Nostra Aetate - In Our Time

59 thank you for the invitation. I am most honoured to speak here at this important event that commemorates one of the most decisive and innovative documents of the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church, the dec- laration of the relation of the Church with non-Christian religions – Nostra Aetate , which remains an important inspiration for interreligious encounters worldwide. In my short statement I want to make three points: the intention of the document and its relevance for today; the importance of the prophetic dimension of the mon- otheistic faiths and their ethos; and some consequences for the responsibility of religions today such as the answering of difficult questions concerning that which the prophetic voices of our religions should be revealing. 1. The kairos of globalisation In 1965 globalisation was on the horizon but not yet fully developed. Its full development began with the bur- geoning of new technologies in the 1980s. For Nostra Aetate it is the ever closer interdependence of humans in this age which constitutes the starting point for reflec- tions on the desirable interactions of different religions. The Declaration sets out by stating: “In our time when, day by day, mankind is being drawn closer together and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger...” (NA I). The first part of this sentence articulates a fact, the second part a wish and an ethical demand. This has to be kept in mind when analysing the dynamics of globali- sation. Closeness here, as in other realms of life, does not necessarily lead to stronger personal ties. This holds true between peoples and nations as well as between religions. Internationalisation as well as interreligious con- tacts demand an answer to what “draws people closer together”. It is not only the international community that needs to overcome fragmentation and enhance peace, it is also religious peoples who themselves have to give an answer to this particular situation in the his- tory of mankind. This challenge has become even more urgent during the past decades. The processes of globalisation led to a unique level of interdependence and global interactions as well as to an intensification of international life. The religions came back onto the international stage in a way that was not foreseeable five decades ago, and the tensions between religious and secular modes of life but also between religious groups have increased and become one of the major challenges with regard to peace that we face today. Nostra Aetate can thus truly be called a prophetic document laying the foundations for the global commit- ment of the Catholic Church to interreligious dialogue. It is interesting to note that this had not been its original intention, which rather was to adopt a document against Christian anti-Semitism that could put Jewish-Catholic relations on a new basis. It was the interventions – at first not at all welcome – by the Arab states that led to a wider approach which would prove innovative and beneficial for the fundamental theological self-understanding of the Catholic Church as an institution in its worldwide promotion of peace, “unity and love among men and indeed among nations” (NA I). The means to do this is what constitutes the foun- dation of any interreligious dialogue: to find out “what men have in common and what draws them to fellow- ship” (NA I). In other words, not to set out by looking at the differences and developing an identity and pro- file against the others, the believers of other religions or non-believers, but to become creative in finding out where there is common ground and what we share as humans as well as religious persons. This approach based on commonalities has become even more important in an age characterised by pluralism, not only globally but also within most societies around the globe which, because of migrations, have become multicultural and multireligious to a degree not foreseeable 50 years ago. And it is evident that this process will continue. Social cohesion and peace within societies and between them thus will progressively depend on serious cooperation of those believers and non-believers who are ready and willing to do exactly this: to look for what they have in common and not for what divides them; to look for what helps them to create not only economic but also religious and intellectual bonds that give a solid foundation to human societies on the basis of equality. For the monotheistic religions, this common basis is the creation of all humans by God, with all having their final goal in Him. This goal however, because of human freedom, can be reached only through responsible, good and just actions in our lives. It is only through reflection on one’s responsibilities and corresponding actions that we can “be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations walk in His light” (NA I). NOSTRA AETATE AND THE RELIGIONS OF ABRAHAM I