Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s stance against antisemitism at the Tuesday Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate 60th Anniversary ceremony and Wednesday general audience, commemorating a document that declared the relation of the Church with the non-Christian religion.
At the Wednesday general audience at St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo said that the first focus of the 1965 declaration was toward the Jewish world and was intended to re-establish “the original relationship” in which Christianity’s Jewish roots were appreciated and antisemitism denounced.
“Since then, all my predecessors have condemned antisemitism with clear words,” said the Pope. “And so I too confirm that the Church does not tolerate antisemitism and fights against it on the basis of the Gospel itself.”
The pontifex said that the achievements in Jewish-Catholic dialogue over the last six decades should be reviewed with gratitude.
Addressing leaders and representatives from the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Confucian, Tao, Shinto, and traditional African faiths, the Pope explained at a Tuesday ceremony how the declaration commissioned by his predecessor Paul VI had planted a seed for interreligious dialogue.
The declaration emphasized that it was the Church’s task to promote love among the family of nations and to recognize what was true and holy in other religions.
The Pope said that Nostra Aetate presented for the first time “a doctrinal text with an explicitly theological basis that illustrates the Jewish roots of Christianity in a well-founded biblical manner, while taking a firm stand against all forms of antisemitism.”
“Nostra Aetate also teaches that we cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat any man or woman – created in the image of God – in a brotherly or sisterly way. Indeed, the Church rejects all forms of discrimination or harassment because of race, color, condition of life, or religion,” said the Pope.
“This historic document therefore opened our eyes to a simple yet profound principle: dialogue is not a tactic or a tool, but a way of life – a journey of the heart that transforms everyone involved, both the one who listens and the one who speaks.
“We walk this journey not by abandoning our own faith, but by standing firmly within it. Authentic dialogue begins not in compromise, but in conviction – in the deep roots of our own beliefs, which give us the strength to reach out to others in love.”
The message of the declaration remained relevant as ever, said the Pope, as “walls” were “rising again” between nations, religions, and neighbors.
He urged religious leaders to help others to “break free from prejudice, anger, and hatred; to rise above egoism and self-centeredness; and to overcome greed, which destroys both the human spirit and the earth.”
“This is not the work of one religion, one nation, or even one generation,” he said. “It is a sacred task for all humanity: to keep hope alive, to keep dialogue alive, and to keep love alive in the heart of the world.”
Catholic Church takes firm stance against antisemitism
The Pope also wrote on X/Twitter on Tuesday that Nostra Aetate “takes a firm stand against all forms of antisemitism,” and that it was unacceptable to discriminate against those created in the image of God.
The World Jewish Congress welcomed the Pope’s condemnation of antisemitism, with WJC president Ronald Lauder calling the Pontifex’s message “an extraordinarily positive and deeply meaningful gesture.”
“At a time when Jews are facing the greatest persecution since the Second World War, the Pope’s message carries profound fraternal meaning,” Lauder said in a Wednesday statement.
“Gestures like this inspire us to strengthen the bonds between Jews and Catholics and to work together for a world of greater coexistence among religions in the pursuit of peace.”
Nostra Aetate called for dialogue with all faiths, putting aside past quarrels with Muslims, and remembering the “bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.”
The Church adopted the view that the actions of Jewish authorities in relation to the death of Jesus Christ could not be held against all Jews at the time, nor against Jews in the modern era. Jews were also not to be presented as rejected or accursed by God.
While the Jews did not accept the gospel, the document asserted that “God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues.”
“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 spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, and displays of antisemitism directed against Jews at any time and by anyone,” read the document.