Those who invoke theCatechism must also reckon with the
fact that in the Catechism itself the Church is ‘‘urged on by
the love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in
the world.’’[5] One of the stated aims of the Council,
meanwhile, was to proclaim the Gospel ‘‘to every creature,’’
so that ‘‘it may bring to all men that light of Christ which
shines out visibly from the Church.’’[6]
If we really believe that we possess in Christ the
fullness of the truth, and as St. Paul tells us, the Church is
‘‘the pillar and foundation of truth’’ (1Tm 3:15), then it is an
act of simple charity to proclaim the Gospel to all people,
including Muslims. Furthermore, even if one never meets a
Muslim, much less proclaims the Gospel to him, it is every
Christian’s duty to become informed about Islam since it
(along with secularism) is the Church’s chief and most
energetic presentday rival for souls.
- Why do Muslims think that Christians are
polytheists (that is, they believe in more than one god)?
Christians confess Jesus Christ as the Son of the Eternal
God. But the Koran strongly and repeatedly denies that
Jesus is God’s Son. ‘‘The Jews call Ezra the Son of God,’’
claims the Koran, ‘‘and the Christians call Christ the Son of
God. This is a saying from their mouth; they but imitate
what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on
them: how they are deluded away from the truth!’’ (Sura
9:30).
However, Muhammad did not really understand what
the Christians of his day meant when they called Jesus ‘‘the