"Leo’s Vatican asks Catholics to ‘esteem’ other faiths"

"The Vatican has asked Catholics to ‘esteem’ other faiths in its latest document on interreligious dialogue and 'fraternity.'

The document, signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF); Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; and Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, appeared this morning.

Entitled 'A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity in the Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate,' the text discourages 'proselytism,' that is, attempts to convert people of other religions.

'The defensive entrenchment in one’s own position and the view that proselytism is the only way to engage with the other no longer make sense in a world that increasingly resembles an interconnected and constantly evolving global village,' it states.

The document upholds 'interreligious dialogue' and 'fraternity' with other religions as an ideal, but frames these as means towards 'peace' and 'understanding,' as opposed to evangelization...

The DDF’s text goes so far as to declare that different, erroneous religions have 'special gifts' that they do not have to part with: 'In this regard, religions, like universities, have much to offer, without having to renounce their specific character and special gifts.'

Thus, by all indications, the document endorses religious indifferentism, which was condemned by Pope Gregory XVI, by Pope Pius IX in his Syllabus of Errors, and by other popes."