Return to an old article by Gérard Leclerc published inCatholic France directed at the time by Frédéric Aimard.
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pGérard Leclerc
Yes, still Islam. Whether we like it or not, the subject is essential because it is omnipresent in our daily lives and because it poses questions of formidable seriousness and complexity. Of course, the worst obstacles cannot distract the Catholic Church and Christians in general from a benevolent attitude towards the immense mass of believers, which it would be irresponsible to reject, given doctrinaire and extremism. a practice that she does not share and from which she often suffers. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who chairs the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, expresses things well when he declares to Figaro : “As for relations between the Catholic Church and Islam, we have no other choice: either it is dialogue, or it is war. We are therefore condemned to dialogue and that is good news! » Certainly, the closest experience that we can have, at the grassroots level, with the Muslims around us supports such a proposition. But at the same time we are forced to admit that the dialogue also comes up against major objections, highlighted by indisputable specialists in religious thought.
This dialogue has existed for a long time. It was launched following Vatican II, with the proclaimed desire to open an interreligious dialogue beyond ecumenical relations which concern the different Christian confessions. John Paul II, notably with the two gatherings in Assisi, contributed powerfully to this strategy of openness. Muslims were at the forefront there. Cardinal Tauran recalls that for his part, during his short pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI produced 181 interventions on Islam!
Conversely, we had here reported on the remarks of Alain Besançon in a book of major interest (Contemporary Religious Problems, by Fallois): “We must ask ourselves if the matrix proposed by the Nostra ætete declaration is not insufficient and contributes to clouding the perception of the facts. New clarifications will be demanded by events.” It is impossible to refuse reality: even within the Catholic hierarchy, there are significant disagreements on this subject, even between cardinals who are otherwise doctrinally close. When our Pope Francis refers Christians and Muslims to the same religious root, an intellectual can respond rather dryly that with certain interlocutors it is better to discuss oil than Abraham. It is indisputable that Abraham, father of believers, is not received identically in the biblical tradition and in the Koranic tradition. This can also be a reason to discuss together seriously, but knowing that the path to full agreement can prove to be the most painful.
Belgium
