# Vatican marks 60 years of interfaith dialogue with urgent call

> Three Vatican cardinals release document reaffirming commitment to religious dialogue amid rising fundamentalism and conflict.
- Title: Vatican marks 60 years of interfaith dialogue with urgent call
- Summary: Three Vatican cardinals release document reaffirming commitment to religious dialogue amid rising fundamentalism and conflict. The Vatican insists dialogue…
- Keywords: vatican, nostra aetate, interreligious dialogue, victor manuel fernández, kurt koch, george koovakad, second vatican council, antisemitism, two-state solution, gaza, middle east peace, religious fundamentalism
- Source: Vaticannews — https://vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-09/a-journey-of-hope-prefects-call-for-dialogue.html
- Author: Vatican News
- Published: 2026-09-16T10:12:13.664+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: vatican, nostra aetate, interreligious dialogue, victor manuel fernández, kurt koch, george koovakad, second vatican council, antisemitism, two-state solution, gaza, middle east peace, religious fundamentalism
## A call for dialogue under threat
Three Vatican cardinals released a document marking 60 years since Nostra Aetate, calling for interfaith dialogue at a time when fundamentalism, extremism, and violence undermine it.
## Individualism threatens human connection
Cardinal Fernández warns that individualism and self-worship are spreading, causing people to withdraw into themselves and forget others exist. All religions stand for peace, never war.

> all religions stand for peace, never for war
## Antisemitism incompatible with Christianity
Cardinal Koch addresses the tension Christians feel between their bond with Jewish people and concern for Gaza's suffering. Being a disciple of Jesus and an antisemite is impossible.

> it is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and at the same time an antisemite
## Two states needed for Middle East peace
The Holy See reaffirms its conviction that only creating two states can bring peace to the Middle East, calling for honest dialogue about the current situation.
## Dialogue is core to evangelization
Cardinal Koovakad says Nostra Aetate was a theological mustard seed that made dialogue a constitutive dimension of the Church's mission, producing concrete cooperation for migrants and refugees.
## Making fraternity real, not theoretical
The Dicastery works to ensure fraternity becomes lived practice in local churches, schools, and families rather than remaining merely on paper.
## Key takeaway

The Vatican insists dialogue between religions remains essential to building peace, even as fundamentalism and violence threaten its foundations.