Advancing Inter-religious Dialogue

Distinguished rabbi and imam participate in symposium on Vatican II document.

Sacred Heart hosted a symposium on October 15 commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions. This declaration of the Second Vatican Councilusually referred to by its Latin name, Nostra Aetatewas promulgated by Blessed Paul VI on October 28, 1965. It is considered the blueprint for guiding Catholic relations with those of other faiths, especially Judaism and Islam.

The symposium began with welcomes from Msgr. Todd Lajiness, the rector of the seminary, and Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron, the Archbishop of Detroit. Archbishop Vigneron spoke of the importance of interreligious dialogue for forging good relations with those of other faiths and for achieving mutual understanding and respect. Dr. Robert Fastiggi, professor of systematic theology at Sacred Heart, provided a brief introduction to the background of Nostra Aetate, noting the 1960 meeting between the Jewish scholar, Jules Isaac, and St. John XXIII, which stimulated the mandate for the document.

From an original plan to address only Catholic-Jewish relations, Vatican Council II moved in the direction of a broader declaration, affirming the Catholic recognition of elements of truth and holines—not only in Judaismbut also in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions, which often contain seeds of the Word.

Most Rev. Francis Reiss, auxiliary bishop of Detroit and co-chair of the USCCB's Midwest Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, gave an overview of Catholic-Muslim dialogues taking place throughout the U.S. Imam Steve Mustafa Elturk, the leader of the Islamic Organization of North America and co-chair of the Imams' Council of the Michigan Muslim Community Council, provided a perspective on local Catholic-Muslim relations. He noted the need for Catholics to understand the great respect Muslims have for Jesus and his mother, Mary.

Fr. Jeffrey Day, pastor of St. Fabian Church in Farmington Hills and Archbishop Vigneron's advisor on ecumenical and interfaith relations, spoke on Catholic perspectives on local Catholic-Jewish relations. He was followed by Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, a hospital chaplain and past president of the Michigan Board of Rabbis. Rabbi Krakoff gave interesting personal reflections on Catholic-Jewish relations, noting how he grew up in an environment of respect by Catholics for Judaism made possible by Nostra Aetate.

The symposium ended with responses of the panelists to some stimulating questions posed by those in attendance. Special thanks are owed to Bishop Reiss, who first suggested this symposium, along with Michael Hovey of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Father Day, and Dr. Fastiggi, all of whom helped to plan the event.