For those who hoped that the controversies stirred up by Pope Francis would die down with the ascendancy of Robert Prevost as Leo XIV, this was not a good week. Witness the spectacle of a social media dispute between Bishop Robert Barron and Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco over the importance of evangelization. Vesco is the current Archbishop of Algiers and was the Provincial Superior of the Dominican Order in France from 2010–2012. Barron is the Bishop of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota.
In an interview for the Belgian publication CathoBel, Cardinal Vesco discussed the situation in Algeria as well as the current troubles in France. Some of what he said was picked up by other outlets. Whether Barron read the original or excerpts, I do not know, but two statements caught his attention. The first concerns the challenges facing a small Catholic community in an overwhelmingly Muslim country:
Another challenge, since Algerian independence, has been to be, as much as possible, a Church that participates fully in civic life, one that is woven into the life of the country. Above all, we must not be a community closed in on itself. That would not be the Church. We are the Church of this people. Not a proselytizing Church, not a Church that is there to convert, but a Church that aspires to be one of the constituent parts of this people.
The second concerns how Catholics ought to relate to Muslims in France:
Do we think of ourselves as a besieged fortress? There are reasons to see things that way. Or do we choose fraternity? For me, it is the only choice worth making. Some people talk about a “great replacement” and stoke fears. But then, what is the solution? Are we going to create ghettos for French people of pure stock? Christians have a different card to play than restoring a regime of Christendom. Of course, we need partners for that, but for me, the wager to be made is on fraternity. In the monotheistic religions, proselytism is a poison because it implies considering the other person’s religion to be false. When I have a Muslim in front of me who says, “You’re a good person, but your religion is worthless,” that brings the dialogue to an end. Suddenly we are no longer of the same world; we no longer belong to the same humanity. We have to fight against that.
The English translation of the interview can be found here.
Bishop Barron responded on X:
Well, another Cardinal has come out with a, shall we say, puzzling take on evangelization.
A few years ago, Cardinal Américo Aguiar, at the time auxiliary bishop of Lisbon, said that he and the other organizers of World Youth Day in his hometown had no interest in converting anyone to Christ.
Now Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algeria has opined that “the Church is not there to convert” and “Christians should approach other religions through fraternity rather than seeking conversions.”
Excuse me, but…what?
Last time I checked, the Founder said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Sure sounds like conversion to me.
When St. Paul came to Corinth or Athens or Thessalonica, his purpose was not to listen or to form a discussion group but rather to declare an unnerving message: the euangelion (glad tidings) that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
[...] Moreover, the entire thrust of the Second Vatican Council was toward bringing the Light of Christ to the peoples of the world (Lumen Gentium). And this missionary élan has given rise in the last few decades to the idea of a “new evangelization,” which is to say, a fresh declaration of the Lordship of Christ.
Quite obviously, no one thinks that this work of evangelization should be done in a brow-beating, overbearing, or disrespectful manner (proselytization), but for God’s sake, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
If I really thought that the Church does not exist to bring people to Christ, then I would resign and get an honest job.
Tough words, especially given the prominence of the subject of the attack and the fact they were made in a public forum. Barron’s post has garnered over a million views.
