What would pre-Vatican II popes say about the Vatican's latest document celebrating the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (NA), the council's ecumenism document. I re-read it yesterday and, of course, it includes Catholic truth:
The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions....[which] often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. [Remember St. Thomas Aquinas respected the philosophy of Aristotle.] ...Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men. [How much prudence and love are we seeing today as Church leaders embrace the falsehood of syncretism and warn against bringing others to Christ? Of course, the document contained truth; that's the best way to insinuate error. It all sounds so good! But in the end it is the death knell of the Great Commission. Today's message has changed from the call to baptize all nations to a call to go forth and dialogue in synodal meetings.]
Ironically, the next paragraph praises Islam and calls people to "forget the past," a foolish proposition as 9/11 and other Islamic terrorist acts continue. Would Nostra Aetate have been written if Vatican II took place in October 2001?
The document transitions into a discussion of Judaism and ends with this paragraph:
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15) [Has the Church ever taught us to treat others with contempt, disrespect, and bigotry?]
The document is short. Unfortunately, like many things about Vatican II, it has become an ode to change and religious indifferentism. Not only that, but NA erodes the truth that Jesus Christ is the King of all nations. He is not just King in heaven, but here on earth as well.
So let's look at the new document, A Journey of Hope. I had to laugh when I pulled it up on the Vatican website since it's much longer than the original. Isn't that typical of the Vatican today? Everything has to be expanded, enlarged, magnified. You can hide a lot behind a wall of words, errors that show up easily in a short text. Here's how "the journey" begins:
Far more than a mere text, [Nostra Aetate] marked a profound change in the Church’s understanding and expression of her relationship with followers of other religions. In that Declaration, the Church explicitly affirmed that she “rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions,” [When did the Church ever reject truth? This is a straw man statement to label the old Church as benighted and bigoted and reflecting "widespread attitudes of close-mindedness." The enlightened men in the Church today are the Holy Ghost busters!]
In view of the length of the new document and the length of this post already, I'll save further discussion about A Journey of Hope until tomorrow. But consider the opening message about NA marking a "profound change" in the Church. It was a step toward a "new Church" which appears to be a one-world religion of universal brotherhood, what the "old Church" would have called the sin of syncretism, i.e., religious indifferentism.
Have mercy on us, Lord Jesus!
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