Nostra aetate ‘In our time’
The Second Vatican Council declaration on the Roman Catholic Church and Interfaith relations
We met as past participants of the Elijah Interfaith Summer School 2020. We have continued to meet every few months over the last 4 years.
A couple of us are from England, and the rest are from Canada, and the US. One of our numbers has a great interest in theological matters and he tabled ‘Nostra aetate’.
Papal documents made me think we would be reading page after page of theology. I was wrong ‘Nosta aetate’ is no more than three pages and we thought it somewhat poetic.
In the hour and a half, we completed the three paragraphs of section 1 of 5
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely her relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.(1) One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.(3)
Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what is sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?
What is noticeable about our group of 6 is that there is one Muslim and the rest of us come from Protestant traditions. When I said that I was reminded that some Anglicans see themselves as Catholic although not Roman.
The facilitator pressed up not to just read quickly but to fully absorb the text. The more I absorbed the more it seemed scriptural. There seemed to meaning beyond the obvious which caused me to think about those who voted on it. There were around 2500 ‘Fathers’ in attendance. ‘Father’ was the term given to those with a vote. For these ‘Fathers’ to be convinced a document would have to resonate with them.
The footnotes for the three paragraphs gave biblical references for what was written. Of course, if you are wondering what are Wis. 8: 1 and Apoc. 21 : 23 you are probably not Roman Catholic.
NOTES
1. Cf. Acts 17:26
2. Cf. Wis. 8:1; Acts 14:17; Rom. 2:6–7; 1 Tim. 2:4
3. Cf. Apoc. 21:23f.
I was curious what our Muslim brother would make of this however he got called away. I suspect other religions believe when the Roman Catholic church issues a document that this is the voice of Christianity. While the Roman Church may represent over 1 billion people the World Council of Churches, of which it is not a member, represents around half a billion Christians.
The perception can be understood when terms such as ‘The Church’ are used.
‘In our time’ seems to have been a response to the world wars, particularly the Holocaust. In this document we see the Roman Catholic church searching its soul and attempting to rid itself of anti-Semitism.
All religions should engage in such soul-searching from time to time to rid themselves of that which is not love. Indeed we should all engage individually in such an exercise.
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