10. It is said that after the meeting of Vatican Council II in the late 1960s, there is a change in the exclusivist thinking of the Catholic church.
Hindu believe in pluralism, and will welcome any relaxation of the changes
in the theological thinking of the exclusivist faiths. Many Hindus have
tried to build bridges with the Christian theologians to get them to change
their rigid thoughts. Due to changes in the intellectual environment,
even the Christian churches have felt the need to change. What has to
be seen is whether the change is genuine and enduring.
The change in the Catholic thinking is supposed
to contain in the following sentences in the document of Vatican II: "The
Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these reli-gions.
She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts
and doctrine which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching,
nevertheless, often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men."
These are the only sentences that are said
to reflect the changes in the thinking. However, 'rejects nothing' is
qualitatively different from 'accepts everything'. The latter is part
of the Hindu ethos, which accepts that salvation can be achieved even
by an atheist. The grudging manner in which even these sentences try and
project the change is clear when the Catholic church says that the other
religions 'often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.'
When one says 'a ray of truth', one is not accepting that there is a complete
process. At best, the Catholic church seems to accept that other religions
are second best.
This conclusion is confirmed when one reads
the sentences immediately following the ones quoted above. It goes as
follows: "Yet she proclaims and is duty bound to proclaim without fail,
Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). In him, in whom
God reconciled all things to himself (2Cor 5:18-19), men find the fullness
of their religious life." Thus, while other religions 'reflect a ray of
truth', it is only in Christianity that 'men find the fullness of their
religious life.' In Vatican II, at many other places the ethos that Christ
is the ONLY son of god is reaffirmed. Statements of the Catholic clergy
subsequent to Vatican II, and even in the last few years, attest that
the change is really not there. Christ is held to be supreme and unique.
This Catholic view of the uniqueness of
Christianity is confirmed by other churches as well. In June 1994, Prince
Charles of the UK expressed a desire to change his oath if he ever became
the monarch. He wants to be the defender of all faiths, instead of only
the Anglican variety of Christianity. In response, one senior member of
the clergy said, "If (the Prince is) saying Christianity is equal with
other religions, we should differ profoundly with him. As men we're all
equal before God, but are you talking about religions and saying one is
as good as another? I hope he is not saying that."
There have been cases of where there is
a disobeying by members of the church of the exclusivist ethos, leading
to excommunication - that is, throwing the person out of the church. This
has happened to a Sri Lankan priest, who took the so-called liberal interpretation
of the Vatican document produced in 1969 literally. His excommunication
was revoked only after he apologised. Also, there is the case of an Italian
priest, Dom Mario Mazzoleni, who said that following the teachings of
Satya Sai Baba gave him a better meaning to his belief in Christ. He was
excommunicated, and since he did not apologise, the excommunication has
remained in place. The books of the Indian priest, the late Fr Anthony
de Mello, have been determined to fall outside the purview of the official
teachings of the Catholic church.
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