In Our Time: 60 Years on from Nostra Aetate
- James H. Tran
- Jun 17, 2024
- 2 min read
Hey friends,
I recently had the wonderful opportunity to hear and learn from his Eminence, Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, who at the University of Notre Dame Australia, presented a lecture on the 60 years since the declaration of Nostra Aetate proclaimed by St Pope Paul VI, which the late Pope Benedict XVI has since come to recognise as “the Magna Carta of Interreligious Dialogue.”
At the conclusion of his lecture, I offered a Vote of Thanks and shared with his Eminence that his reflections have inspired the educational community of Notre Dame Australia to “witness to the Christian faith” in our encounters—and in the relationships—that we have with each person in our lives, particularly those who belong to ‘other religions’ (Paul VI, 1965, section 2). No doubt, his Eminence’s reflections, inspired by the teachings of Nostra Aetate, encouraged and challenged our educational community to follow “in the footsteps of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul,” and to “maintain good fellowship”with everyone that we meet, live with and work with throughout our pilgrim life on earth (Paul VI, 1965, section 2).
On a more personal note, as a high-school Catholic teacher, I shared with his Eminence that, indeed, Catholic educators working in schools are brought “into contact with a wide and rich assortment of people [namely students]” from all kinds of different faith-backgrounds (Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1982, section 23). Hence, the importance of Nostra Aetate in helping and challenging contemporary Catholic educators to fulfil the Church’s educational mission—to teach and to sanctify—in Catholic schools.
His Eminence’s reflections, then, was reminder for me to work with the kind of apostolic zeal—grounded in Christian love and charity—that promotes unity, fosters dialogue and encourages authentic religious education and Catholic instruction in schools. I shared with his Eminence that Nostra Aetate therefore remains a good reminder for us 60 years on since its declaration: as the face of the Church in our Catholic schools, Catholic educators—through our Teaching and Learning and especially our encounters with the rich assortment of young people from various faith upbringings—are called to present that of the face of Jesus Christ to every child that we teach, inside and outside of the classroom.
Paul VI. (1965). Nostra Aetate (Declaration). The Holy See.
Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education. (1982, October 15). Lay Catholics in school: witnesses to faith. The Holy See.
Photo credits to the University of Notre Dame Australia.
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