Official Statements and Documents

Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio), November 21, 1964.

The seminal document that officially and irreversibly committed the Catholic Church to work for unity with and among all Christians.

That They May All Be One (Ut Unum Sint), Encyclical letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, May 25, 1995.

The Beginning of the New Millennium (Novo Millennio Ineunte), Apostolic Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II at the close of the great Jubilee of the Year 2000, January 6, 2001.

See especially paragraph 48 on the commitment to ecumenism.

Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to the Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, November 4, 2003.

Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism, Issued by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, March 25, 1993.

A practical guide for implementing the fruit of the past years of ecumenical dialogue and cooperation in all levels of the life of the Church.

The Ecumenical Dimension in the Formation of Those Engaged in Pastoral Work, Issued by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, 1995.

A study document which gathers together what is in the Ecumenical Directory and makes it more explicit. It is addressed to all who have responsibility for theological and pastoral formation to help them ensure that those who in the future will be engaged in pastoral work, and also those who will be theology professors, receive adequate ecumenical formation. In this way they will better be able to respond to what is required by the life of the Church in our day.

Dominus Iesus (“The Lord Jesus”) On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, Issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, August 6, 2000.

(See article by Fr. David Michael on Dominus Iesus and its significance for Catholic-Jewish relations) 

Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, Issued by the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation, October 31, 1999.

A landmark document in ecumenical dialogue, the Joint Declaration is intended to show that the subscribing Lutheran Churches and the Roman Catholic Church are now able to articulate a common understanding of our justification by God’s grace through faith in Christ. The document encompasses a consensus on basic truths of the doctrine of justification and shows that the remaining differences in its explication are no longer the occasion for doctrinal condemnations.

OTHER OFFICIAL TEXTS concerning the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification 

Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium 

The product of consultation between Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic theologians, scholars, and religious leaders, this is a non-official statement of the fruits of their mutual discovery concerning areas of theological and pastoral consensus as well as the recognition of differences that remain unresolved.

“Council Clearly Makes Ecumenism Binding as the Work of the Spirit,” A reflection by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

“The Nature and Purposes of Ecumenical Dialogue,” A reflection by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

“Current Problems in Ecumenical Theology,” by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

“Present Situation and Future of the Ecumenical Movement,” by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity 

Papal statements:

Ecclesia In Europa, Post-Synodal Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, June 28, 2003.  See esp. paragraphs 55 - 56 on “In dialogue with other religions” from Section II: Bearing witness in unity and dialogue.

Collection of Papal Statements: A helpful, though now dated, collection can be found in Spiritual Pilgrimage: Texts of Jews and Judaism 1979 – 1995, compiled by the Anti-Defamation League, edited by Eugene J. Fisher and Leon Klenicki, Crossroad, New York, 1995.

See also The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College for a more complete collection of recent papal statements.

Documents of Vatican II and the Roman Curia:

Vatican II Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions  (Nostra Aetate), #4, (1965).

Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), # 16, (1964).

Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), #22, (1965)

Guidelines and Suggestions for Implementing the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, #4 (1974) – Issued by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews (Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity)

Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Catholic Church (1985) – Issued by the CCRJ

We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah (1998) – Issued by the CRRJ

The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible (2001) – Issued by the Pontifical Biblical Commission

Documents and statements of the American Bishops:

Guidelines for Catholic-Jewish Relations (1967) – Prepared by the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations and issued by the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA), NCCB.  Updated and revised, 1985

Within Context: Guidelines for the Catechetical Presentation of Jews and Judaism in the New Testament (1986) – Issued jointly by the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations, NCCB, Adult Education Department, USCC, Interfaith Affairs Department, ADL.  Updated 1993.

Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion (1988) – Issued by the BCEIA, NCCB

God’s Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching (1988) – Issued by the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy (BCL), NCCB

Catholic Teaching on the Shoah: Implementing the Holy See’s We Remember (2001) – Issued by the BCEIA, NCCB

Collection: Catholics Remember the Holocaust contains the text of the Vatican statement We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah and the statements of other national bishops’ conferences, with an introduction and commentaries – Issued by the BCEIA, NCCB.

Additional Resources: Other statements by the Bishops’ Committee on Liturgy on Celebrating the Seder, on the Good Friday Reproaches, and on the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust are available.

Papal statements:

A selection of papal statements on Islam may be found online at the American Bishops’ website 

Mission of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Missio) On the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate, encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, 1990. See esp. paragraphs 55 – 57 on “Dialogue with our brothers and sisters of other religions”.

Ecclesia In Europa, Post-Synodal Exhortation of Pope John Paul II, June 28, 2003.  See esp. paragraphs 55, 57 on “In dialogue with other religions” from Section II: Bearing witness in unity and dialogue.

Documents of Vatican II and the Roman Curia:

Vatican II Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions  (Nostra Aetate), (1965).

Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), # 16, (1964).

Vatican II Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes), #22, (1965)

Toward the Meeting of Religions (1967), issued by the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians.

Guidelines for Dialogue Between Christians and Muslims (1981), issued by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. (English edition - Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ, 1990).

The Attitude of the Church Toward the Followers of Other Religions: Reflections and Orientations on Dialogue and Mission (1984), issued by the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians.

Dialogue and Proclamation: Reflection and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1991), issued by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (formerly the Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians, renamed in 1988).

Christianity and the World Religions (1997), issued by the Pontifical Theological Commission – not on the subject of interreligious dialogue per se.

Additional Resources:

Collection of statements and documents: Interreligious Dialogue: The Official Teaching of the Catholic Church (1963 – 1995), issued by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Pauline Books and Media, Boston, 1997 (N.B.- This collection does not contain statements on the Church’s dialogue with Judaism.)

Meeting Other Believers: The Risks and Rewards of Interreligious Dialogue, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, Huntington, IN, 1997.  A “must read” for those who wish to engage in interreligious dialogue, this book is a very helpful resource from the former Cardinal President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.