Abstract
This article examines John Paul II’s understanding of the universal work of the Holy Spirit and the possible salvific role of other religions. It examines various critiques of his thought on these questions and concludes that, for him, the work of the Holy Spirit is never separated from the work of Christ. It maintains that, for John Paul II, there is no salvation apart from Christ, the Holy Spirit is working in every human heart, there are spiritual riches in other religions through which God can influence people, these ‘seeds of the Word’ are preparations for the fullness of the Gospel, and the Church plays a necessary role in mediating salvation to all. Dialogue with other religions and respect for their spiritual riches are not opposed to evangelization; rather, such dialogue and respect are expressions of evangelization.
The Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization is now a reality. Many are watching and waiting to see whether it will have any substantial effect upon the re-evangelization of Europe. The purpose of the council is to spur new efforts at spreading the Gospel in European countries which have been affected significantly by secularization. However, European and many other Western countries are increasingly home to people of other religions, not only post-Christians. Does the new council have a role to play in the evangelization of these people? If so, it must face a challenge which has been raised by the questioning of the mission ad gentes (to the nations): if members of other religions can be saved without becoming Christian, why evangelize them when they are to be found in post-Christian countries? In fact, if post-Christians can also be saved without becoming Christian, why seek a re-evangelization of Europe or anywhere else? In attempting to answer these questions, this article will analyze John Paul II’s understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in the world and the possible salvific value of other religions, followed by some reflections on his insights, in order to see what counsel the late pope could give to the new council as to the approach it should take to the evangelization of people of other religions and no religion.
Reconciling the Mission of Christ and the Work of the Holy Spirit
When one examines assessments of John Paul II’s missiology, one finds that the debate often resolves itself into a single major question: how can one reconcile Christ as the only saviour with the universal salvific work of the Holy Spirit? Whether a particular theologian is well or ill-disposed towards John Paul II’s missiology usually can be traced back to this root dilemma. Some solve this dilemma by denying or reinterpreting the uniqueness of Christ as the only Saviour whilst compensating for this by emphasizing the Church’s teaching about the universal work of the Holy Spirit. They maintain that the simultaneous holding of these two positions is contradictory. If the work of the Holy Spirit is universal, Christ cannot be the only Saviour.
Thus Laurenti Magesa believes that Redemptoris Missio is fundamentally contradict- ory. He asserts that John Paul II affirmed the preeminence of a ‘Spirit ecclesiology.’ He interprets John Paul II’s statement that ‘every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit, who is mysteriously present in every human heart’ to be an affirmation of the universal work of the Holy Spirit and, therefore, an implicit admission that other ‘Spirit-inspired saviour figures’ and ‘divine witness-orientated ecclesial bodies’ may exist outside Christ and Christianity. 1 However, according to Magesa, John Paul II did not make this admission explicit because he was limited by cultural constraints and dogmatic commitment to Christ as the only saviour. 2
Magesa’s position seems to be that the work of the Spirit is universal, whereas the work of Christ is not. He does not deny that Christ is a Spirit-inspired saviour figure, only that he need not be the only one. However, he does attempt to retain some kind of ‘uniqueness’ for Christ and Christianity by appealing to Paul Knitter’s idea of a Christ who has a ‘relational uniqueness’ to other ‘saviour figures.’ 3
Behind this unwillingness to accept the universality of the work of Christ, there seems to be a particular understanding of the association between this work and the Church. We should note that Magesa refers to a ‘Spirit ecclesiology’ rather than a Christological ecclesiology. In his mind, Christ seems to be associated exclusively with the visible Church. Augustine Kanjamela also seems to imply a separation between the Holy Spirit, on the one hand, and Christ and the Church, on the other, or perhaps the existence of two missions of the Holy Spirit, one through Christ and the Church, and another in the world. He believes that Redemptoris Missio introduced an opposition between the mission of Christ, mediated in and through the Church, and the work of the Holy Spirit, present and operative outside the Church in the religions and cultures of the world, albeit in a less visible manner. 4
Not all see a contradiction in Redemptoris Missio between the universal activity of the Holy Spirit in the world and his particular activity within Christ and the Church. John Saward holds that John Paul II saw these activities as intrinsically inseparable:
The Spirit is present and active in a special way in the Church, but also universally, in every time and place. He is at work in the heart of every man through the ‘seeds of the Word’ in the diversity of human cultures (Redemptoris Missio, 28). But this universally active Spirit, John Paul stresses, is the Spirit of Jesus and the Soul of His Mystical Body; He is not an ‘alternative to Christ.’ Whatever He achieves in human hearts outside of Christendom is a ‘preparation for the Gospel and can only be understood in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power of the Spirit.’ The Spirit blows where He wills, but where He wills to blow is towards the Son of the Virgin Mary in His Church. ‘The universal activity of the Spirit is not to be separated from his particular activity within the Body of Christ, which is the Church’ (Redemptoris Missio, 29).
5
Saward characterizes John Paul II’s understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in mission as a ‘Christocentric Pneumatology.’ 6 He sees this understanding as
an implicit rejoinder and valuable corrective to the opinions of Karl Rahner, who inverts the order of the divine missions by proceeding from a ‘universal Pneumatology’ towards Christology. Since, on Rahner’s view, God has already communicated Himself transcendentally to all mankind in the Spirit (the ‘supernatural existential’), Jesus Christ becomes simply the ‘unsurpassable apex’ or sacramental seal of a ‘universal history of grace.’ By contrast, in Redemptoris Missio, but especially in Dominum et Vivificantem, John Paul shows how the universally active Spirit is inseparable from the water and the blood (cf. 1 John 5.8); He does not flow from some indeterminate source, but from the pierced heart of the Redeemer.
7
The relationship between the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit has necessary ramifications for the relationship between those realities we call the Church and the Kingdom of God. Just as some seek to subordinate the work of Christ to the work of the Holy Spirit, some see the rejection of the Church in favour of the Kingdom, or its subordination to the Kingdom, as the only way of reconciling the two. Priority is given to the work of the Holy Spirit in establishing the Kingdom.
For those who take this approach, John Paul II’s position is seen as contradictory. Thus, William Burrows believes that even when Redemptoris Missio’s ‘overt theology is an expansive Kingdom-centred interpretation of Christian identity,’ its real theology ‘is implicitly Romano-ecclesiocentric.’ 8 Magesa rejects the christocentricity of Redemptoris Missio, which he sees as excluding the possibility of a theocentric Jesus who proclaims the Kingdom of God. 9 Even Kanjamela—who praises John Paul II for maintaining the insep- arability of Christ and the Kingdom (in the face of many theologians who speak of the latter but not of the former)—sees an ecclesial contradiction in Redemptoris Missio between the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of mission and a more traditional ecclesiocentrism:
Chapter three of [Redemptoris Missio], on the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of mission, is both scripturally based and inspiring. The relation between the Spirit and the Church and Kingdom, the relation between Christ and Church is unique. Church is the ‘seed, sign and instrument of the Kingdom.’ Like her founder she is the servant of the Kingdom. The presence of the Kingdom of God outside the visible boundaries of the Church is upheld in [Redemptoris Missio] because of the salvific functions of the Spirit in the whole world. This implies the provisionality of the Church, contrary to the high ecclesiology of [Redemptoris Missio], article 18.
10
Over against this, Saward praises John Paul II’s position on this question. He believes that John Paul II saw the Kingdom of God as necessarily being the ‘Kingdom of Christ.’ The Kingdom is a communion of human persons with God, in and through Christ. 11 Moreover, it ‘is inseparable from the Body as well as the Head.’ 12 According to him, the Church cannot be absolutely identified with the Kingdom; but she cannot be separated from it either. He refers to John Paul II’s assertion that she is the seed, sign, and instrument of the Kingdom. 13
John Paul II believed that the Church is compelled by the Holy Spirit to carry out her mission; the Church lives and proclaims the Gospel because it is an entity constituted by the Holy Spirit. 14 Mission is an act of self-giving, but it is also a response to a real need in human beings, the need for fulfillment in Christ. In part, mission is based on ‘the conviction that every human being needs Jesus Christ.’ 15 Mission is not only for the sake of the Church, something which the Church must engage in for its own well-being; even more importantly, mission is for the sake of the world.
What moves me even more strongly to proclaim the urgency of missionary evangelization is the fact that it is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world, a world which has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself. ‘Christ the Redeemer’, I wrote in my first Encyclical, ‘fully reveals man to himself…. The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly … must … draw near to Christ…. The Redemption that took place through the Cross has definitively restored to man his dignity and given back meaning to his life in the world’ (Redemptoris Missio, 10).
16
That Christ ‘fully reveals man to himself’ was a fundamental conviction of John Paul II. It raises two questions: what is the basis of this conviction? And how can it be reconciled with the work of the Spirit in the world (that is to say, in human actions, cultures, and religions)?
The first of these questions can be answered thus: for John Paul II, Christ is the beginning and end of all creation, especially of the human person. Indeed, the human person is created so as to be intrinsically ordered towards communion with God in Christ. The human person has a christic nature, a conscience which bears the imprint of the Trinity. 17 The answer to the second question depends on the answer to the first: the work of the Spirit in the world is never a separate work from that of Christ. The Holy Spirit is always the Spirit of the Risen Lord. There is only one mission in the world, the mission of Christ in the Holy Spirit. This mission of Christ is always directed towards fulfillment in Christ. Because the work of Christ is the temporal work of an eternal Person, even when John Paul II acknowledged the work of the Spirit in the world before Christ was glorified, this work too is the work of the Risen Lord:
The Spirit’s presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures and religions. Indeed, the Spirit is at the origin of the noble ideals and undertakings which benefit humanity on its journey through history: ‘The Spirit of God with marvelous foresight directs the course of the ages and renews the face of the earth’ (Gaudium et spes, 26). The Risen Christ ‘is now at work in human hearts through the strength of his Spirit, not only in instilling a desire for the world to come but also thereby animating, purifying and reinforcing the noble aspirations which drive the human family to make its life one that is more human and to direct the whole earth to this end’ (Gaudium et spes, 38; cf. 93). Again, it is the Spirit who sows the ‘seeds of the Word’ present in various customs and cultures, preparing them for full maturity in Christ (Lumen gentium, 17; Ad gentes 3, 15)…. This is the same Spirit who is at work in the Incarnation and in the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus, and who is at work in the Church. He is therefore not an alternative to Christ, nor does he fill a sort of void which is sometimes suggested as existing between Christ and the Logos. Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions serves as a preparation for the Gospel (Lumen gentium, 16) and can only be understood in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power of the Spirit ‘so that as perfectly human he would save all human beings and sum up all things’ (Gaudium et spes, 45; cf. Dei verbum, 54).
18
According to John Paul II, the Spirit is at work in every human heart, in the history of every people, in every human culture and religion. Every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit. 19
This work of the Spirit in the world is one with the work of the Spirit in and through the Church, since both works have the same origin and goal. This is why John Paul II saw no contradiction between acknowledging the work of the Spirit in non-Christian individuals, cultures, and religions and proclaiming Christ to them. In his mind, other cultures and religions do not exist for their own sakes, they exist in order to be fulfilled in Christ. Since not everything in these cultures and religions is the work of the Holy Spirit, it is part of the Church’s mission to discern the work of the Spirit outside her visible boundaries and bring this work to completion through dialogue, cooperation, and the proclamation of the Gospel.
The universal activity of the Spirit is not to be separated from his particular activity within the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Indeed, it is always the Spirit who is at work, both when he gives life to the Church and impels her to proclaim Christ, and when he implants and develops his gifts in all individuals and peoples, guiding the Church to discover these gifts, to foster them and receive them through dialogue. Every form of the Spirit’s presence is to be welcomed with respect and gratitude, but the discernment of this presence is the responsibility of the Church, to which Christ gave his Spirit in order to guide her into all the truth (cf. John 16:13).
20
John Paul II’s perspective on mission was christocentric, that is, it was centred on what Jesus does in the power of the Holy Spirit. He approached every question—including that of the possible salvific significance of other religions—from this perspective. His understanding of the relationship of other religions to Christ and to the Church was based on his understanding of Christ and the nature of the human person. He interpreted other religions through his Christology and theological anthropology. So, he did not ask: ‘Since these other religions exist, and apparently, have not been substantially affected by Christianity, what role do they have in God’s plan?’ Rather, he began with God’s plan to unite all things in Christ and asked how these other religions are related to this plan. In John Paul II’s mind, the person who meets Christ discovers that Christ is the one for whom we all search.
The Possible Salvific Value of Other Religions
The possibility of other religions having a salvific value—that is, of being a means by which salvation is accomplished, either through or apart from Christ—is the major theological issue being debated in contemporary missiology. The question of the possible salvific value of other religions and the degree to which they may be salvific arises from the acknowledgment of the universality of the action of the Holy Spirit. The normal basis on which such a possibility is predicated is the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in every human person, a position to which John Paul II subscribed. 21
Some have characterized John Paul II’s position on the possible salvific value of other religions as being derived from Rahner’s ‘anonymous Christianity.’ 22 The most vocal critics of his position on this matter are those who challenge the notion of anonymous Christianity. These challenges come in two forms. Some see anonymous Christianity and the salvific value of other religions as mutually exclusive. Thus Magesa sees anonymous Christianity as condescending and offensive towards other religions. Like the uniqueness of Christ as the only Saviour, this notion is seen as a way of extending the Church to include other religions rather than attributing to them a value in their own right. According to this way of thinking, other religions can only be salvific if they are equally salvific; if they can have their own ‘saviour figures’ who are equal to Christ. Magesa sees John Paul II as denying such a possibility by linking all the good in other religions to a ‘mysterious relationship with the Church.’ 23
However, Jack Voelkel believes that John Paul over-emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit outside the visible boundaries of the Church. He thinks that the teaching of Redemptoris Missio borders on universalism, the doctrine that every person will be saved by Christ. As a representative of evangelical Protestantism, he holds that John Paul II’s position has little scriptural basis and, ironically, is unlikely to solve the very missionary problems which Redemptoris Missio laments. 24
More positively, Jacques Dupuis concluded that:
the singular contribution of Pope John Paul II to a ‘theology of religions’ consists in the emphasis with which he affirms the operative presence of the Spirit of God in the religious life of non-Christians and the religious traditions to which they belong.
25
Dupuis held that on the subject of ‘the active presence of the Holy Spirit in the religious life of the members of other religious traditions,’ John Paul II spoke more clearly than any of the documents of Vatican II.
While Paul VI seems clearly to hold on to the fulfillment theory as traditionally understood before the council, John Paul II, principally with his emphasis on the universal active presence of the Spirit of God and of Christ in the religious traditions themselves, is more positive and shows a greater disposition toward a broader perspective, without, however, clearly going beyond the preconciliar understanding of fulfillment.
26
John Paul II most definitely held to the position that all the world’s other religions are meant to be fulfilled in Christ. In Tertio Millennio Adveniente he said that in Christ, God is speaking in his eternal Word made flesh. For John Paul II, this is the essential difference between Christianity and all other religions. Other religions express the human search for God, but in Christ, God comes in the person of his Son in order to speak to us and reveal the path by which he may be reached. Christ fulfills the yearning for God that is present in all other human religions in a way that transcends all human expectations. In Christ, religion becomes a response of faith to God rather than a blind search for him. ‘Christ is thus the fulfillment of the yearning of all the world’s religions and, as such, he is their sole and definitive completion.’ 27
Dupuis claimed that this text
visualizes the fulfillment of the other religions in Jesus Christ and Christianity in terms of God’s self-communication in his Son incarnate in response to the universal human search for God expressed in the religious traditions—in other words, in terms of divine revelation and grace meeting the natural religious aspirations of humankind. This seems to leave no room for recognizing in the other religious traditions themselves a first divine initiative toward human beings, no matter how incomplete, and for attributing to the religious traditions a positive role in the mystery of salvation of their followers.
28
John Paul II was quite explicit in recognizing the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in non-Christians and in other religions. 29 As we have seen, he went further, stating that the Holy Spirit is at work in every human person. 30 However, this work is never separated from Christ. 31 Whilst salvation is offered to all, it is always salvation in Christ. Those who have no real opportunity to believe in Christ and enter the Church can be saved in Christ, ‘by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation.’ 32 John Paul II’s position is not universalism. To say that all are redeemed in Christ does not mean that all will be saved, for that requires the personal rejection of sin. All have been created and redeemed in Christ but this redemption needs to be accepted personally.
What is the connection between the grace of Christ by which a non-Christian can be saved, and the Church? Jesus speaks of the Church as ‘a city built on a hill which cannot be hid’ (Matt 5:14–16), inspiring goodness in others. Yet many have no experience of the Church’s witness. Granted that in the Eucharist, the Church offers the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of all, in the end, in order to be saved, one must become a member of the heavenly Bride of Christ. 33 Lumen Gentium states that the Church is ‘necessary for salvation’ and ‘the instrument for the salvation of all,’ a position with which John Paul II concurred. 34 Whilst John Paul II retained the use of the axiom ‘extra ecclesiam nulla salus’ (outside the Church there is no salvation), on a least one occasion he proposed a new version of it:
In order to operate, saving grace requires an adhesion, a cooperation, a ‘yes’ to God’s self-gift, and such an adhesion is, at least implicitly, oriented toward Christ and the church. Hence it is possible to say sine ecclesia nulla salus—‘without the church there is no salvation’: adhesion to the church, the mystical body of Christ, no matter how implicit and indeed mysterious, constitutes an essential condition for salvation. It [the Church] therefore exercises an implicit mediation also vis-à-vis those who are unaware of the gospel.
35
However, when it comes to defining the exact nature of the Church’s ‘specific and necessary role,’ Dupuis concluded that John Paul II did not do so. 36 Dupuis asked the following questions:
Has the universality of the church in the order of salvation the same meaning, the same force, as the Christian tradition attributes to Jesus Christ, the universal Saviour? Is the necessity of the church for salvation of the same order? How can we understand that the church is not only a sign but also a means, a universal instrument of salvation, that it is assumed by Christ ‘as instrument of salvation for all’ (Redemptoris Missio, 9)? Must a universal ‘mediation’ be assigned to it—though one necessarily ‘participated’ in relation to Jesus Christ, which is unique (1 Tim 2:5), a mediation, that is, endowed with ‘meaning and value only from Christ’s own mediation’ (Redemptoris Missio, 5)? What is understood when one speaks, as the pope has done, of ‘implicit mediation …vis-à-vis those who are unaware of the gospel’?
37
John Paul II gave no explicit answers to these questions. What he did say is limited to the assertion that the Church is always united to Christ in his work of redemption:
There cannot be … admitted other autonomous sources or ways of salvation, alongside Christ. Therefore, in the great religions … Christians recognize the presence of saving elements, which however work in dependence on the influence of the grace of Christ. Thus such religions, by virtue of the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit, who ‘blows where he wills’ (cf. John 3:8), can contribute to helping human beings on the road to eternal happiness, but this role itself is a fruit of Christ’s redemptive activity. Even in the relationship to the religions therefore Christ the Savior is mysteriously at work and in this work he unites to himself the church, constituted ‘as sacrament … of intimate union with God and the unity of the entire human race.’
38
Commenting on John Paul II’s understanding of the union between Christ and the Church in the work of salvation, Dupuis observes:
the expressions used to express the specific role of the church on behalf of the ‘others’ are deliberately so imprecise that further questions are raised: how must the ‘mysterious relationship’ with the church of the members of other religious traditions on the one side and the ‘specific and necessary’ role of the church toward them on the other be conceived? This is the specific question whether or not there exists a ‘universal mediation’ of the church; that is, a true and proper mediation by it vis-à-vis the adherents of other religions for salvation. There is no denying an ‘implicit mediation’—albeit difficult to conceive—of the church; the question is rather in what may consist an ‘explicit mediation’ by it on their behalf. Can we, must we, speak of a universal ‘mediation’ of the church in the order of salvation, even while—as is necessary—considering it subordinated to the role of Jesus Christ, and ‘participating’ in it?
39
With regard to the possible salvific value of other religions, the further question to be pursued here is what John Paul II meant when he said that this grace enlightens those who have no opportunity to believe in Christ and enter the Church in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. 40 Francis Sullivan has pointed out:
Since their spiritual condition can be expected normally to reflect the religious traditions in which they have been brought up, it would logically follow that the grace they receive will also be accommodated to those religious conditions. Can we conclude that their religious traditions can serve in some way as ‘mediations’ of such grace? John Paul II does not draw this conclusion. But he does say that the unique mediation of Christ does not exclude participated forms of mediation.
41
The idea of participated forms of mediation of different kinds and degrees—as well as being held by John Paul II—is a fundamental principle of those Catholic theologians who hold the same or similar positions to Rahner’s anonymous Christianity. 42 Where does John Paul II fit on this spectrum? He certainly rejected non-Christian religions as ‘ordinary ways’ of salvation. For him, the ordinary way is the Church. 43 Neither did he explicitly recognize non-Christian religions as ‘extraordinary ways of salvation.’ On the other hand, he did not deny that possibility. What he did say is that, through Christ, God makes himself present to people through the spiritual riches of their religions, even when they contain ‘gaps, insufficiencies, and errors.’ 44 In other words, the possibility that elements of other religions can play a role in a person’s salvation is acknowledged, but the question of non-Christian religions as a whole mediating salvation to their followers is left unanswered. It is neither explicitly acknowledged nor denied. Dupuis stated that
if the question is asked whether the recognition of the active presence of the Spirit of God not only in the members of other religious traditions but in the traditions themselves influences positively the encyclical’s [Redemptoris Missio] approach to the significance and saving value of those traditions, the answer is altogether inconclusive…. It is not clear whether among ‘participated mediations’ contemplated in this text [Redemptoris Missio, 5] are included, for the benefit of members of other religions, the traditions to which they belong.
45
What John Paul II did is to state that the question of the role of non-Christian religions in the salvation of their followers requires much further study before the Magisterium can take any definite position on it. 46 Suffice it to say that he stood firm on five points: (1) There is no salvation apart from Christ; (2) The Holy Spirit is working in every human heart; (3) There are spiritual riches in other religions through which God can influence people; (4) These ‘seeds of the Word’ are preparations for the fullness of the Gospel, and the Church plays a necessary role in mediating salvation to all; (5) Therefore, dialogue with other religions and respect for their spiritual riches are not opposed to evangelization. Rather, such dialogue and respect are expressions of evangelization. 47
Reflections on John Paul II’s Thoughts on the Universal Work of the Holy Spirit
There are unanswered questions in John Paul II’s missiology, especially with regard to the possible salvific role of other religions and the necessity of the Church for salvation. The latter part of this article will address some of these questions by reflecting upon three of John Paul II’s convictions: that every authentic prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit; that the Holy Spirit is present and active in people outside the Church, and through these individuals, active in society, history, cultures, and religions; and that the Church is necessary for salvation and has a relationship to the salvation of all. However, before doing so, there are two important points which must be reiterated. For John Paul II, the work of the Holy Spirit is never separated from the work of the risen Christ, and every human person has a christic nature which is meant to be fulfilled in communion with Christ. 48
Every Authentic Prayer is Prompted by the Holy Spirit
The key word here is authentic. Every Christian who reflects upon prayer will know that not every individual prayer is entirely authentic. The only two people who were always and in every way authentic in their prayer are the ones who said ‘not my will, but yours, be done’ (Luke 22:42), and, ‘Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord’ (Luke 1:38). Sometimes we are like the tax collector who beat his breast and said ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner’ (Luke 18:13), sometimes like the Pharisee who ‘prayed thus with himself’ (Luke 18:11). It may be that, for some people, their prayer is always said to themselves. But, can people who are neither Jews nor Christians pray authentically? Setting aside all questions about historicity, Sacred Scripture presents us with examples of people who were outside the covenant, in both its preparatory and conclusive forms, yet who prayed authentically, such as Abel (Gen 4:4), Noah (Gen 8:20–21), Melchizedek (Gen 14:18–19), Job (Job 1:5 and 20–21), and Cornelius (Acts 10:3–6). 49 But, how can we judge when anyone else’s prayer is authentic? We cannot. Had we been present we may not have been able to discern any difference between the prayer of Abel and that of Cain. But the fact that the latter’s sacrifice was not pleasing to God was borne out by his subsequent murder of his brother. We may not have seen, but God could certainly see, that the sin of envy was crouching at Cain’s door (Gen 4:3–8).
Authentic prayer is always linked to authentic life. For example, Abel’s deeds were righteous (1 John 3:12); Noah ‘walked with God’ (Gen 6:9); Melchizedek means ‘king of righteousness’ (Heb 7:2); none could match Job’s righteousness (Job 1:8); and it was the alms as well as the prayers of Cornelius that ascended to God (Acts 10:4). Jesus tells us that anyone who ‘does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother’ (Matt 12:50). Always remembering that, for John Paul II, every authentic prayer is prompted by the Spirit of the Risen Christ, we can say that when we see someone, Christian or not, doing the will of the Father, we can have some confidence that, if they pray, at least sometimes they pray authentically, and that the authenticity of their prayer is grounded in Christ.
The Presence and Activity of the Holy Spirit Outside the Church
John Paul II held that the Holy Spirit is present and active in every human person, that is to say, the Spirit of the Risen Christ is present and active in every human person. However, it does not necessarily follow that this activity will lead to a person’s salvation. The presence and activity of the Holy Spirit may provoke resistance to the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51), lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3), or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31). Be that as it may, many people may respond to the Holy Spirit. How can one discern when people have responded? One way to discern the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit would be to look for the fruit of the Spirit; ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ (Gal 5:22–23). If we see a person who seems to be living to some degree a life marked by these gifts, and by the Beatitudes, this may be a sign of responding, albeit unknowingly, to the Holy Spirit.
We have seen that outside both the Jewish and Christian people Sacred Scripture gives us many examples of people who pray and live in the Spirit. Perhaps the greatest and most mysterious of the examples presented to us is the figure of Enoch. In the list of the descendants of Adam through his son Seth, Enoch enters as do all the others; but he does not exit as the others: rather, ‘Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him’ (Gen 5:24). Enoch is presented in terms which remind us of Noah (Gen 6:9). Furthermore, here we have a figure of equal stature to Elijah, whom God also took! The figure of Enoch raises the possibility of the most extraordinary holiness being found amongst people who have faith in God, but who are outside of both the Jewish people and the Church.
What about the statement that ‘the Spirit’s presence and activity affect not only individuals but also society and history, peoples, cultures, and religions’? 50 Dupuis asked if one can recognize ‘the active presence of the Spirit of God not only in the members of other religious traditions but in the traditions themselves,’ and whether religious traditions themselves could be recognized as ‘a first divine initiative toward human beings, no matter how incomplete,’ and so be attributed ‘a positive role in the mystery of salvation of their followers.’ We must be attentive here. The Spirit is present and active in individual people. It is through this presence and activity that other individuals, society, history, peoples, cultures, and religions are affected. Such people may play important roles in determining the beliefs and practices of particular religions. However, society, history, peoples, cultures, and religions are all composed of, or created by, individual people. We may speak metaphorically about the presence and activity of the Spirit in a culture or religion, but we must never forget that it is a metaphor. Strictly speaking, the Spirit is only present and active in individuals. This is true even of Christianity. By way of demonstration, let us consider certain religious practices that are common to Christianity and Islam; prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. As with prayer, so too with fasting and almsgiving, a person can carry out these activities authentically or in-authentically. One can pray, fast or give alms to win the approval of others, or to do what is pleasing to God (Matt 6:1–18). We are not saved by the beliefs of any religion, or by following any religious practice. We are saved by Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Religious traditions can have a positive role in the salvation of their followers only if their beliefs and practices can be followed in such a way that leads people genuinely to walk with God, and if those beliefs and practices are followed in the Spirit. Therefore, the answer to Dupuis’s first question is, no; to his second, it depends on what he means by first initiative; and to his third, a qualified yes.
What of people who do not believe in God? What about those who do not pray? Strict Buddhism, for example, would seem to be agnostic about God, and then there are the secular agnostics and atheists, and the plain irreligious. How is the Holy Spirit present and active in them? One possibility is that although certain people may not be theophiloi, friends of God, they may be friends of goodness, truth, and beauty; that is, authentic philosophers, friends of wisdom, upon whom ‘the true light that enlightens every man’ shines (John 1:9). A second possibility is raised by the presentation of the last judgment (Matt 25:31–46). With St Paul, we already know that anything done to a disciple of Christ is done to Christ (Acts 9:4–5). We know that anyone who gives even a cup of cold water to someone because they are a disciple of Christ will not lack their reward (Matt 10:42). Matthew’s last judgment, however, seems to introduce another perspective. Just who are the ‘righteous’ of Christ? Given that according to John Paul II, Christ is present in every human person in the entire reality of their being, can we hold, as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta did, that someone who picks up a dying Hindu baby in the streets of Calcutta is picking up Christ? 51 And just who are ‘the nations’? Is everyone included in this group, Christian and non-Christian, or are they ‘the gentiles,’ those who do not belong to the New Israel? Could someone who is not a Christian, who has not encountered Christ in faith and baptism, encounter Christ in what Blessed Teresa described as ‘Jesus in a distressing disguise’? Would that account for the surprise in their voices, ‘Lord, when did we see you’(Matt 25:37, 44)? There may not be an anonymous Christianity, but there may be innumerable anonymous Christs, whom non-Christians have encountered without knowing it, and who have unknowingly established a relationship of self-giving love with him; a real encounter, but with Christ ‘in disguise.’
The Necessity of the Church and its Relationship to the Salvation of All
Finally, there is the question of the necessity for and role of the Church in the salvation of all. One could attempt to develop John Paul II’s understanding of the ‘necessity of the Church’ for salvation and the ‘mysterious relationship of the Church’ to the salvation of all by looking at the inseparability of Christ and the Church, and the presence of Christ in every person through his incarnation. Could it be that, since the Church is the Body of Christ, it is present wherever Christ is present? 52 Hence, people who are not formally part of the Church, that is, in the Church through faith and baptism, might be in Christ and, therefore, in the Church. Another possible approach to this question could be by looking at the Blessed Virgin Mary as advocate, helper, benefactress, ‘mother of all’ and eschatological Icon of the Church. 53 Could the Church also be a ‘mediatrix’ of grace to all?
New Evangelization and Inter-Human Dialogue
Perhaps more progress could be made in inter-religious dialogue through a recognition and acknowledgement of the ‘friends of God,’ the ‘holy ones’ amongst the other religions. Such recognition and acknowledgement should be done by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, not New Evangelization. The same could be done for the non-religious who are the ‘friends of wisdom’: lovers of goodness, truth and beauty, a love in which every Christian should share. Here, Pope Benedict XVI has given a lead with his address to artists, and there is also the dialogue of the Church with agnostics and atheists that is called the ‘Courtyard of the Gentiles,’ undertaken by the Pontifical Council for Culture. This dialogue seeks to investigate whether faith and human reason can be complementary. 54
There are many obvious candidates for recognition and acknowledgement; someone like Aung San Suu Kyi easily comes to mind. But there are also less obvious ones, for example, Fred Hollows and Albert Camus. 55 Such people should not just be lovers, but also confessors and martyrs, those who have witnessed to and suffered for the good, the true, and the beautiful.
While John Paul II did hold to the ‘fulfillment theory,’ his thought on the role of the Holy Spirit outside the Church leaves considerable room for the recognition and acknow- ledgement of the holiness, goodness, truth and beauty of non-Christian individuals, as well as the possibility that at least some of the beliefs and practices of other religions have the potential to be means of holiness for those who live them in the Spirit. Everything, however, points to Christ. Even for non-Christian ‘friends of God,’ the glory of God that they look forward to is the glory that shines in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6), and for non-Christian ‘friends of wisdom,’ the wisdom they seek is the One in whom all the treasures of wisdom are hidden (Col 2:2–3).
It is to be hoped that these reflections upon John Paul II’s thoughts on the role of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the Church have shown that what might be called ‘inter-human dialogue’ need not be seen as contrary to the work of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization. What the new council needs to do is pursue its own mission of new evangelization with zeal, and wisely co-ordinate its work with all the other Pontifical Councils.
Footnotes
1
John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, 29.
2
Laurenti Magesa, ‘Toward a Spirit Ecclesiology,’ in Redemption and Dialogue, ed. William R. Burrows (New York: Orbis, 1994), 173–82, at 179; see Anthony Gittins, ‘A Missionary’s Misgivings: Reflections on Two Recent Documents,’ in Redemption and Dialogue, 216–22, at 219.
3
Magesa, ‘Toward a Spirit Ecclesiology,’ 180. See Paul F. Knitter, No Other Name (New York: Orbis, 1985), 171–72.
4
Augustine Kanjamela, ‘Redemptoris Missio and Mission in India,’ in Redemption and Dialogue, 195–205, at 203.
5
John Saward, Christ is the Answer: The Christ-centered Teaching of John Paul II (New York: Alba House, 1995), 105–6; see Manuel Urena, ‘The Missionary Impulse in the Church According to Redemptoris Missio,’ Communio 19 (1992): 94–102, at 96–98.
6
Saward, Christ is the Answer, 106.
7
Ibid;. see also Karl Rahner, Schriften zur Theologie, vol. 14 (Einsiedeln: Benziger, 1980), 56.
8
William Burrows, ‘Concluding Reflections,’ in Redemption and Dialogue, 239–44, at 242 (emphasis original).
9
Magesa, ‘Toward a Spirit Ecclesiology,’ 180.
10
Kanjamela, ‘Redemptoris Missio,’ 199–200; see also Gittins, ‘A Missionary’s Misgivings,’ 218–19.
11
Saward, Christ is the Answer, 107.
12
Ibid.
13
Redemptoris Missio, 8.
14
John Paul II, Dominum et Vivificantem, 2.
15
Ibid., 11.
16
Ibid., 2; see Gaudium et Spes, 22.
17
Ibid., 12, 36, and 43.
18
Redemptoris Missio, 28, 29; see also Ad Gentes, 4.
19
Ibid., 29.
20
Ibid.
21
Redemptoris Missio, 29.
22
Jack Voelkel, ‘Observations of an Evangelical Protestant Missionary,’ in Redemption and Dialogue, 183–94, at 185–86; also Urena, ‘The Missionary Impulse,’ 96–98.
23
Magesa, ‘Toward a Spirit Ecclesiology,’ 176; see also Redemptoris Missio, 10.
24
Voelkel, ‘Observations of an Evangelical Protestant Missionary,’ 188–89 and 192–93.
25
Jacques Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism (New York: Orbis, 2001), 173.
26
Ibid., 175, 179. For an exposition of the ‘fulfillment theory,’ see ibid., 133–43.
27
John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 6 (emphasis original).
28
Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism, 178.
29
Redemptoris Missio, 28.
30
Ibid., 29.
31
Ibid., 5.
32
Ibid., 10.
33
Francis Sullivan, Salvation outside the Church? (New York: Paulist, 1992), 156–161.
34
Lumen Gentium, 14 and 9; and Redemptoris Missio, 9.
35
John Paul II, Public Audience, L’Osservatore Romano, June 1, 1995.
36
Redemptoris Missio, 18.
37
Dupuis, Christianity and the Religions, 206–7.
38
John Paul II, Public Audience, L’Osservatore Romano, February 5, 1998.
39
Dupuis, Christianity and the Religions, 210.
40
Redemptoris Missio, 10.
41
Sullivan, Salvation outside the Church? 194.
42
Ibid., 171–72 and 194; see also Redemptoris Missio, 5.
43
Redemptoris Missio, 55.
44
Ibid. See Pope Paul VI’s opening address to the Second Session of Vatican II, September 29, 1963 (Paul VI, ‘Concilium Oecumenicum Vaticanum II,’ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 55 [1963], 841–60, at 858).
45
Dupuis, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism, 177.
46
47
Redemptoris Missio, 9–10, 18, and 28; ibid., 55.
48
Here, John Paul II differed from Rahner, who seemed to regard the human person as having a pneumatic nature, writing: ‘Es ist erlaubt, von einer universalen Pneumatologie zur Christologie zu kommen und nicht nur umgekehrt voranzugehen, so dass Jesus Christus als der unüberbietbare Höhepunkt einer universalen Geschichte der Gnade als Selbstmitteilung Gottes an die Welt überhaupt erscheint’ (see Rahner, Schriften zur Theologie, 14:56). It may be that the key questions in the debate about the possible salvific value of other religions are whether or not the Word made flesh is the Alpha as well as the Omega of the human race, and whether the human person has a christic or pneumatic nature.
49
Hebrews 11:4 reveals that the measure of the authenticity of Abel’s prayer was faith.
50
Redemptoris Missio, 28.
51
John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 81.
52
‘Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church’ (Ignatius of Antioch Letter to the Smyrneans, 8).
53
Lumen Gentium, 62; The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 972.
54
The address to artists was held in the Sistine Chapel on November 21, 2009. The first meeting of the Courtyard of the Gentiles was held in Paris on March 24–25, 2011.
55
Hollows was an atheist ophthalmologist who became known for restoring the eyesight of thousands of disadvantaged people in Australia and other countries. His work is continued by the Fred Hollows Foundation. Camus was an atheist philosopher who, through his study of Plotinus and St Augustine, came to hold that the non-existence of God did not eliminate the desire for salvation and meaning that only God can provide (see Albert Camus, Christian Metaphysics and Neoplatonism, trans. Ronald D. Srigley [Columbia, MO: University of Missouri, 2007]).