On Wednesday, the Vatican published a note bearing the name A Journey of Hope to mark the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. Issued jointly by three Roman dicasteries, the document reflects on decades of “interreligious dialogue and fraternity” in light of that revolutionary Vatican II declaration. Strictly speaking, A Journey of Hope is not a magisterial text, but it does witness to the mind of Leo XIV, who personally approved it and ordered its publication. Formal authorship belongs to three dicastery prefects: Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Kurt Koch of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and George Jacob Koovakad of the Dicastery of Interreligious Dialogue. All three cardinals explained the document’s meaning in separate interviews with Vatican News. In his exclusive interview, Fernandez argued “Every religion — and all religions — stands for peace,” linking this claim to paragraph 223 of Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnificas Humanitas. ¹ Koch, for his part, argued that the new document “means that it is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and, at the same time, an antisemite,” noting that “every Pope since the Second Vatican Council has reaffirmed this with great conviction.”

Originally published in Integrity Magazine. Read original article

Original Tags: Vatican II, Vatican, Cardinal Fernandez, Cardinal Koch, Cardinal Kocu, Jews, Leo XIV, Nostra Aetate