Nostra aetate – stages of creation, with a particular focus on paragraph no. 2… and the people involved in its development

Abstract

Nostra aetate began as an important statement concerning the relations of the Church with the Jews but soon developed into a highly significant text on the relationship of the Church to all the religions of the world. While there been many works on the theology of Nostra aetate, there are few studies that present in detail the major personages and stages, the crucial issues and opposing forces surrounding this prophetic document. This article seeks to address this lacuna. The article also gives special attention to key phrases from paragraph 2 that show an extraordinary shift from millennial attitudes, among which “the Church does not reject what is truly and holy in these religions”. Finally it goes on to show how the wholesale rejection of Nostra aetate by the Society of St Pius X has led to schism.

Keywords

• Nostra aetate
• interreligious relations
• ‘true and holy’
• Society of St Pius X