Taking on this role, the church acknowledges that the best way to foster this global community is through dialogue and a gaining a deeper understanding of each other. There is so much division in the world, and a lot of it has to do with our flawed perceptions of how different we actually are. As human beings endowed by the same creator, we have a lot in common from the start. A lot of us are asking the same big age old questions, and the church has complete respect for the different paths that people may take to seek the truth.
How People Think the Church Sees People of Other Religions:
How the Church Actually Views People of Other Faiths:
Now that we've cleared up some misperceptions, we should celebrate the fact that the church calls us into communion with one another. As the bishops at Vatican II point out in Gaudium et Spes, section 23, "one of the salient features of the modern world is the growing interdependence of men one on the other... brotherly dialogue among men does not reach its perfection on the level of technical progress, but on the deeper level of interpersonal relationships." We are all called to come together regardless of our faith and participate in open dialogue with each other about the things we have in common rather than what separates us. We are a people made for community, and we truly need each other to thrive.
I don't think anyone says it better than some of the talented actors of NBC...
It really is an interesting role that the Church has being able to cross so many cultural boundaries. There are Catholics all over the world, in each country, living completely different lives. This is why I believe Pope Francis is able to connect to so many people, because even political figures of different religions are found quoting his work. The ideals that the church holds at its core are ones that most people can connect with no matter their background. I agree that if we could all come together to overcome the stigma that the Church judges those of other religions, we would be able to unify as a country.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to outside people examining the Catholic Church, or really any organized religion, it is thought that that they are at odds with one another and cannot cooperate together. There was a line towards the beginning of your article that really struck me. You said that “[t]here is so much division in the world, and a lot of it has to do with our flawed perceptions of how different we actually are.” This idea of flawed perceptions of differences is the key to understanding why we have so many issues. The problem is that we have so much history that it is hard to forget all of it or move past it and on to a new and better way of examining the world. In reality, we are very similar, but we get caught up because of division previously made and because of our broken world.
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ReplyDeleteIt is easy for other people to point the finger at the Catholic Church and say that they do not value other religions. Our First Commandment kind of immediately makes people believe that we condemn any other religion for believing in another god. I like how you used Gaudium et spes to show that the Catholic Church does accept and view other religions and encourages them to have some sort of dialogue.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I deeply appreciate your gif usage in this post. Also, 30 Rock, The Office, and Parks & Rec all in one clip?! Amazing. Besides all this, I really liked this post because it points out that dialogue is the true way that we will be able to understand eachother. I really enjoyed your line "we are a people made for community" and how this connects to the comment you made earlier in the post about the Church being for everyone. Great post!
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