The Council of Florence and the Council of Trent identified and affirmed the seven sacraments of the Church: no more nor less than these seven sacraments. Anyone denying this, Trent said “let him be anathema”. Hence, I am not using the term ‘sacrament’ in the Tridentine sense, but in the sense of a sign and instrument of God’s grace in history.
Vatican II teaches that through revelation, God’s “love speaks to men as friends and lives among them”, so that He invites and takes us into His fellowship. This is “realised by deeds and words”(DV 2). Hence, for the Church, dialogue both ‘ad intra’ and ‘ad extra’ is not optional.
Dialogue is modelled on our Trinitarian God. It is a sign of God’s love for all human beings, especially those on the margins of Church and society. This was established by Christ: “For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them”. (Mt 18:20).
The need of dialogue is more strongly felt in contemporary culture. “The present-day conditions of the world add greater urgency to this work of the Church so that all men, joined more closely today by various social, technical and cultural ties, might also attain fuller unity in Christ.” (Lumen Gentium 1)
There are several who are scared of the fact that to be true to its nature, the Church should be in constant dialogue with its members – who are the Church! Many are scared that this would bring about a deleterious democratisation of the Church. But without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there is neither community and much less communion.
It is accepted that the Church is neither a monarchic nor a democratic institution. But authority in the Church ought to be structured in a way that should never yield to authoritarianism. Certain relationships in the Church seem to prove Jean Jacques Rousseau’s dictum: “Man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains”.
In line with Cardinal John Henry Newman, Vatican II emphasised the active and creative role of the faithful in the process of tradition and reception of faith. “There is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. This happens through the contemplation and study made by believers, who treasure these things in their hearts” (Dei Verbum 8).
One may ask: if this is true in matters of faith, why is it neglected in matters of governance, administration, and so on. If the social teaching of the Church insists on the participation of workers in the working of the enterprise, why should’t this apply to the internal life of the Church?
Several fall in the temptation that Pope Francis tells us to avoid in a forceful way: “pastoral dialogue, out of a desire to listen to everyone and not simply to those who would tell him what he would like to hear”. (Evangelii Gaudium 31)
In my student days, I was present at a special audience that Pope St Paul VI gave to the faculty and students of the Gregorian University. I was particularly struck by a warning coming from the humble heart of Paul VI: “We have much authority in the Church. Let us beware from turning it into power!”.