Cardinal Vesco says the Church is "not there to convert" in Algeria

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers, told a Belgian Catholic outlet that the Church in Algeria is not a proselytising Church and that in monotheistic religions proselytism is "poison" because it treats another's faith as false. He also rejected restoring a Christendom order and said synodality has ended the prospect of a bishops-only council. Critics say this conflicts with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19–20, and the remarks illustrate a growing pressure to treat exclusive truth claims as a barrier to religious harmony.