Cardinal says Church is ‘not there to convert’
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco asserted that, 'In monotheistic religions, proselytism is poison, because it implies considering the other person’s religion false.’
Cardinal Jean-Paul
Vesco Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Wed Oct 28, 2026 - 12:40 pm EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — The archbishop of Algiers, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, has claimed that the Catholic Church is “not a proselytising Church, not a Church that is there to convert,” and that it should instead seek to find its place within Algerian society.
In a recent interview with Belgian Catholic news site CathoBel, and reported by AdVaticanum, Vesco said “We are the Church of this people. Not a proselytising Church, not a Church that is there to convert, but a Church that aspires to be one of the components of this people.”
He further asserted that, “In monotheistic religions, proselytism is poison, because it implies considering the other person’s religion false.”
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“Do we see ourselves as a besieged fortress? Or do we choose fraternity?” asked Vesco. “For me, it is the only worthwhile option.”
Vesco stated that Christians should not seek to restore a former Christian political order as their answer to contemporary demographic and cultural changes, according to the AdVaticanum report. “Christians have another card to play than re-establishing a regime of Christendom.”
The archbishop of Algiers also said that synodality has permanently changed the way that the Church functions and “buried any possibility” of a future Third Vatican Council consisting exclusively of bishops.
Catholics were quick to respond on social media to Vesco’s troubling assertions.
“The Cardinal would have failed my first year high school theology class, ‘Fundamentals of the Faith,’” noted Father Ronald Vierling, known as “Fr. V” on social media.
“Cardinal Vesco, like Francis and Leo, rejects the Great Commission,” observed X commentator Bill Hennessy.
“The Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to His disciples to spread the Gospel to all nations, outlined primarily in Matthew 28:16–20,” wrote Hennessy on X. “Jesus declares that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him and commands His followers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey His commands.”
“This mandate is considered a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing evangelism, missionary work, and discipleship. While primarily addressed to the apostles, it is interpreted by most evangelical Christians as a directive for all believers to engage in disciple-making globally,” he explained. “Other biblical passages, such as Acts 1:8 and Mark 16:15, are also associated with this commission, highlighting the role of the Holy Spirit and the expansion of the church from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.”
“Will the Vatican remove Matthew 28:16-20 from the Bible?” quizzed Hennessy.
“These people are so out to lunch, it’s not funny,” declared Novus Ordo Watch.
TOPICS
TAGGED AS
- AdVaticanum
- Africa
- Algiers
- Catholic
- Church
- Ecumenism
- Evangelization
- Faith
- jean-paul vesco
- Proselytism
- Synodality
