Beyond the Pale but never beyond Truth

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Times Year B

A friend of mine recently introduced me to the expression “beyond the pale.” The term “Pale” is derived from the Latin “Palus,” which means pole or stake. It has come to refer to a space that is fenced in by poles. The term eventually came to be associated with the part of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English government in the late Middle Ages, an area marked out by a picketed fence – thus the Pale. As far as the English were concerned civilisation extended only to the end of the Pale and never beyond. Anyone or anything beyond the Pale was considered savage and dangerous. Today the expression “beyond the Pale” refers to anything unacceptable or beyond the limits of accepted morality or conduct.

Today’s readings seem to have shattered the security of the Pale. Both the action of God in generously pouring out his Spirit in the first reading and that of Christ in the gospel accepting the complimentary ministry of one not found among his inner circle, imply a God whose actions are not confined within the Pale. By sidestepping the orthodox and accepted human means both stories illustrate the utter unconventionality and freedom of God’s spirit. In commenting on a fellow miracle worker who was performing exorcisms in his name, Jesus says, “You must not stop him; no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.”

The readings here invite us to rethink the parameters within which God works. God is indeed a God of Surprises. He often works outside our familiar categories and beyond the parameters of expected normalcy. But we must avoid making the simplistic conclusion that this means that there are no basic differences between one ideology and the other, one religion and another, one denomination and the other. Notice that Christ’s words does not admit all and sundry but contain a caveat, only those who are “not against us is for us.” In other words, the recognition of the parallel ministry is posited on the fact that there is no contradiction between the teachings of Christ and the Church and that of the other. Immediately after challenging the “pale” mentality of his disciples, Jesus begins to draw clear parameters and impose heavy penalties, including excommunication, for any infringement of the limits which he had set. The God of Surprises is not the God of confusion or chaos or “anything goes.”  

A popular myth among many non-Catholics and even Catholics, is that the Church since Vatican II no longer teaches that she is necessary for salvation, in other words, that the Church is just one of many equal paths of salvation. These statements have become unofficial dogmas, “You have your beliefs and I have mine.” “Everyone has a right to his or her own opinion and religious beliefs and these should be respected.” “Everyone can get to heaven as long as one is true to oneself and tries to be a good person.” The notion that there are other equal paths of salvation apart from Christ and his Church is called religious indifferentism. This ideology teaches that the divisions between Christians and others are simply man-made constructs, irrelevant in the pursuit of larger, mutual goals. That faith is from God, and religion is made by man. Differences, if any, are mostly trivial. The Pale just doesn’t exist!

Although religious indifferentism has always been condemned by the Catholic Church, the argument seems quite tenable and acceptable in today’s religiously diverse world. In fact, many Catholics do feel overly embarrassed to assert the uniqueness of the Catholic faith. But is it arrogance to state the Truth about Christ or His Church? Or is it arrogant on our part to presume that we can alter and change the teachings of Christ so that our faith may fit in more “nicely” within the larger society and its expectations?

The Christian faith, the Catholic faith remains undeniably unique because Jesus remains undeniably unique – He is the Only Begotten Son of God. The best human teachers of wisdom are nothing like Him because He is both true man and true God. Because of His singularly unique nature, Christ is the unique and universal Saviour of the world, He cannot be one among many. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ in God’s plan of salvation must certainly extend to the Church which He founded. Thus the Church is unique because Jesus is, in fact, unique. It is precisely because of this intimate association between Christ and His Body that the Catholic Church continues to affirm the Latin maxim, “extra ecclesia nullam salus,” “outside the Church there is no salvation.” Our Holy Father, Pope Francis affirms this ancient maxim by saying, “It’s an absurd dichotomy to think one can live with Jesus, but without the Church, to follow Jesus outside the Church, to love Jesus and not the Church”. If Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, then the Church must too be necessary for salvation.

This unique identity of Christ and the Church, is reflected in the way the Catholic faith relates to all the other religions and philosophies in the world. Such a relationship is necessarily based on God’s Truth, it can never be the product of human opinions. It follows that any truth and any goodness to be found anywhere in creation owes its existence to God. However, with Truth comes its flipside, error. Error is always beyond the Pale because God is not and cannot be the author of error. Despite the commonality we find in other religious traditions, and despite the Church’s sincere respect for “all that is true and good” found in these traditions, anything which offends the Truth of Christ and His Church cannot be considered to be on the same page especially when this not only rejects the uniqueness of Christ and His mission but also negates the essence of the Truth which He came to reveal.

So how do we reconcile the seemingly contradictory notions that the Church is necessary for salvation and yet recognise that there are others who may be recipients of God’s grace and salvation who stand outside the visible Church? By recognising that these claims are complementary, not contradictory. The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church though affirming the necessity of Christ and His Church for salvation also teaches that “those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience… Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is looked upon by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel... Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, “Preach the Gospel to every creature," the Church fosters the missions with care and attention.”

So all that lies beyond the visible Pale of our comprehension and perception need not be necessarily dangerous, neither those found there condemned to perdition. It may be humbling and more accurate to state that one does not know where the Pale begins or ends because, Christ, the Pole of our Lives on whom we stake everything, is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and End of all. In this way, the Pale is essentially “Catholic,” “Universal,” and one of the strengths of true Catholicity is that it affirms all that is beautiful, true and good, wherever it appears, but never merely contented with lesser versions, it always strives for the fullness and perfection of that which is beautiful, true and good. This too must be at heart of authentic ecumenism, authentic interfaith dialogue and genuine conversations with the world. It is a conversation that cannot and should not ignore the differences nor blur the lines between Truth and Error, but rather a dialogue that ultimately leads us to the fullness of the Truth in all its splendorous glory, a dialogue that leads us to God.

 

PostNote:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"Extra Ecclesiam nullam salus"

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

“Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door.

“Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

“847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

“Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation.”