Nostra Aetate - In Our Time

37 NOSTRA AETATE AND THE RELIGIONS OF ABRAHAM ifty years ago on 28 October 1965, Pope Paul VI declared in Nostra Aetate the Roman Catholic Church’s principal con- sideration of “what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship”. The first panel in our discussions today sets the basis for this event by discussing ecumenical reactions to Nostra Aetate . This panel expands from an intra-Chris- tian perspective to look at the religions of the Abrahamic tradition and their relationship to Nostra Aetate . The Declaration itself makes evident the distinct ties held among Christianity, Islam and Judaism – the patrimony that Christianity shares with Judaism and the Muslim recognition of Jesus as a prophet and Mary as His mother, not to mention the shared belief of one God in all three traditions. Before turning to the first speaker, I would like to reiterate the emphasis on commonality and fellowship, and their basis within the call to dialogue in the 1965 declaration, as integral building blocks to interreligious dialogue in general and, in accordance with the theme of this panel, among the Abrahamic traditions today. The four core dialogical principles discussed in this panel contain these building blocks. The first principle aims to see things from the perspective of the other. The second emphasises the focus on the common humanity that ties all of us together. Humanity is in the centre of existence and not vice versa. Thirdly, there is a need for self-examination of one’s own relationship with God and with others surrounding Him. Fourthly, although many people are concerned about inter-faith dialogue since they are afraid of losing their own faith or of becoming less faithful when they participate in interreligious dia- logue, this very dialogue can in fact strengthen one’s own faith in the process of learning about the faith of others. This panel addresses some topics perhaps unthinka- ble in 1965 and, although we should not downplay the sensitivity of such discussions today, it is a reminder of how far we have come in the last 50 years. Firstly, Dr. Mohammad Sammak will begin with what Muslims can learn from Nostra Aetate . We then pass the floor to Dr. Seyyed Ata’ollahMohajerani who will discuss the importance of theology in interreligious relations. Then Chief Rabbi Rosen will share with us thoughts on Jewish-Christian Relations since Nostra Aetate . Lastly, Prof. Dr. Ingeborg Gabriel will close this panel by dis- cussing Living Dialogue among the Abrahamic Faiths. F Above: at the National Dialogue Conference, Helsinki in 2015, Prof. Abu-Nimer outlines the role of KAICIID in supporting peacemakers at grassroots level Pictured top: Prof. Abu-Nimer at the Union for the Mediterranean forum, 2015, explaining the growing importance of interreligious dialogue in the Mediterranean region