The Cathedral Square in Limburg an der Lahn, Germany. Image taken by Domi in 2014, CC-BY-NC 2.0, here
Just last week, the “Diocese of Limburg” in Germany has published a document entitled “Mutli-religious services in the Diocese of Limburg” (“Multireligiöse Feiern im Bistum Limburg”).
Everything in this document is wrong, so I don’t even know where to start. I only comment on a few snippets from it.
At the start of the document, the “vicar general” and a woman with the imaginary office of “episcopal authorized representative” define its purpose:
“This guide serves as an orientation aid for liturgical celebrations in a multi-religious context, especially in parishes, daycare centers and schools in the diocese of Limburg”
They start off the document by claiming:
“Dialogue and encounters with members of non-Christian religions have been part of the Catholic Church’s voluntary commitments since the Second Vatican Council (cf. Council Declaration Nostra aetate), as the aim of dialog is to get to know each other, reduce prejudices, promote reconciliation and establish peace.”
Really? The founder of the Catholic Church, our Lord Jesus Christ, has given His Church a specific mission: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Mt 28:19-20)
“Christians who believe in the universal salvific will of God trust that God’s work goes beyond the visible boundaries of the established Church and meets us in other believers. A true relationship with God is not brought about by man, but by God’s Spirit: ‘The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him: to all that call upon him in truth.’ (Ps 144:18).”
The Book of Psalms also says: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens.” (Ps 95:5) Yes, people who are outside the Catholic Church without their own fault can be saved if they follow their own consciences, are honestly seeking God and the truth and repent of their sins. (see CCC 847) This does not remove the obligation of the Catholic Church to spread the Gospel and try to convert people.
“One possibility is liturgical hospitality, i.e. members of other religions are explicitly invited to attend a Christian service (Guest model) […] Conversely, Christians can also be guests at ritual prayers of other religions, provided they invite them to do so.” (9)
They then go on to quote a Lutheran document, which says:
“’Taking part in the prayers of others does not mean invoking foreign gods. …No one needs to feel overwhelmed if they join in the celebration without sharing their faith. Nor does one become unfaithful to one’s own faith by participating when other people express their own beliefs.’”
And:
“However, actively participating in the rites of others, for example when Muslims take part in the Eucharist or Christians join in the Islamic ritual prayer, would be crossing the line.”
At first glance, there seems to be some truth to these claims. Active participation in rites of other religions is indeed forbidden. However, passive participation is also forbidden without a grave reason. A “communicatio in sacris” (a communion in sacred things) is unacceptable.
The document claims there are two forms of multi-religious prayer: one where everyone prays separately at the same event and one where everyone prays together. For the first type, the document makes a reference to the Assisi prayer meetings.
“In October 1986, Pope John Paul II initiated a prayer meeting of religions at the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi. The Pope invited representatives of Christian churches and other religions to make a pilgrimage together from Rome to Assisi, to fast together and to pray for peace. The prayer itself was divided into three phases: After the welcome, the representatives of the religions prayed at various locations in the city of St. Francis and celebrated services according to their tradition. Afterwards, everyone gathered in front of the Basilica of St. Francis and representatives of the religions spoke prayers from their respective traditions one after the other. A common prayer was deliberately omitted.”
Unlike Antipope Bergoglio, John Paul II didn’t become a heretic or an apostate. Regarding this scandalous event, it is the opinion of the author that the fact of praying separately saved John Paul II from crossing the red line.
On October 27, 1986, during this event, Buddhist monks placed a Buddha statue on the tabernacle in the St. Peter Church in Assisi. On September 26, 1997, an earthquake hit the region and the ceiling of the church collapsed.
The second type of multi-religious prayer mentioned by the document is praying together, which is, of course, not allowed.
Later on in the document, they give some examples for multi-religious celebrations.
In the conclusion, they state:
“In contrast [to passive participation in the religious services of other religions], multi-religious celebrations, in which members of different religions recite sacred texts from their own tradition to each other in the same room on an equal footing and with mutual respect, open up the possibility of more equality.”
How can the only true religion be an equal of all the false religions?