For Christian communities facing hostility, dialogue represents both principled witness and practical wisdom. By engaging other faiths respectfully while maintaining a clear identity, Christians fulfill their calling to be salt and light. They create conditions where persecution becomes less likely and stand for human dignity, justice, peace, and creation care in ways that transform not just individual lives but entire societies. The path forward requires courage, commitment, and creativity — moving beyond platitudes to meaningful engagement with religious difference. In a world where isolation breeds conflict, dialogue offers a pathway toward reconciliation, renewal, and restoration of our broken world.
Nostra Aetate
The Pope Benedict I knew: A keeper of his faith with a deep respect for Judaism
Rabbi David Rosen is the former chief rabbi of Ireland, and is American Jewish Committee’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs. He is an International Co-President of Religions for Peace, and has participated in many interfaith events, including the Day of Prayer for World Peace at Assisi 2011, alongside Pope Benedict XVI.
(JTA) — I was first introduced to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI, in the late 1980s when he was visiting Jerusalem. Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem, was eager for me to meet with the cardinal, telling me that I would discover a very different person from the image portrayed in the general media. He was so correct.
That image was in no small part the result of Pope John Paul II having made him the head of the Vatican Office for Doctrine and Faith, to enforce orthodox Catholic teaching. In addition, the fact that Ratzinger was a shy man with a professorial background and attitude often led people to see him as aloof and even cold.
The Psalms: A Doorway to Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
“The Psalms: A Doorway to Jewish-Catholic Dialogue” is the work of the Canadian Rabinnical Caucus and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops over a period of five years. In the last five years, while delving into historic issues and current questions, the members of the Dialogue have also been deeply enriched by the time devoted in each gathering to the study of a psalm from both traditions. This presentation of a selection of these reflections is an effort to share with the wider community the fruits of this study.
Nostra Aetate: Cordial Relations with Other Religions
Last October marked the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra aetate (“In Our Time”), the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. There were celebrations in Australia on the signal importance of this document. Commonweal (a Catholic Magazine) has devoted a great deal of space over the years to explaining and … Read more