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The Meeting of Religions according to Thomas Aquinas and John Paul II
Michał Paluch
Abstract
The paper is a presentation of Aquinas’s and John Paul II’s ideas that may be recognized as the basis for interreligious encounters. At the beginning the author presents a couple of passages by the Doctor Angelicus that must be considered a hindrance for the interreligious dialogue, if undertaken in the spirit of the Vatican II. But a careful reading of Aquinas’s legacy allows to detect a couple of important elements that are still relevant today and may be considered as a kind of doctrinal foundation for the encounters with non-Christian believers. The basis for such encounters should be a strong identity and the respect for the supernatural gift of faith. The participants should make appeal only to the authorities accepted by the other part. John Paul II’s proposal has its basic convergence with Aquinas’s thought, although the Polish pope enriches the Thomistic vision by the idea of integral dialogue, engaging all the human being, inspired by the philosophy of M. Buber and E. Levinas. The strong identity desired by both Aquinas and John Paul II as the foundational condition for a fruitful encounter with non-Christian believers may play its appropriate role only if it is a really converted identity. John Paul II showed us with many gestures and actions during his pontificate what this conversion of our identity should be.
Keywords
interreligious dialogue ; theology ; religious identity ; Thomas Aquinas ; John Paul II dialog międzyreligijny ; teologia ; tożsamość religijna ; Tomasz z Akwinu ; Jan Paweł II
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