Oecumenical dialogue is, properly speaking, only
between Christians. The Catechism of the Church sees
Baptism as the foundation of oecumenism (¶ 818,1271).
Thus, relations with non-Christian religions or faiths is not a
question of oecumenical dialoge, but of interfaith dialogue.
There is an old principle, “Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus,”
(there is no salvation outside the Church). At first glance
this principle would seem to render all interfaith dialogue
pointless. However, the Catechism restates this principle
in a more positive way saying “…all salvation comes from
Christ the Head, through the Church which is His Body…”
It further states: “This affirmation is not aimed at those, who
through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and His
Church … but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere
heart…” (¶ 846, 847).
Among the non-Christian religions Judaism has a special
and unique relationship to the Church. The Good Friday
intercessions recognize this when we pray for the Jewish
People as the first to hear the Word of God. Paul, in his
letter to the Romans says of the Jewish People, “to them
belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of
the law, the worship and the promises; to them belong the
patriarchs and of their race, according to the flesh is Christ,
who is God over all, blessed forever, (Romans 9: 4-5). The
prayers over the gifts at the Liturgy of the Eucharist are
Jewish in origin. Their similarity to the Sabbath Eve
Kiddush prayer is striking. At Kiddush the head of the
household lifts the cup of wine and says in Hebrew:
“Blessed are You, Lord God, King of the Universe who
created the fruit of the vine.” Then breaking the bread he
dips it in salt and says: “Blessed are You, Lord God, King
of the Universe who caused the earth to yield bread for all.”
At the prayer over the gifts the priest says: “Blessed are
you Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we
have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human
hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.”
Then, over the wine he says: “Blessed are You, Lord God
of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine
to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will
become our spiritual drink.” Hauntingly close, yet different,
these prayers show us both the nearness and distance
between our faiths: the one before the Messiah, the other
after He has come. The late Pope John Paul II referred to
the Jewish People as our “elder brothers,” and it is fitting
that we remember this.
Catholic relations with the Muslims , while more distant,
are nevertheless grounded in the faith of Abraham and as
the Catechism states, citing Lumen Gentium: “together
with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge
on the last day” (¶ 841).
As the Church deals with yet other religions there is even
less of a commonality. Even so, as we read in the
Catechism, “the Church considers all goodness and truth
found in these religions as ‘a preparation for the Gospel
and given by Him who enlightens all men that they may at
length have life.’ ”