Bishop Strickland: Catholics must reject Vatican’s view against proselytism

(LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland has issued a searing criticism of the Vatican’s new document on inter-religious dialogue downplaying the need for all people to be evangelized by the Catholic Church.  

Strickland zeroed in on this troubling line:  

The defensive entrenchment in one’s own position and the view that proselytism is the only way to engage with the other no longer make sense in a world that increasingly resembles an interconnected and constantly evolving global village.

“This statement from the Vatican must be rejected and repudiated by all who hold Jesus Christ and His Church as the only way to the Father,” declared the former bishop of Tyler, Texas.

“Truth is not constantly evolving,” Strickland stressed. “Truth is Jesus Christ present with us in the world and His Church is the vehicle for our salvation.”

This statement from the Vatican must be rejected and repudiated by all who hold Jesus Christ and His Church as the only way to the Father.

“The defensive entrenchment in one’s own position and the view that proselytism is the only way to engage with the other no longer make… pic.twitter.com/XM8ELRnyzy

— Bishop Joseph Strickland @ Pillars of Faith (@BishStrick) September 16, 2026

Entitled “A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity in the Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate,” the text discourages “proselytism,” to wit, attempts to convert people of other religions.

The document upholds “inter-religious dialogue” and “fraternity” with other religions as an ideal, framing these as means toward “peace” and “understanding,” as opposed to evangelization.

Read more about the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document here.