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Question: Catholics do not speak in tongues, so they are not real Christians. This is what some people claim. Answer: Well, it all depends on what you mean by speaking in tongues. Let us refer to two passages in the New Testament regarding the gift of tongues: The story of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2, and Chapter 12 of Corinthians 1. These two sections do not mean exactly the same thing. What the gift of tongues seems to mean in the story of Pentecost is that even though the apostles spoke only one language, all the people heard them speak in their own language, in their first languages. So the one language was equal to diverse languages in that manifestation of the speaking of tongues on Pentecost. On the other hand, for St. Paul, speaking "in tongues" refers to some sort of ecstatic utterance, and he does not seem to have too much respect for that gift. In 1 Corinthian 12, Paul mentions a list of charisms. On this list, he puts the gift of toungues last. Whether what we call the gift of tongues or talking in tongues today is equivalent to what St. Paul meant is not quite so clear. St. Paul specifically mentioned that when one speaks in tongues at these charismatic meetings, there should always be somebody there to interpret. Now, I have been at a number of charismatic meetings myself and I have tried to help charismatics, but I have never heard charismatics asking for anybody to explain what they are saying. There is no interpretation of tongues that I know of anywhere in modern times. St. Paul insisted that the speaking in tongues should be accompanied always by the interpretation of tongues, and that, as far as I can see, is not done today. Therefore, in the sense of what it means to speak in tongues today, it is ridiculous to say that Catholics do not speak in tongues. You only have to go for instance to Christ the King Church in Ang Mo Kio or to St. Michael's, off Serangoon Road. Go to any of these charismatic meetings, and you will find our people praying in tongues there, in what praying in tongues seems to mean in our time. But praying in tongues is really, I think, only something superficial in Christianity and what is all important is not the way we pray but the fact that we do pray. In conclusion therefore, Catholics do speak in tongues and we hope also that they pray apart from speaking in tongues. The claim that Catholics do not speak in tongues and therefore that they are not real Christians is thus clearly unfounded. You cannot identify real Christianity merely with speaking in tongues. (Source: "Questions People often Ask", a booklet dealing with some questions people often ask about our Catholic faith. The answers are provided by Fr. Sean Kelleher C.Ss.R., a well known biblical scholar and writer, based on the questions put by Fr. Paul Pang C.Ss.R.) | Back to Main Page | |