What the Catholic Church Has Learnt from Interreligious Dialogue

Michael L. Fitzgerald
2011 Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations  
It has been more than 40 years since the document Nostra Aetate was promulgated. This document encourages in the Catholic Church an open attitude toward non-Christian religions. Since then, the Church has engaged in interreligious dialogue in the spirit of the principles of Nostra Aetate. As a result, it has learnt much from dialogue and has undertaken pertinent reforms. At first, because of its far-reaching character, Nostra Aetate took the Church by surprise. Th us it was necessary that the
more » ... lidity of this document be evidenced on theological foundations; as a result, in fact, it has produced theological advances. Developments, related to interreligious dialogue, on matters of ecclesiology, the Trinity, and especially pneumatology are found in the teaching of various Sovereign Pontiff s and in certain other Church documents. Th e validity of these developments has been supported through the practice of dialogue. Th e paper makes this clear by illustrating some aspects of the practice of dialogue after Vatican II. At the same time, the state of interreligious dialogue and some associated problems stand out in relief. Today the Catholic Church reconfi rms its traditional self-understanding while it recognizes the necessity of collaboration and peaceful coexistence with other religions.
doi:10.6017/scjr.v1i1.1375 fatcat:lmvbcd4545bmbj32dfzphaobrq