Canadian Council of Churches - 75 Years

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Within the commonly used terminology surrounding discussion of religious plurality, the Catholic position is often considered to be “inclusivist” (as opposed to “pluralist” or “exclusivist”). This is because it includes the value of other religious traditions within the mediatorship of Christ. As stated by the Second Vatican Council (Nostra Aetate 2), the Catholic Church recognizes the existence of goodness, truth, and holiness in other religions, “which often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.” That Truth is a person: “Christ... the one mediator between God and mankind... No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Christ's one, universal mediation, far from being an obstacle on the journey toward God, is the way established by God himself... Although participated forms of mediation of different kinds and degrees are not excluded, they acquire meaning and value only from Christ's own mediation, and they cannot be understood as parallel or complementary to his.” (John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Missio 5).

Dr Patrick Fletcher