III. SOME CONSEQUENCES FOR A CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY OF THE RELIGIONS - III. 3. Truth as a Problem in the Theology of the Religions and the Pluralist Position

9696. But the basic difference between the two starting points [the plurality-of-religions school and Catholic theology and the magisterium] is found in the position taken regarding the theological problem of truth and at the same time regarding the Christian faith. The teaching of the Church on the theology of the religions presents its' argument from the center of the truth of Christian faith. It takes into account, on the one hand, the Pauline teaching of the natural knowledge of God and at the same time expresses its confidence in the universal action of the Spirit. It sees both lines anchored in the theological tradition. It values the truth, the good and the beauty of the religions from the inmost depths of the truth of faith itself, but it does not attribute in general the same validity to the truth claim of other religions. To do so would lead to indifference, that is to say, to not taking seriously either one's own truth claim or the truth claim of another.