DIALOGUE AND PROCLAMATION
(DP)
Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua
In some of the
conferences and symposia I have attended with my Muslim brethren, references
were made to the manner of provocative preaching by some religious preachers. In
a seminar and workshop on inter-religious dialogue organized by the Sisters of
the Medical Missionary of Mary (MMM) in Benin, Nigeria on April 18, 2012, Dr.
(Mrs.) Habeebah Oladosu reported that some Christians entered a mosque
uninvited in the University of Ibadan to preach to the Muslims to give their
lives to Jesus. I asked if the preachers were psychiatric patients and the
answer I got was NO. This same story was reported by Prof. B.O.S Noibi of the same university in the
Symposium organized by NASRUL-LAHI-L-FAITH Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) at Shehu
Musa Yar’dua centre, Abuja on 10th May 2012. Some Christians have
also narrated their stories. For instance, in an Inter-denominational Church Service
to mark the 2012 democracy day at the National Christian Centre, Abuja on
Sunday, May 27, 2012 Most Rev. Peter Jasper Akinola claimed that Boko means book while Haram means Abomination therefore Boko Haram means: “the people of the book are abomination and
must be eliminated”. He affirmed that
Boko Haram is an agenda by Some Muslims in Nigeria to wipe out Christians in
order to establish an Islamic State. He
claimed that this agenda is a long term project. In Sunday Trust of May 27, 2012, I reported the assertion of His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III CFR
Mni, the Sultan of Sokoto on May 10, 2012 that the Muslims have no agenda to
Islamize Nigeria. All these suspicions and reports show that each religion has a
bitter or pleasant story to tell. These mutual accusations are indeed worrisome
and could be seen as the basis of violence in Nigeria today.
In 1991, Francis
Cardinal Arinze (then president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious
Dialogue (PCID) and Jozef Cardinal Tomko (Prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of peoples) presented to the world a document titled: DIALOGUE
AND PROCLAMATION. This document responded to the following questions:
- Is missionary work among non-Christians still relevant?
- Has it not been replaced by Interreligious dialogue?
- Does not respect for conscience and freedom exclude all efforts at conversion?
- Is it not possible to attain salvation in any religion?
- Why then should there be missionary activity? (Redemptoris Missio, 4)
This document
defines dialogue as mutual communication with an attitude of respect and
friendship (DP, 42). Proclamation is the communication of the gospel message
(DP, 10, 60-76). These are authentic expressions of the Church’s mission to all
nations and individuals. “Dialogue and proclamation are thus both viewed, each
in its own place, as component elements and authentic forms of one evangelizing
mission of the Church. They are both oriented towards the communication of
salvific truth” (DP, 2). The conversion
that dialogue seeks is not from one religion to the other but a conversion to
justice and peace in the world. The Church through proclamation proposes and
imposes nothing. She respects individuals and cultures and she honours the sanctuary
of conscience (RM, 39). The Muslims also share this view in their proclamation
that there is no compulsion in religion.
The nature of
the world today imposes on all preachers to adopt a new style of evangelization
that makes dialogue indispensable. The human mind has become so critical that the
only argument that can convince the world today is witness of life because “action
speaks louder than words”. To be a good preacher today, it is important that
your way of life must be a holy scripture for people to read. This will be more
effective than all the noise pollution with loud speakers all over the houses
of worship without consideration for the next door neighbour who perhaps wants
to enjoy some peace and quiet. What the world desperately needs today are not
smooth talkers but pragmatic witnesses.
To be effective
in dialogue and proclamation, education is very necessary. We must heal
ourselves of the mutual fear of conversion that led to the taking over of
schools by government thereby destroying the standard of education and morals
in Nigeria. Dialogue will not make sense if we keep our children at the level
of ignorance of other religions. Our Rector in the seminary, Msgr. John K.
Aniagwu used to tell us: “if you think that education is expensive, try
ignorance”. Dialogue is a sure way to learn from one another. Openness to
dialogue can lead to conversion of heart and a change of attitude. The time has
come for us to wage a jihad and a crusade against ignorance. An enlightened
mind does not forget the ultimate vision of life and the prophetic mission to
lead people to heaven. A trained mind is liberated from the gospel of prosperity
that turns religion to a public liability company. A converted prayerful
preacher sees the other person as God’s image and not a tool.
On June 1, 2012,
Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Catholic Archbishop of Jos and president of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria in his proclamation of the word of God
in the National Christian Centre, Abuja on the occasion of the National
Catholic Prayer pilgrimage for Nigeria asked: How do you know that it is “day
break”? You know that it is dawn when you can look at a neighbour’s eyes and
see a brother or a sister in his or her eyes. As long as you can not see your neighbour as a brother
or sister, you are still in the dark. A good skill to this awareness is the
ability to forgive, reconcile and heal wounded memories through dialogue and
proclamation that is attended by witness of life.
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