- Midhun J Francis, S J
The international conference on 27-29 October 2025, hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration, Nostra Aetate (NA), focused on the theme ‘Towards the Future: Re-Thinking Nostra Aetate Today’. In essence, Nostra Aetate is always relevant and ready to be reformed according to the signs of the times by listening to the Holy Spirit. Consequently, NA invites the need for profound reflection on each religious tradition and critique in the current global context. Therefore, the conference, which brought together leading scholars and representatives of Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Jewish academic and religious people, underscores the continued relevance and urgency of the declaration.
The reflections on NA enabled the people of Goodwill to read the signs of the times with greater depth. Henceforth, the theme ‘re-thinking’ in the conference suggests that the process of renewal initiated by the Council is, indeed, ongoing with openness such as Aggiornamento (bringing up to date). As such, NA became a significant ecclesial milestone that reversed centuries of negative attitudes toward other religions and promoted ‘unity and love among people, indeed among nations.’ Henceforth, the vocation of Christians as well as all people of God will require deep dedication, through dialogue and collaboration, to recognize the other, persevere in mission, and promote the spiritual and moral values seen in others, as well as the socio-cultural newness found among all people and religions and cultures.
- Seeds of Mutual Enrichment: The Church’s Encounter with the Other Religions
Nostra Aetate signified the official end of the longue durée of explicit theological contempt that had historically defined the Church’s relationship with non-Christian faiths, especially Judaism. Therefore, one can say that the declaration represents a radical change and a profound turnaround in the attitude of the Church. This declaration affirmed a fundamental change in posture, which esteemed and recognized the spiritual treasures, as it says, “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions” (NA2). The document also invites its members to have a “dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions” (NA2). Moreover, the Church exhorted that these religions “often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all people” (NA2).
This historical and theological radical movement of the Catholic Church toward dialogue was reflected by preceding encyclicals of Paul VI’s Ecclesiam suam, published in 1964, which saw dialogue as the ‘guiding principle’ (ES 50). The document addressed the necessary theological presuppositions for dialogue, such as the conscience and renewal of the Church itself. Therefore, the Church must ‘examine more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions’ to understand herself more fully. Subsequently, it was followed by the establishment of broad circles of conversation, which included extending ad extra to other religions. Ecclesiam Suam detailed these concentric circles, moving from the entire human family outward to those who believe in God, including Muslims and followers of the great Afro-Asiatic religions.
The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in other religions, which reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all people. For the Church, this affirmation of the ‘ray of truth’ is more than a political gesture. It is a genuine theological search for God’s saving work already alive in other people and cultures.
However, the historical analysis of NA reveals that the commitment to dialogue, while revolutionary, was often cautious. Because some critics say NA failed to challenge the traditional Christian exclusivity theology, which speaks of catholic supremacy.
However, Pope Paul VI elaborated that ‘true dialogue’ must move ‘beyond mere speculative and rational exchanges.’ He emphasized the necessity of engagement through the dialogue of life and the exchange of spiritual experience. Therefore, the document’s principle suggested that dialogue should be a ‘way of life’. It is a journey of the heart that transforms everyone involved; in other words, NA is not just saying supremacy of the catholic Church, instead, it opened up a new horizon in the Church. It is a dialogical journey that the Church opened up. Therefore, one must see Nostra Aetate in the context of the different cultural and historical difficulties the Church faced as ‘Aggiornamento’. NA is a foundation for the new theological openness on the ongoing process of the Church, as well as all other religions, with openness.
- Beyond Supersessionism: The Call to Transformative Interreligious Dialogue
The 60th anniversary of NA demands to evaluate insidious forms of theological superiority and reject ‘extreme supersessionism’, which was also central to the post-conciliar agenda, especially concerning Jewish-Catholic relations, as this doctrine asserts that the New Covenant entirely replaces the Old. Historically, Supersessionism steadily gained favour among Church Fathers until it became the standard theological foundation for the relationship with Judaism in the Middle Ages. This view held that God’s promises no longer applied to Israel because it had not recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and the Church thrust itself as the faithful ‘new Israel,’ the new chosen people of God. Nostra Aetate did break from centuries of anti-Jewish theological attitudes. Specifically, the declaration professes, within a new theological framework, that replacement or supersession theology is ‘deprived of its foundations.’ Therefore, the goal of dialogue with Judaism is a persistent, uncompromising purification of those underlying historical conflicts, both physical and theological.
It is true that Nostra Aetate indeed prioritized religious commonality and sameness between Christianity and Islam as the basis for dialogue, such as focusing on monotheism, reverence for Jesus and Mary, and practices like prayer, alms-deeds, and fasting. However, the Church needs to go beyond such affirmation of similarities, risk of overlooking the complexities and challenges of profound religious difference between these religions, which need to be addressed with openness. Therefore, the dialogue should not be restricted to commonalities but must embrace the differences as ‘richness and fruitfulness’, which transforms both Christians and Muslims and calls to genuine spiritual conversion, honest theological reflection, and concrete cooperation for the common good, as both religions are invited to regard each other with proper respect, recognizing that each other seek and believe in the one God. Furthermore, the authentic dialogue ‘begins not in compromise, but in conviction’—the deep roots of one’s own belief that give ‘the strength to reach out to others in love’. This posture of ‘prudence and love’ is essential for constructive engagement between Christianity and Islam.
Dialogue is a journey of the heart that changes all who enter it, both the one who listens and the one who speaks, and the cultivation of ‘a gaze that can look further,’ a vision capable of seeing beyond fear, difference, and immediacy. The authentic dialogue ‘begins not in compromise, but in conviction’—the deep roots of one’s own belief that give ‘the strength to reach out to others in love.’
For Hinduism and Buddhism, NA’s inclusion was an ‘unexpected gift’. However, this section also risks minimalism because it is ‘understated, incomplete’. Specifically, it does not explicitly affirm that the Church has anything substantive to learn from or receive from these non-Christian traditions. To move beyond this comfortable theological stance to say that they, too, have something valuable that can enrich the other. Therefore, the dialogue in India must cultivate a profound understanding, both phenomenologically and theologically. Henceforth, the Church must update its phenomenological descriptions to recognize that Hinduism is not a single religion but a civilization containing a ‘plurality of distinct religions’, including many monotheistic traditions in Hinduism and other Indian religions. The presence of monotheistic traditions centered on mutual love of God and humanity (Bhakti traditions) creates a ‘theological common ground’ and ‘close spiritual affinity’ with Christianity, challenging the idea that only the Abrahamic faiths share this foundation. Thus, this recognition of the Divine presence in Hinduism, Buddhism, and other Asian and African religions expands the paradigm of theological closeness.
- Walking Together in Hope: Pope Leo XIV and the Transformative Call of Nostra Aetate
Pope Leo XIV’s decision to frame the theological catechetical reflection on Nostra Aetate around John 4:24 is not merely inspirational. On the contrary, it was a mission directive for radical ecclesial transformation, which he urged the Church by citing Jesus’ words, ‘God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,’ to move forward boldly in its mission with other religions and reminded all those who engaged in the mission of dialogue that the message of Nostra Aetate remains as urgent and relevant today as it was at its inception.
The Pope’s, themed ‘Walking Together in Hope’, provided a clear mandate for how theological reflection must proceed in dialogue, as he directed that authentic engagement in dialogue begins not in compromise, but in profound conviction. Accordingly, the Pope reaffirmed the mission outlined in NA, i.e., ‘to promote unity and love among men and women, indeed among nations.’ This commitment to the unity of the human family is fundamental, as all human beings belong to ‘one human family’ with ‘one origin and one also in our final goal’. Pope Leo XIV also recalled the central theological breakthrough of the Declaration: the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions, which reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all people. For the Church, this affirmation of the ‘ray of truth’ is more than a political gesture. It is a genuine theological search for God’s saving work already alive in other people and cultures. Here, Pope Leo XIV’s call reminds us that true dialogue always requires ongoing conversion and transformation and openness, which is not a mere tactic or instrument but a way of life. Dialogue is a journey of the heart that changes all who enter it, both the one who listens and the one who speaks, and the cultivation of ‘a gaze that can look further,’ a vision capable of seeing beyond fear, difference, and immediacy.
- Beyond Tolerance: Embracing Love, Wisdom, and Friendship Across Religions
The NA’s call to attend to the richness of Hinduism, Islam, and so on invites a genuine and detailed theological engagement with India’s spiritual traditions, which moves well beyond mere tolerance toward a more profound reverence and understanding. This engagement must actively seek the Semina Verbi (Seeds of the Word) within these traditions, aiming for genuine inculturation based on mutual spiritual enrichment. Dialogue is intrinsically an ‘exchange of gifts’, which can be greatly enriched for each member in their own spiritual life by receiving from dialogue partners the gifts that they bring. It is the love that goes beyond tolerance and inclusivist self-sufficiency, which views other faiths as mere preparatio evangelii, that is the explicit adoption of the verb ‘receive’. While NA asks Christians to recognize the other, persevere in mission, and promote the good things in others, it also enables the Church to receive truth and wisdom from those outside the Church. This transforms the Church’s self-understanding, positioning its mission as the prophetic interpreter of the truth that the Spirit has already sown universally. Therefore, for Catholics, this learning helps them ‘think anew about a wide range of matters of theological importance’ concerning the nature of the divine, incarnation, and the balance of image and word in the Indian context or in any other cultural context she encounters, which is deeply practical. Moreover, the deepest form of inculturation is experienced through interreligious friendship, which is considered a ‘theological virtue’. Friendship moves dialogue beyond ‘speculative and rational exchanges’ to a ‘profound spiritual experience’. In this context, the lives of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and all other religious and non-religious people need to witness to God’s call to perfect happiness or real blessedness, and they become spiritual friends whose lives are mutually tied together for mutual development and purification.
- Conclusion
Ultimately, the re-thinking of Nostra Aetate on the occasion of the 60th anniversary must be a moment of profound institutional self-critique and theological synthesis for the Church and for all the religions that are aware of the document. The universality of worship in Spirit, affirmed by Pope Leo’s invocation of John 4:24, demands the universality of justice. The Church’s witness in the complex diversity of India, which is united as a nation, will only be credible if it esteems the richness of Hinduism and Islam, as well as other Indian religions, not as a call to diplomatic tolerance but as an invitation to solidarity, recognizing the Semina Verbi in their traditions as parallel expressions of the divine impulse toward justice and truth. In this light, dialogue, in this radical hermeneutic, is irrevocably linked to accountability. The future of interreligious ethics must be defined by shared orthopraxis in the service of the oppressed, making the liberation struggle the ultimate act of worship as friends.
