On October 28, numerous media outlets, as well as institutional, pastoral, and academic gatherings, celebrated the anniversary of one of the most groundbreaking documents from the Second Vatican Council: the Declaration Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”) on the Church’s relations with other religions.
In the Vatican, a commemorative event, by the very composition of its assembly, served as a tangible sign that dialogue among different nations, cultures, and religions is not just an ideal aspiration but something that can be realized. As Pope Leo XIV observed, seeing leaders from the world’s various religious traditions side by side showed “the rich fruits of understanding, friendship, cooperation, and peace” borne by that “mighty tree” which, over the past six decades, has developed and flourished from the seed sown on October 28, 1965, when the Church resolved to write a new and transformative chapter in the history of its relations with Jews, Muslims, and other faith communities.
The signature affixed to the document by the Council Fathers on that memorable date was not just an evocative gesture, but the firm rejection of centuries of prejudice and hostility, and the bold promise to outline together, with mutual respect, a new path of dialogue and cooperation. The intention was not to spread a merely symbolic message: the horrors of the last war called for concrete action and a persevering effort to uproot the hatreds of the past, replacing them with a dialogue founded on “sincerity, attentive listening, and mutual enrichment.”
On its 60th anniversary, with the resurgence of antisemitic sentiments following the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Nostra Aetate’s call resonates more urgently than ever. Spreading its message as widely as possible is imperative to ensure that neither political interests nor cultural and religious pretexts prevail over the sincere recognition that all religions can reflect “a ray of that truth which enlightens all men.”
However, today, once the anniversary celebrations have come to an end, there is a real risk that the message of Nostra Aetate may be remembered only as an exemplary model of interreligious dialogue, failing to translate it into concrete action. For, as Leo XIV firmly reminded the other religious leaders, the responsibility to fight against prejudice, anger, and hatred belongs to everyone. “Walking together in hope” has been not just the guiding motto of the commemoration of Nostra Aetate, but also the only way to break down the walls that still stand between nations and religions, by continuing to build the bridges that the Declaration began to lay sixty years ago.
A Universal Declaration Against Religious Intolerance
The enduring resonance of Nostra Aetate in today’s world is rooted in the historical and theological context from which it emerged. Before the Declaration, relations between Christianity and other religions were often marked by hostility or indifference, representing Judaism through the lens of guilt, Islam as a heretical enemy, and the great religions of Asia as idolatrous cults. The atrocities of the Second World War and the onset of globalization, however, prompted a profound reconsideration of the Church’s stance. Pope John XXIII, moved by his own experience helping Jewish refugees in Istanbul during the war, convened the Second Vatican Council, hoping to renew the Church through openness and dialogue with the world.
Guided by Cardinal Augustin Bea, the drafting of Nostra Aetate, originally conceived as a statement on the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people, gradually evolved into a broader reflection encompassing other non-Christian faiths, becoming a landmark act of historical reckoning. The document decisively broke with the old Catholic teachings on Judaism, defending the spiritual patrimony shared by Christians and Jews, and declaring that “in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church […] decries hatred, persecutions, displays of antisemitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”
As its scope expanded, the Declaration also addressed the historical tensions and conflicts that have shaped Christian–Muslim relations over the centuries. It does not just urge both communities to move beyond past hostilities, but it calls them to engage sincerely in dialogue, foster mutual understanding, and collaborate in promoting the common good. In doing so, it framed interreligious relations with Islam not only as a matter of theological respect—acknowledging that Muslims worship the one God—but also as an ethical and social responsibility, integrating the recognition of shared spiritual truths with practical cooperation for the benefit of the broader human community. Similarly, the Declaration recognized that Hinduism and Buddhism, too, offer real moral wisdom and spiritual insight that can contribute to the common good and foster human flourishing. In this way, what began as a theological response to centuries of Christian–Jewish division turned into a global invitation: a foundation for more open, respectful, and collaborative relationships with the world’s religious diversity.
The educational legacy of Nostra Aetate
The most significant lesson of Nostra Aetate lies in the transformation of Catholic self-understanding. Instead of defining its identity in opposition to other religions, the Church started seeing itself in relation to them. This shift from exclusivism to openness underscores dialogue, mutual respect, and the recognition of shared moral and spiritual truths as essential to the Church’s mission in a pluralistic world. When the Declaration called for people to “promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom,” it was not just talking about lofty ideals. It was laying out an educational vision: dialogue is not merely a theological exchange, but a way for communities to learn how to live together.
Since the day Nostra Aetate was promulgated, this vision has been translated into practice. From the creation of the Secretariat for Non-Christians in 1964 to today’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Catholic Church has institutionalized dialogue as both mission and method. Initiatives such as the Nostra Aetate Foundation, historic interreligious encounters led by Popes John Paul II and Pope Francis, and the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, signed by Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, all express the conviction that authentic peace begins in schools, universities, seminaries, and communities where difference is studied, respected, and lived.
Sixty years later, that pedagogical message is even more urgent. In a world that is so divided and flooded with misinformation, education has to become the main arena where dialogue is learned and practiced, and where difference is not a threat but a chance for everyone to grow. Yet the same fractures that Nostra Aetate sought to heal are very much alive: the resurgence of antisemitism, the persistence of Islamophobic sentiments, and the persecution of Christian minorities in the Middle East and South Asia reveal the enduring presence of religious intolerance. The spread of digital disinformation has deepened these divisions, fueling hostility and shutting down real conversation. Educational systems have often failed to respond. Religious illiteracy remains widespread, even in pluralistic societies, and it often reappears in distorted form within political and media narratives.
To renew Nostra Aetate in the twenty-first century, education must become a deliberate act of peacebuilding. Religious education cannot just stick to catechism; it has to teach people to think critically and empathetically about faith and culture. Courses in comparative religion, philosophy, and ethics—whether in public or religious schools—can break down the ignorance that breeds prejudice. Universities can become meeting grounds, where students from different backgrounds learn to grapple with each other’s traditions honestly and respectfully. Research on historical and contemporary interreligious relations—especially studies highlighting moments of peaceful coexistence—can help reshape collective memory still profoundly marked by old stereotypes.
Education must also foster media literacy to counter populist rhetoric and the algorithmic echo chambers that often distort religious identities. Teaching about religion should not only correct falsehoods, but also cultivate empathy, the ability to perceive the sacred through another’s eyes. As Pope Francis has reminded us, “education is an act of hope” that can generate peace, justice, and meaning in human life. This conviction fits perfectly with the heart of Nostra Aetate: to replace ignorance with understanding, fear with curiosity, and hostility with dialogue. Yet such formation only takes root if educators truly live out humility in dialogue: teachers, scholars, clergy, and community leaders all need to be trained to engage diversity with intellectual rigor and historical awareness. Without this commitment, the ideals of Nostra Aetate risk remaining rhetorical; with it, they become the living foundation of a global culture of dialogue.
Living out Nostra Aetate’s legacy
Now that the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate has concluded, the most authentic tribute to the Declaration is to rethink it as a living guide for humanity. Nostra Aetate teaches that dialogue begins not in consensus, but in curiosity, in the real desire to know the other and learn from the other. At its core, it’s an insight about being human: every act of understanding another faith expands the horizon of one’s own humanity.
Education, in this light, becomes the bridge between theological belief and life. Peace, as Pope Francis observed, “is not a document which gets signed and then filed away. Peace is built day by day.” Nostra Aetate’s legacy endures wherever learning turns into real encounters and knowledge sparks compassion. Only through a rigorous, inclusive, and dialogical education can humanity fulfil the promise first glimpsed in 1965: that the truth shining on all people could someday ground true peace.
Let us therefore keep Hans Küng’s words alive. As he famously stated, there will be “no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among the religions without dialogue between the religions. No dialogue between the religions without investigation of the foundation of the religions.” May these words, now more than ever, be not mere slogans, but a living promise for our time.
The reflections presented in this article were developed within the framework of the TransIslam project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101155392.
Cover photo: A file picture dated 11 October 1962 shows the entry of bishops to the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) at St. Peters cathedral in Vatican City, Vatican City State.(Photo by Gerhard Rauchwetter / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP)
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