Nostra Aetate

Cardinal Timothy Dolan was honored by American Jewish Committee (AJC), the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people, for his decades of groundbreaking work improving Catholic-Jewish relations and combating antisemitism.

For many Jews and Catholics, Nostra Aetate was a turning point. It laid the groundwork for a new relationship based not on conversion or confrontation but on dialogue and dignity. It transformed relationships of neighbors and laid a path for these neighbors to become partners.

Oct. 28 marks 60 years since the Roman Catholic Church issued Nostra Aetate, the groundbreaking declaration that rejected collective Jewish responsibility in the death of Jesus.

It is no exaggeration to say that Catholic-Jewish relations have been indelibly transformed for the better since Nostra Aetate changed the course of that relationship.

If you’ve never heard of Nostra Aetate, then you have something in common with most Jews.
But it’s definitely worth a read. Although it’s just 1,174 words in the original Latin, it speaks volumes about how far relations between Jews and Catholics have come, though we are also aware of how far they have to go.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Office of the President and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Vatican’s landmark Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”) declaration—the 1965 declaration that revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations by rejecting antisemitism, affirming God’s sustained Covenant with the Jewish people, and building new bridges of understanding.

In this special conversation at AJC Global Forum 2025, Rabbi David Rosen, one of the world’s foremost leaders in interreligious affairs, sits down with Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious Affairs, as they reflect on the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate — the landmark Vatican declaration that revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations.

As antisemitism surges globally, the lessons of history are more important than ever. At AJC, we recognize the pivotal role of Nostra Aetate — the 1965 Vatican declaration that revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations by rejecting antisemitism, affirming Judaism’s eternal covenant with God, and building new bridges of understanding.