John F. Cullinan (former senior foreign policy advisor to the U.S. Catholic bishops) comments on the Pope Benedict XVI's latest remarks, saying
As the pope brought to a close — at least for now — the uproar that followed his September 12 remarks
on faith and reason in Regensburg, he reiterated yet again his very
precise bottom line for future dialogue with the Muslim world.
Benedict’s [later] brief remarks
[to diplomats from Muslim-majority states accredited to the Holy See], delivered in French as a courtesy to his interlocutors, are fully
intelligible only in the light of the four ecclesial texts he cites or
quotes from. . .
What’s relevant is that Jews and Muslims occupy wholly separate categories in Catholic thought. "Nostra Aetate"
acknowledges “the spiritual ties that link the people of the New
Covenant [Christians] with the stock of Abraham [Jews].” More
specifically, “Christians and Jews have such a common spiritual
heritage,” grounded in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), that joint
“biblical and theological enquiry” is very much in order.
There
is, however, no such “common spiritual heritage” between Christianity
and Islam (especially since orthodox Muslims hold that the Quran wholly
supercedes and replaces the Bible). In fact, the Council Fathers merely note that “the Church also has a high regard for the Muslims” while carefully prescinding from any comment on Islam as such.
(Benedict repeats this formulation almost word for word in his
September 25 remarks.) In comparison with ecumenical dialogue with
other Christians (with whom reunion remains the ultimate goal in
accordance with Jn 17:21-22) and inter-religious dialogue with Jews
(with whom both genuine theological and practical collaboration is
possible), dialogue with Muslims is by nature limited to such purely
practical initiatives — above all, forging agreed rules of the road for
avoiding conflict — that Benedict raises in two carefully chosen
quotations.
The upshot is that purely theological dialogue
between Christians and Muslims is pointless, if not counterproductive.
Whatever its other attributes, the most fundamental elements of all
orthodox Christian thought are Trinitarian and Christocentric; and
these are precisely the same elements that orthodox Muslims necessarily
find blasphemous on the one hand and idolatrous on the other. What’s
more, sharia jurisprudence plays roughly the same role in
Islam as systematic theology in Christianity. That’s why purely
theological dialogue inevitably mixes apples and oranges. But basic
disagreement over the nature of God in no way precludes discussing how
best to coexist peacefully in a pluralistic world. That’s the meaning
of Benedict’s September 25 exhortation in favor of “sincere and
respectful dialogue, based on ever more authentic reciprocal knowledge
which, with joy, recognizes the religious values we have in common and,
with loyalty, respects the differences.” In other words, it’s possible
to share — and discuss — certain religious values without sharing religious truths.
There is much more in this article. It truly needs to be read in full. I think Pope Benedict XVI is opening a completely new chapter in the relationship of Christians (not only Catholics) to the Muslim world. It strikes me that Pope Benedict XVI is the right Pope at the right time.