At a Vatican commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, Pope Leo XIV underscored the declaration’s enduring call to interreligious dialogue and reaffirmed the Church’s rejection of antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV delivered an address in the Vatican marking the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council declaration issued on October 28, 1965, that reshaped the Catholic Church’s relations with other religions, particularly Judaism. In the speech, the Pope highlighted the document’s continuing relevance for dialogue and mutual respect.
Recalling the text’s origins, Pope Leo noted that Pope John XXIII commissioned Cardinal Augustin Bea to prepare a treatise describing a new relationship between the Catholic Church and Judaism. He described the declaration’s fourth chapter on Judaism as the “heart and generative core” of Nostra Aetate and said it provided, for the first time, a doctrinal text with an explicitly theological basis illuminating Christianity’s Jewish roots through Scripture, according to the Vatican’s published address.
Quoting Nostra Aetate, the Pope said: “As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.” The declaration adds that “the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets.” It further states that Jews should not be portrayed “as rejected or accursed by God” and “decries hatred, persecutions, [and] displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”
“Nostra Aetate takes a firm stand against all forms of antisemitism,” Pope Leo said, emphasizing that the Church “rejects all forms of discrimination or harassment because of race, color, condition of life or religion,” and affirming that believers cannot truly call on “God, the Father of all” while refusing to treat others in a brotherly or sisterly way.
The Pope also urged religious leaders to confront prejudice and division, calling them to become “prophets of our time” who denounce violence, heal wounds, and advance peace. He opened his remarks by recalling that “Sixty years ago, a seed of hope for interreligious dialogue was planted,” saying that seed has grown into “a mighty tree” bearing fruits of “understanding, friendship, cooperation and peace.”