Pave Benedikts opgør med “Vi tror jo alle sammen på det samme”!

”It is claimed that in the pre-Vatican II period ’ecclesiocentrism’ was the dominant position: The Church represented as the center of Christianity. Then there was a shift to Christocentrism, to the doctrine that Christ is the center of everything. But it is not only the Church that is divisive – so the argument continues – since Christ belongs exclusively to Christians. Hence the further step from Christocentrism to theocentrism. This has allegedly brought us closer to the community of religions, but our final goal continues to elude us since even God can be cause of division between religions and between people.

Therefore, it is claimed, we must now move toward “regnocentrism,” that is, toward the centrality of the Kingdom. This at last, we are told, is the heart of Jesus’ message, and it is also the right formula for finally harnessing mankind’s positive energies and directing them toward the world’s future. “Kingdom,” on this interpretation, is simply the name for a world governed by peace, justice, and the conservation of creation. It means no more than this … This is supposedly the real task of religions: to work together for the coming of the “Kingdom”. They are of course perfectly free to preserve their traditions and live according to their respective identities as well, but they must bring their different identities to bear on the common task of building the “Kingdom”, a world, in other words where peace, justice, and respect for creation are the dominant values.

This sounds good; it seems like a way of finally enabling the whole world to appropriate Jesus’ message without requiring missionary evangelization of other religions… On closer examination, though, it seems suspicious. Who is to say what justice is? What serves justice in particular situations? How do we create peace? On closer inspection, this whole project proves to be utopian without any real content… But the main thing that leaps out is that God has disappeared; man is the only actor left on stage… Faith and religions are now directed toward political goals. Only the organization of the world counts. Religion matters only insofar as it can serve that objective… But Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, not just any Kingdom.” Pave Benedikt den 16., Jesus of Nazareth, p. 53-55.