Qecbircdi'o de <2c<zl<z^ tcu2 hc\b'^'*e
c
^‘

• •

OecUt^ko* Ovt f^ur CtzUI,'a^
... ^ AO^ 1

Declaration

on the

Relation

of the

Church to

Non-Christian

Religions





Declaration on the

Relation of the Church

to Non-Christian Religions

This booklet is the text of an English translation relayed from Vatican

City to the Press Department of the National Catholic Welfare Con-

ference, Washington, D.C.

PRINTED IN TEIE U.S.A.

BY OUR SUNDAY VISITOR INC.
HUNTINGTON, INDIANA 46750

90





Declaration on the

Relation of the Church

to Non-Christian Religions

HOLLOWING is an English trranslation of the text of the
Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on the Relation of

the Church to non-Christian

Paul VI on Oct. 28, 1965.

1. In our time, when day by

day mankind is being drawn

closer together, and the ties be-

tween different Peoples are be-

coming stronger, the Church

examines more closely her rela-

tionship to non-Christian reli-

gions. In her task of promoting

unity and love among men, in-

deed among nations, she consid-

ers 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 hu-

man race to live over the face
of the earth. One also is their

final goal, God. His providence,

His manifestations of goodness,

His saving design extend to all

men, 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.

religions, proclaimed by Pope

Men expect from the various

religions answers to the unsolv-

ed riddles of the human condi-

tion, 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 sin? Whence suffering and

what purpose does it serve?

Which is the road to true happi-

ness? 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?

2. From ancient times down

to the present, there is found

among various peoples a certain

perception of that hidden power

which hovers over the course of

things and over the events of

human history; at times some

indeed have come to the recog-

3



nition of a Supreme Being, or

even of a Father. This percep-

tion and recognition penetrates

their lives with a profound re-

ligious sense.

Religions, however, that are

bound up with an advanced cul-

ture have struggled to answer

the same questions by means of

more refined concepts and a

more developed language. Thus

in Hinduism, men contemplate
the divine mystery and express

it through an inexhaustible

abundance of myths and

through searching philosophical

inquiry. They seek freedom

from the anguish of our human

condition either through asce-

tical practices or profound med-

itation or a flight to God with

love and trust. Again, Bud-

dhism, in its various forms, rea-

lizes the radical insufficiency of

this changeable world; it teach-

es a way by which men, in a

devout and confident spirit,

may be able either to acquire
the state of perfect liberation,

or attain, by their own efforts

or through higher help, su-

preme illumination. Likewise,

other religions found every-

where try to counter the rest-

lessness of the human heart,

each in its own manner, by pro-

posing “ways,” comprising

teachings, rules of life, and sa-

cred rites.

The Catholic Church rejects

nothing that is true and holy in

these religions. She regards with

sincere reverence those ways of

conduct and of life, those pre-

cepts and teachings which,

though differing in many as-

pects from the ones she holds

and sets forth, nonetheless often

reflect a ray of that Truth which

enlightens all men. Indeed, she

proclaims, and ever must pro-

claim Christ, “the way, the

truth, and the life” (John 14:

6), in whom men may find the
fullness of religious life, in

whom God has reconciled all
things to Himself.

The Church, therefore, ex-

horts her sons, that through di-

alogue and collaboration with

the followers of other religions,

carried out with prudence and

love and in witness to the Chris-

tian faith and life, they recog-

nize, preserve and promote the

good things, spiritual and mor-

al, as well as the socio-cultural

values found among these men.

3. The Church regards with

esteem also the Moslems. They

adore the one God, living and

subsisting in Himself, merciful

and all-powerful, the Creator of

heaven and earth, who has spo-

ken to men; they take pains to

submit wholeheartedly to even

His inscrutable decrees, just as

Abraham, with whom the faith
of Islam takes pleasure in link-

ing itself, submitted to God.

Though they do not acknowl-

edge Jesus as God, they revere

Him as a prophet. They also

honor Mary, His virgin mother;

at times they even call on her

with devotion. In addition, they

await the day of judgment when

God will render their deserts to

4



all those who have been raised

up from the dead. Finally, they

value the moral life and wor-

ship God especially through

prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Since in the course of centu-

ries not a few quarrels and hos-

tilities have arisen between

Christians and Moslems, this

sacred synod urges all to forget

the past and to work sincerely

for mutual understanding and

to preserve as well as to pro-

mote together for the benefit of

all mankind social justice and

moral welfare, as well as peace

and freedom.

4. As the sacred synod sear-

ches into the mystery of the

Church, it remembers the bond

that spiritually ties the people

of the New Covenant to Abra-
ham’s stock.

Thus the Church of Christ ac-

knowledges that, according to

God’s saving design, the begin-

nings of her faith and her elec-

tion are found already among

the Patriarchs, Moses and the

prophets. She professes that all

who believe in Christ — Abra-
ham’s sons according to faith

—

are included in the same Patri-

arch’s call, and likewise that

the salvation of the Church is

mysteriously foreshadowed by

the chosen people’s exodus from

the land of bondage. The

Church, therefore, cannot for-

get that she received the reve-

lation of the Old Testament

through the people with whom
God in His inexpressible mercy

concluded the Ancient Cove-

nant. Nor can she forget that

she draws sustenance from the

root of that well-cultivated ol-

ive tree onto which have been

grafted the wild shoots, the

Gentiles. Indeed, the Church be-

lieves that by His cross Christ

Our Peace reconciled Jews and

Gentiles, making both one in

Himself.

The Church keeps ever in

mind the words of the Apostle

about his kinsmen: “Theirs is

the sonship and the glory and

the covenants and the law and

the worship and the promises;

theirs are the fathers and from

them is the Christ according to

the flesh” (Rom. 9:4-5), the

Son of the Virgin Mary. She al-

so recalls that the Apostles, the

Church’s main-stay and pillars,

as well as most of the early dis-

ciples who proclaimed Christ’s

Gospel to the world, sprang

from the Jewish people.

As Holy Scripture testifies,

Jerusalem did not recognize

the time of her visitation, nor

did the Jews, in large number,

accept the Gospel; indeed not a

few opposed its spreading.

Nevertheless, God holds the

Jews most dear for the sake of

their Fathers; He does not re-

pent of the gifts He makes or of

the calls He issues — such is
the witness of the Apostle. In

company with the Prophets and

the same Apostle, the Church

awaits that day, known to God

alone, on which all peoples will

address the Lord in a single

voice and “serve him shoulder

5



to shoulder” (Soph. 3:9).

Since the spiritual patrimony

common to Christians and Jews

is thus so great, this sacred sy-

nod wants to foster and recom-

mend that mutual understand-

ing and respect which is the

fruit, above all, of biblical and

theological studies as well as of

fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities

and those who followed their

lead pressed for the death of

Christ; still, what happened in

His passion cannot be charged

against all the Jews, without

distinction, then alive, nor

against the Jews of today. Al-

though the Church is the new

people of God, the Jews should

not be presented as rejected or

accursed by God, as if this fol-

lowed from the Holy Scriptures.

All should see to it, then, that

in catechetical work or in the

preaching of the word of God

they do not teach anything that

does not conform to the truth

of the Gospel and the spirit of

Christ.

Furthermore, in her rejection

of every persecution against any

man, the Church, mindful of the

patrimony she shares with the

Jews and moved not by political

reasons but by the Gospel’s spir-

itual love, decries hatred, per-

secutions, displays of anti-Sem-

itism, directed against Jews at

any time and by anyone.

Besides, as the Church has al-

ways held and holds now, Christ

underwent His passion and

death freely, because of the sins

of men and out of infinite love,

in order that all may reach
salvation. It is, therefore, the

burden of the Church’s preach-

ing to proclaim the cross of

Christ as the sign of God’s all-

embracing love and as the foun-

tain from which every grace

flows.

5. We cannot truly call on
God, the Father of all, if we re-

fuse to treat in a brotherly way

any man, created as he is in the

image of God. Man’s relation to

God the Father and his relation

to men his brothers are so link-

ed together that Scripture says:

“He who does not love does not

know God” (1 John 4:8).

No foundation therefore re-

mains for any theory or prac-

tice that leads to discrimination

between man and man or peo-
ple and people, so far as their

human dignity and the rights
flowing from it are concerned.

The Church reproves, as for-

eign to the mind of Christ, any

discrimination against men or

harrassment of them because of

their race, color, condition of

life, or religion. On the contrary,

following in the footsteps of the

holy Apostles Peter and Paul,

this sacred synod ardently im-

plores the Christian faithful to

“maintain good fellowship

among the nations” (1 Peter 2:

12), and if possible, to live for

their part in peace with all men,

so that they may truly be sons

of the Father who is in heaven.

6





Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/declarationonrelvati_O