As the world anticipates the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a pivotal Vatican II declaration reshaping the Catholic Church’s relations with other religions, the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome is set to host a significant international conference, titled “Towards the Future: Re-Thinking Nostra Aetate Today,” from October 27 to 29, 2025. Organized alongside the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, this event will gather prominent theologians, diplomats, and faith representatives to examine how this brief but revolutionary document continues to influence dialogue and cooperation among various religions and nations. Attendees will include members not only from the Catholic Church but also from Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, the Bahá’í Faith, Scientology, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, among others.
On October 28, 1965, the Catholic Church issued Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”) during the Second Vatican Council—a concise document that transformed the Church’s view of non-Christian religions. Emphasizing respect for other faiths, Nostra Aetate explicitly “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in them. It was the Church’s first official denunciation of anti-Semitism and recognized the shared spiritual background between Christians, Jews, and Muslims, who “worship God, who is one” and participate in the faith of Abraham. By declaring “no” to all forms of anti-Semitism and urging Catholics and Jews to rediscover their profound historical ties, the document enabled former “enemies and strangers” to become “friends and brothers,” as Pope Francis noted on its 50th anniversary. Nostra Aetate also addressed Muslims with respect, urging Christians and Muslims to “forget the past” conflicts and “make common cause” in upholding moral values, peace, and freedom. This groundbreaking openness was described by a theologian as a “courageously open stance toward other religions,” inaugurating a new era of interfaith dialogue and collaboration that has flourished over the past six decades.
Fast forward to today: an international conference titled “Towards the Future: Re-thinking Nostra Aetate Today” will convene in Rome from October 27 to 29, 2025. Hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University and co-organized by its Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies and the Gregorian Centre for Interreligious Studies, this event has high-level backing from the Vatican, held under the auspices of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews (part of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity), the very offices responsible for furthering the work that Nostra Aetate initiated. The conference coincides with the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (1965–2025), making it both a commemoration and an opportunity to “rethink” the declaration’s message for a new era.
Organizers highlight that while Nostra Aetate remains a “pivotal tool” for interreligious dialogue and even peaceful civil coexistence, the world of 2025 is vastly different from that of the 1960s. New challenges and new religious landscapes have emerged: traditions once seen as peripheral now have a global impact, and entirely new issues—from religious extremism to secularization—confront faith communities. “Today the need arises not only to celebrate [Nostra Aetate’s] importance and relevance but also to reconsider it in light of theological developments, new interreligious encounters, and a changing political, social, religious environment since 1965,” the conference announcement explains. In other words, this event aims to ask: How would Nostra Aetate look if it were written in our time, for our time?
Over three days, the conference will gather a who’s who of interfaith dialogue: Catholic cardinals and theologians will engage with Jewish rabbis, Muslim scholars, Buddhist and Hindu teachers, and experts on smaller religious traditions. The program is based on the key sections of Nostra Aetate and the questions they raise today:
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Inaugural Session (Oct. 27): Opening with greetings from academic and religious leaders, including Fr. Mark Lewis, SJ, and Cardinals George Jacob Koovakad and Kurt Koch, signaling the Church’s high-level support. An introductory panel with Ambrogio Bongiovanni and Massimo Gargiulo will set the stage. Two inaugural lectures will revisit Nostra Aetate’s origins, highlighting its extraordinary impact.
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Voices of Many Faiths (Oct. 27 afternoon & Oct. 28 morning): Leaders and scholars from various religions will share their perspectives on Nostra Aetate’s second section, emphasizing Hinduism, Buddhism, and broader global religious contributions.
A special focus will be on traditions not explicitly named in 196
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