper enticement, has no place in Christian Evangelization.
It also warned against relativism. The Church’s task of evangelization is endangered, it said, “by relativistic theories which seek to justify religious pluralism, not only de facto, but also de jure” [by right]. Such theories overlook the fact that human freedom is not indifference; it is rather directed toward truth.
In noting ecumenical considerations, the CDF spoke of a close connection between evangelization and ecumenism in the sense that Christian divisions seriously compromise the credibility of the Church’s evangelizing mission. The more ecumenism brings about greater unity among Christians, the more effective that evangelization will be.
When Catholic evangelization takes place is a country where other Christians live, Catholics must take care to carry out their mission with “both true respect for the tradition and spiritual riches of such countries as well as a sincere spirit of cooperation.”
The CDF noted ecumenism’s different dimensions: listening, “as a fundamental condition for any dialogue”; theological discussion, “in which, by seeking to understand the beliefs, traditions, and convictions of others, agreement can be found, at times hidden under disagreement”; and witness and proclamation, “of elements which are not particular traditions or theological subtleties, but which belong rather to the Tradition of the faith itself.”