The Vatican II Council produced a remarkable document, Nostra Aetate (In Our Age), which established new relationships between the Catholic Church and Jews, and it included a section on new relations with Islam. The 60th anniversary of this historic document is being celebrated at Georgetown University this fall.
“The Church regards with esteem also Muslims.” With these words, Catholic bishops, meeting in council with Pope Paul VI in 1965, introduced their reflections on a few constructive reasons for dialogue and cooperation with Muslims. A few bishops and scholars attended Vatican II hoping to improve Catholic attitudes and teachings about Muslims. Remarkably they succeeded with a passage of 132 Latin words in the council’s shortest (only 1140 words) document and opened a new era for Christian-Muslim relations. The passage begins recognizing beliefs and practices that Muslims hold dear and expands to a plea for mutual understanding and joint efforts fostering social justice, moral welfare, and peace and freedom.