This section presents the official teachings of the Catholic Church concerning Judaism and the Jewish people since Nostra Aetate (1965). These texts offer authoritative guidance on the Church’s understanding of Israel, the covenant, and the ongoing relationship between Jews and Christians. Together they provide a solid foundation for study, dialogue, and faithful engagement with the Church’s magisterial vision. See also the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity's page on Religious Relations with the Jews.
"The fact of divine election is at the origin of this small people situated between the great pagan empires whose brilliant culture overshadowed them. This people was gathered together and led by God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Thus its existence is not a mere fact of nature or culture, in the sense that through culture man displays the resources of his own nature. It is a supernatural fact."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, initially promulgated in 1992, represents the most authoritative modern synthesis of Catholic doctrine. Among its teachings are a set of passages that address the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and Judaism — a relationship the Catechism insists is unique, living, and theologically constitutive of Christian identity itself.
The 1985 Notes deepen the Church’s postconciliar teaching by clarifying how Judaism should be presented in Catholic preaching, catechesis, and scholarship. They stress respect for Jewish self-understanding, highlight the ongoing vitality of Jewish covenantal life, and warn against theological distortions—especially supersessionism and misuse of Scripture. The document also urges Catholics to recognize the Jewish roots of Christian faith and to approach dialogue with historical honesty and genuine reciprocity.
"Whoever meets Jesus Christ, meets Judaism." I would like to make these words mine, too. The faith of the Jesus Christ, the son of David and the son of Abraham contains "the total heritage of Israel for the Church"...
The 1974 Guidelines was the first document issued by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. Practical rather than theological in character, it offers concrete suggestions for putting the intentions of Nostra Aetate into practice. Its central concern is that Christians strive to become acquainted with Judaism as Jews define it themselves, addressing dialogue across liturgy, education, and common social action.
Nostra Aetate §4 marks the Church’s decisive turn toward a renewed relationship with the Jewish people. It affirms the enduring spiritual bond between the Church and Israel, rejects the idea that Jews are collectively guilty of Christ’s death, and condemns all forms of antisemitism. It lays the theological foundation for dialogue, mutual respect, and the recognition that God’s covenant with the Jewish people remains a living reality.
