Re: PBXVI, JPII, and PXVI

Submitted by TW Pope (United States), Jan 23, 2006 at 18:03

A good point.

I would respond that first, paragraph 841 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) needs to be read in context of the subheading 'The Church and non-Christians,' paragraphs 839-845. And to do true justice to the discussion, those paragraphs should be read in context of paragraphs 830-856, which are all under the heading 'The Church is Catholic.' The Catechism in paragraphs 846-848 discuss how there is 'No Salvation outside the Church.' I spent quite some time in study, prayer, and meditation on this section of the Magisterium of Mother Church. I must admit in humility that I can not claim a full understanding of these teachings and their applications, and a theologian would be a better person to inquire in depth questions of.

I must add, in humility and charity, that there are two footnotes attached to CCC 841, which point to the source of this paragraph. The first is LG 16 which reference 'Lumen Gentium' which was one of the constitutions of Vatican II, promulgated by Holiness Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964. The second footnote, NA 3, is in reference to 'Nostre Aetate,' a decleration of Vatican II, also promulgated by Holiness Pope Paul VI, October 28, 1965. Therefore, paragraph 841 should be attributed to Pope Paul VI, not Pope John Paul II.

Do Muslims and Christians share the same God. I wouldn't phrase it like that. I would say that while Muslims and Christians do offer worship to the same God, they do not have the same vision of God, or view their relationship with God the same. Paragraph 841 acknowledges that muslims, are decendents of Abraham through Ishmael, and that they have a role in the plan of salvation, though it does not get into what that role is. My understanding would be that the faith of Islam does not contain the fullness of revelation that leads a soul to heaven, but that God in His infinite love and mercy rains down sufficient graces on all of mankind that enables those who through " through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation." (CCC 847) I would point out that it says may.

But I have strayed off the topic. In patience and charity, I await 'ex Cathedra' statements by JPII or BXVI that are contradictary to Pope Paul XVI's promulgations from LG or NA. Much has been written, and I have yet much to study, but I am always ready to recieve the truth.

I would also like to share something I read, concerning the very meeting that started this discussion
http://www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=45084&eng=y

May the peace of God be with you,

TW Pope

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".