Naturally, as I do with almost any book I read (excepting novels), I looked around in the book for things that were more likely to be of interest to me: so what does the Pope now think about Hinduism and Buddhism? I suppose that at Regensburg German good manners let the Pope just say what he wanted to say, without serious debate - even if he would have been better off if some other German professor had then and there questioned him on the motive for that particular quotation. By heading the largest religious organization on the planet (which consists of 1.27 billion people), the Pope has a huge advantage in winning a contest for the leader of all religions. Thanks. The Pope has to deal with these other religions believing he represents the one true religion/way on earth. This is just the latest in a line of papal statements on Islam dating back to the 1960s that describe Islam as an “Abrahamic” faith that will lead its adherents to the same God worshiped by Christians. On one level, I applaud this because so much strife, violence and war has been wrought in the name of religion. In an attempt to keep the peace, the Pope put off making a decision about Henry's marriage. There is no comfort in this papacy for the closed-minded, at least on these issues. And all this is practical: “The important thing is to discover what we have in common and, wherever possible, to perform a common service in this world.”. Great defenders of Trinitarian faith … He saw himself as sticking to his position, challenging Muslims to talk more about their attitudes toward violence, and their view of how reason functions with respect to their faith. Pope Francis and the One-World Religion By Todd Strandberg. Pope comes from the Latin for 'father' (the traditional title for a bishop). Jesus said "By their fruits you will know them." I know that I was focusing pretty intensely on one detail in what your said. China also refuses to recognize the pope's authority over China's almost 12 million Catholics. We must do the same. If you read the transcripts of the bishops on child sex abuse you will sadly see how they have fared poorly in their imitation of Christ. Protestant … The history of the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, based in the Vatican City, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. No matter how spirited his articulation of Christian truth may be, he does not want our apprehension of truth to be distorted into a platform from which to look down on people of other faiths; he does not want us to pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves about how much better our religion is than other religions; and he does want to us to work together with people of other faith traditions on issues that concern all of us. As it was … In a report in the … That is an interesting tightrope to … If you’re already a subscriber or donor, thank you! The Catholic Church is, in one sense, just one denomination and its universal primate is the pope. The key words here are “diversity of religions.” The pope would have us to believe that all religions have merit, especially that of Islam. He prepared the way for the inquisition more than anyone, not to mention the crusades. The new document reaffirms Islam as a religion … But in any case, one section did jump out at me, and for now (I may return to the book later, after Christmas) I will simply highlight a few pages. Coptic Christians do not recognize the Roman Catholic Pope based in Rome as having religious or spiritual authority over them. Pope Francis urged members of all religions and those belonging to no church on Wednesday to unite to defend justice, peace and the environment and not … The history of the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, based in the Vatican City, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. teachings on religious diversity? In a recent speech he said, “Christians and Muslims, we meet one another in faith in the one God…and strive to put into practice…the teaching of our respective holy books. The New Testament sources, for instance, offer an obvious polemic against the Pharisees, while the rabbis give heady endorsement. Secularism, not another faith tradition, is today’s problem: “In this world, radical secularism stands on one side, and the question of God, in its various forms, stands on the other.” Accordingly, people of various religions — and here it makes no sense, in my view, to exclude Hindus or Buddhists or people of smaller faith traditions, as if the reality of faith and experience of God is just a Jewish-Christian-Muslim property — must respect the distinctive differences among religions. Pope Francis with leaders of other world religions The Hindu community in Abu Dhabi, led by Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, has also announced its support for the day of prayer. The mutual agreement on baptisms, a key sacrament in the churches, has been discussed between denominational leadership for seven years and hinges in part on invoking trinity of the "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" during the baptism. John XXIII showed the way to be pope. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so. [1] He was elected on April 19, 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on … All of this is fine, of course, and the book will sell quite well. The merger solidifies the movement toward a one-world religion. The Pharisees simply. Many Catholic voters feel unrepresented in national politics, but Patrick Neve says to take heart: Local government can address problems more swiftly and effectively. Pope Francis and Islam are both steeped in Sustainable Development, aka Technocracy. Learn about the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church in relation to God, Jesus Christ, Mary, and the saints; the Seven Sacraments; Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory; sin and repentance; sex and sexuality, and more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. Pope Francis, who travelled to Lund in Sweden for two days of joint events, told worshippers at the city’s cathedral that Catholics and Lutherans had a “new opportunity to accept a common path”. He makes a link to the well-received Common Wordstatement signed by 138 Muslim scholars (that ultimately drew the Vatican into dialogue), and a series of other conversations he had — and had to have — to make peace after Regensburg. An interview with Cardinal Leonardi Sandri, the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Oriental Churches, The cardinal called it “a great honor and privilege” to offer the prayer at the invitation of Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent, on the program “We Remember 500,000: A National Memorial Service for Covid-19.”. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. The current office-holder is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected in papal conclave on 19 April 2005. Even while not confusing one religion with another, we must “try to understand one another… We must try to live the grandeur of our faith and to embody it in a vital way, while, on the other hand, trying to understand the heritage of others.” Studying other religions is something we must do! The Eastern Catholic churches are instead distinct particular churches sui iuris, although they maintain full and equal, mutual sacramental … In response to yet another question, he insists that old stereotypes of Christianity vs. Islam are simply outmoded, since today we live “in a completely different world” than that of the Middle Ages and early modernity. I woud like to briefly (insofar as I know that it is not on the path of the intended direction of this thread) object to Bill's comments above. It is a collegial model that he thus puts forth: we — Catholics, Muslims — have the most important things in common as we battle secularism, mindless violence, and widespread stupidity on matters religious. The sticking to Augustine is a major roadblock to unity. Prior to Vatican Council II, the Roman Catholic Church saw no need to curry favor with other religions, let alone true Bible believers. if you are trying to comment, you must log in or set up a new account. We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website. Not by the Mass or the Pope.  Bill, I think that the site you link to does not do much by way of reinforcing any view of the Pharisees as bearing a strong comparison to the modern bishop (let alone that they "strayed from the path of God"). And for that, I add, we must learn about those other traditions and from their believing members. The belief that people of all religions worship the same God, just in a different way, seems to be the cultural norm today. Open our mind, think, study, learn across religious boundaries: what better thought for Christmas, as we read a book by a Pope, entitled Light of the World? If we take these pages — right in the middle of the book — seriously, they become the vantage point from which to re-view the inside-the-Church and inside-the-West issues that make up the bulk of the rest of the book and capture the news headlines. On February 4, 2019, Pope Francis incited new controversy by signing a joint statement with the head of Egypt’s al-Azhar Mosque, which states that “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” The historic accord between Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad el-Tayeb took place during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, which marked the high… The office of the pope is called the … Try La Croix International now for just USD 4.99 a Quarter! No more crusades or jihads. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The pope is the Bishop of Rome, based in the Vatican City, and head of the Roman Catholic Church. Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church and I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. You can either click on the link in your confirmation email or simply re-enter your email address below to confirm it. Each pope is part of what Catholicism calls the apostolic succession, an unbroken line back to Peter and has supreme authority. Proclaimed the Vicar of Christ, or the human representative of Jesus, the Christian savior, the Pope assumes infallibility, or unquestioned authority, when making statements in an official capacity. The Pope leads the western Catholic Church, with its headquarters, Vatican City, located within Rome, Italy. Rome’s Efforts to Seduce Both Christians and Non-Christian Religions. Lent is the Christian season of spiritual preparation before Easter. The late 264th Pope held office for 26 years and died on the 2nd April 2005. Logging in will also give you access to commenting features on our website. are there warnings against meditation, yoga and zen? There are two things and probably others that make Roman Catholicism unique and of course others who are not Roman Catholic will dispute them: ” Studying other religions is something we must do! You cannot divorce the pope or bishop from their actions. If you login and register your print subscription number with your account, you’ll have unlimited access to the website. The influence of Augustine on the Western church has not been positive in my opinion. Check out some of the. If you do you miss the whole point of Jesus who condemned the leaven of the Pharisees who were the bishops of his time. In 325, the First Council of Nicaea condemned Arianism, declaring trinitarianism dogmatic, and in its sixth canon recognized the special role of the Sees of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch. Catholics, must we be so obsessed with Jesus’ death and suffering this Lent? Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Cardinal Sarah as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, An Introduction to Christian Mysticism: Recovering the Wildness of Spiritual Life, Ressourcement and the Reception of Newman in Twentieth- Century Theology, Earn a Master’s with a Focus on Catholic Studies. Cambridge, MA. If anything, it points to the scarcity of the information we have on the group, as well as the fact that our sources are all anachronistic and shaded (sometimes quite strongly) by bias and the needs of rhetoric. We can still believe Jesus is the face of God on earth without condemning those who take other paths to God. The clergy's most distinctive characteristic should be their service to the church. But as Francis points out in the post, the church has to call them on it when they depart from the gospel. Why pick one reason to be Catholic?  There are many kinds of human being in the world, and I'm reasonably confident they're all capable of finding their own reasons to be Catholic (or not to be Catholic, as the case may be).  I'm fond of people with quirky and idiosyncratic reasons for religious belonging.  Perhaps some combination of the below explains my own Catholicism: Whether or not you're an intellectual (and whether or not being an intellectual means anything at all, which I doubt), I think you've got the gist of things, and I appreciate the thought and charity.  It's certainly not necessary to agree with me, either. - The Jesuit Post. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. Regarding ecumenism and the slippery slope into syncretism, yes, the Church teaches that one need not be Catholic, or even Christian, to attain heaven. Religions. We need not look to the Pope to speak about everything that is of importance to Catholics today. Before you make the eucharist and/or the papacy the sine qua non to distinguish Catholicism from all other forms of Christianity (and for that matter, all other religions), you might first like to perform a careful historical study of the development of doctrine on these issues.  This is fairly straightforward to do - you first look at what was written on these topics in the earliest recoverable stratum of tradition (Q, undisputed Pauline letters, etc. We can't do it without you—America Media relies on generous support from our readers. Posted By: Michael Snyder February 11, 2019. One way of repenting during Lent is to acknowledge our narrow attitudes about who is “in” and who is “out.” Jesus’ message is emphatically that everyone is in. Please visit our membership page to learn how you can invest in our work by subscribing to the magazine or making a donation. ), then the next layer (Didache, Ignatius, the pastoral epistles, etc. We ask our visitors to confirm their email to keep your account secure and make sure you're able to receive email from us. The Pope’s chosen papal name honored St. Francis, who was the Islamic unifier during his lifetime. When you register, you’ll get unlimited access to our website and a free subscription to our email newsletter for daily updates with a smart, Catholic take on faith and culture from, We’re sorry registration isn't working smoothly for you. The pope and bishops are important. The "Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions" issued in 1976 "Dominus Iesus" written by Pope Benedict XVI in the year 2000 when, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Taking a deep breath at semester’s end — a semester that has in some ways seemed an eternity — I had the opportunity to look into Pope Benedict’s Light of the World, a series of conversations with journalist Peter Seewald that for various reasons has attracted a good bit of attention. ), and so on as far as you would like to go up until the Vatican I declaration of papal infallibility.  Note whether institutions such as apostolic succession, the monarchical episcopate, "bishops," and "papacy" exist in all layers, and their similarities and differences throughout eras.  You might be surprised by the results, and it's relevant to your argument as I suspect you would NOT like to be forced to defend a sine qua non for Catholicism which would exclude Peter himself and the entire early church up to say Constantine or the East/West split. Before his election as Pope, Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio strongly opposed same-sex marriage and the same-sex marriage bill that Argentina senate debated in 2010. The pope (from Latin: "papa" or "father" from Greek , pappas) is the Bishop of Rome and as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church (that is, both the Latin Rite and the Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Roman Pontiff). Although Eastern Catholics are in full communion with the Pope and members of the worldwide Catholic Church, they are not members of the Latin Church, which uses the Latin liturgical rites, among which the Roman Rite is the most widespread. Second in the hierarchy after the Pope are the Cardinals, who elect the next pope on the death of the current incumbent. Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions. Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: Benedictus PP. In the Catholic church Augustine more than anyone made being Catholic more important than being virtuous. As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important America’s voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. He criticized them continually because they strayed from the path of God. Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address. As Pope Francis, after his election in 2013, he has repeatedly spoken about the need for the Catholic Church to welcome and love all people regardless of sexual orientation. “Pope Francis’ words will highlight the inclusive, accepting essence of Christianity that so many people care about,” said Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, a fellow with the faith initiative at the liberal Center for American Progress think tank. Sadhanas and pujas and devotions which bring about the living presence of Christ have not been terribly uncommon in the more liberal strands of Asian religions since contact with Europeans, so the Eucharist does not make Catholicism (or even Christianity) unique.  Ramakrishna's Christ experience is probably the most famous instance of this kind of religious practice.  Ramakrisha wanted to realize the inner truth of all religions and as part of that program he improvised a personal Jesus sadhana, which ultimately led to Jesus appearing to him and the two merging into one another in a non-dual mystical communion.  I myself have interviewed Vaishnavas for whom Jesus is a figure of devotional significance (as one of the manifestations of Krishna), and it is not terribly uncommon for Hindus to receive communion in Indian Catholic churches as prasad in order to commune more closely with him.  For a more accessible Western example, here's a nice diasporic Tibetan Buddhist Jesus sadhana for manifesting and communing with the living presence of Jesus Christ throughout one's day.  (I'd actually like to receive the empowerment for this one): "Finally, I would just point out that it is not exactly new or wild for me to suggest that the gospels' depictions of the Pharisees has more to do with competition between that group and the followers of Jesus in the years of the early Jesus movement than it does with any actual hostility between Jesus and the Pharisees". “The way conservative Christians … distort this message of love and justice that Jesus proclaimed” can have an alienating effect, he said. You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. In the chapter entitled “Ecumenism and the Dialogue with Islam” (many chapters seem to have double topics, as if pasted together), the Pope is asked to reflect on the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his 2006 Regensburg address, in which he quotes the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus rather calmly and even neutrally, and thus seemed to have no problem with the emperor's reducing Islam to violence: “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The Pope admits that he was not prepared for the negative reactions that occurred everywhere, as people found the words inflammatory. Since you’re a frequent reader of our website, we want to be able to share even more great, As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important. Jesus made the point over and over with the humble being exalted and the washing of the feet of the disciples. There are two things we have in common: we both defend major religious values — faith in God and obedience to God — and we both need to situate ourselves correctly in modernity.” He willingly admits that both Catholics and Muslims face the same challenges and have much in common. We should give it up this Lent. Xi's latest comments may put the brakes on a potential visit by the pope … Copyright © 2021 America Press Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Bill, my argument is certainly not with Jesus, nor with the literary figure of Jesus as presented in the gospels (for who would argue with a literary depiction), nor even with the communities/individuals who are responsible for the literary depictions of Jesus' interactions with Pharisees. But more interestingly, in his interview with Mr. Seewald the Pope goes on to talk about the good things that came out of that unfortunate, even awful Regensburg moment. During Lent, many Christians observe a period of fasting, repentance, moderation, self-denial, and spiritual discipline.The purpose of the Lenten season is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ—to consider his suffering and his sacrifice, his … If you’re already a subscriber or donor, http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/pharisee.htm, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/15/AR2009051501390.html?sid=ST2009051503626, Pope Francis pays surprise visit to the home of poet and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck, I long for a Catholic Church that is unafraid to welcome Black people, Podcast: Richard Rohr on Pope Francis, original sin and giving up nothing for Lent. To be Catholic (distinct from catholic) is to recognize the pope. Interview: What to expect when Pope Francis makes his historic trip to Iraq, Cardinal Gregory prays on CNN for 500,000 Americans killed by Covid-19, Richard Szczepanowski - Catholic News Service, Dear Catholics: Stop obsessing over the White House and focus on local politics. The current pontiff Benedict XVI is the 265th pope and succeeded John Paul II in 2005.