Peter Phan Syndrome

1. A George professor for "Catholic Social Thought" publishing an article in Commonweal.
2. John Kerry walks into a bar, barkeeper asks, "Why the long face?"

The question? "What are bad jokes?"

The article is entitled "Praying to the Buddha"

A few excerpts (the good professor got a Henry Luce grant for writing this)

Traditionally, a fear of religious syncretism has made religious leaders-and not only Catholic leaders-hesitate to recommend merging prayer rituals. But a number of theologians argue that praying together is possible and highly desirable, especially for believers of theistic faith (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Confucianism), and particularly in situations of violence and conflict caused in the name of religion.

Yes, I always thought Jesus and Kali are really birds of a feather.

Where syncretism is propagated, criticism of DOMINUS IESUS can't be far. And, Peter Phan doesn't disappoint:

For example, Dominus Iesus, the declaration issued in 2000 by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, asserts that “if it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the church, have the fullness of the means of salvation.” As I was writing this essay, meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that official Saudi first-grade textbooks for Islamic studies affirm that “every religion other than Islam is false.” My point is not that Dominus Iesus and Saudi religious textbooks are parallel. Rather, it is that the Dominus Iesus statement will be read and understood one way in the corridors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in another, quite different way in the context of a dialogue with Islam-and specifically in a contemporary geopolitical context inflamed by the notion of a “clash of civilizations” that pits Muslim against Christian. Furthermore, it is only after serious and prolonged dialogues of life, action, and religious experience that one can say with any degree of certainty whether a devout Muslim is always and “objectively speaking” in “a gravely deficient situation” and necessarily worse off than a Catholic who has at his or her disposal “the fullness of the means of salvation.”
...
Imagine, for instance, that you are in Nigeria, a country with a longstanding and violent history of conflict between its Muslim north and Christian south. Suppose you inform a Muslim Nigerian, with full fervor and conviction, that in comparison with Catholics he is in “a gravely deficient situation” with regard to salvation. What is the chance of your convincing him of the salvific advantages of the Catholic Church-a church whose primary meaning to him may be that it once led the Crusades and is currently awash in sexual scandal? ... Unless it is deeply rooted in genuine and sincere dialogues of life, action, and religious experience, your description of his religious condition, inspired by an innocent affirmation of an ecclesiastical document such as Dominus Iesus, would be the equivalent of shouting “Fire” in a crowded theater

Ah yes, nothing like a Catholic education. First, you lose a lot of money. Then, your kid might lose faith on top of that.