Vatican II and Interfaith Dialogue

Abstract

This chapter discusses Vatican II’s impact on interfaith dialogue. It begins by stating that the Second Vatican Council was the first council in the church’s history to explicitly address the issue of the Catholic Church’s relationship with other religions. Acknowledging that while a lot of reflections have already been offered on the five articles of Nostra Aetate, less, however, have been written about the other documents which contributed to shaping the church’s interreligious consciousness. The chapter, therefore, examines some of these, in particular the papal encyclical Ecclesiam Suam. It also looks at the role the papacy has played in promoting the ministry of interreligious dialogue among the Catholic faithful, as well as the whole human community.