The final cause of “Nostra Aetate” is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” the goal is “to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and
freedom.” This is confusing, because four goals are listed here and none of them are Catholic. The main goal of the Church is the salvation of souls and the rescue of people trapped in the snares of the devil. Social justice teaches how to lower taxes; moral welfare teaches how to have safer neighborhoods; peace is the goal of all political empires; and freedom is what everyone has by simply deciding to use a glass or a cup when drinking water. However, the Catholic Church alone has the power to free a person from the snares of the devil. Thus, because the final cause of “Nostra Aetate” fails to mention the final cause of the Catholic Church, and because “Nostra Aetate” highlights natural goals and downplays the supernatural goal of salvation, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St. James writes (1:16), “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”The material cause is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” “The Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews…, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” This is perplexing, because the Catholic Church defends the rights of all men and teaches that everyone needs the sacraments of the Church to remain in the state of grace. “Nostra Aetate” curiously ignores the displays of anti-Hinduism, anti-Buddhism and anti-Toaism. “Nostra Aetate” seems to downplay the Church’s ability to defeat Satan and highlight the Church’s duty to protect non-Christians. Thus, because “Nostra Aetate” fails to acknowledge the Church’s power to defeat evil and because “Nostra Aetate” tells the Church to defend Jews while ignoring the defense of other global religions, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St. James writes (1: 8), the unbeliever “is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
The assisting agent of “Nostra Aetate” is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” the Buddhists “may be able to acquire the state of perfect liberation.” This is contradictory, since no Buddhist says, “I am enlighten and liberated.” According to Arahant Buddhism, liberation happens when “The ‘I am’ conceit is rooted out” (P. Novak, World’s Wisdom, 1995, 76). Buddhism teaches that liberation from self is enlightenment and that enlightenment is perfected when a person no longer exists after going through hundreds of thousands of birth/rebirth cycles. Buddhism does not teach that a person is real, that a person’s soul is immortal and that a person needs Christ’s help to be rescued from demonic snares. Thus, because “Nostra Aetate” presents a fictional view of Buddhism, and because “Nostra Aetate” suggests that Buddhists can be happy without the Lord, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St Paul writes (Rom 5: 9), “We have now been justified by His blood.”
The second assisting agent of “Nostra Aetate” is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” the Hindu person is helped “through searching philosophical inquiry.” This is perplexing, since Hinduism has very little philosophy. Hinduism teaches that “the really Real can be known only by intuitive realization, never by discursive conceptualizing” (Novak, 78). Thus, discursive reasoning and philosophical inquiry are not found in Hindu texts. Because the description of Hinduism in “Nostra Aetate” is incorrect, and because “Nostra Aetate” suggests that Hindus can be happy without the Lord, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive.
The counseling agent of NA is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” “No foundation remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people." This is irresponsible, because this seems to suggest that we should have the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood. Discrimination is defined as “the power of finely distinguishing” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1966, p. 648). For example, a chef needs to have discrimination when detecting the difference between real and fake meat. Further, a student needs to have discrimination when learning the differences between the real and fake religions. Because “Nostra Aetate” asserts that the ability discriminations is unhealthy, and because “Nostra Aetate” discourages people from discriminating between truth from falsity, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St. James (2:4) encourages Catholics to discriminate between pride and humility and says, “have you not discriminated among yourselves?”
The history is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” “This sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding.” This is perplexing, because forgetting the past is anti-intellectual and anti-Catholic. History is not simply a study of the past. Rather, history is a wealth of information to help us survive in the future. For example, a mother who wishes to teach a child how to fry an egg, the mother will be interested to learn that ancient Romans use olive oil, hot rocks and a simple pan to fry an egg. Similarly, a Catholic who wishes to avoid troubles from tyranny, sophistry and hypocrisy, then he will be enlightened by learning about St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) who wrote letters to the tyrannical Pope Gregory XI and helped him improve. St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) performed daily mortifications for people stuck in sophistry. And St. Thomas writes, “It is necessary for salvation that man should make his disease known by means of confession” (S.T. Suppl., 6, 2). Hypocrisy is a disease that is cured by the sacrament of confession.
The history of Judaism is clear. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD marked the end of the Old Covenant. Jews have been expelled from over one hundred countries since 70 AD. According to the Gospel of John, Our Lord said to the Jews, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires” (John 8:44). In 1290 King Edward I expelled every Jew out of England because of their bad behavior. In 1915 the Crypto-Jews and Marronas killed one and half million Christians in Armenia and blamed the genocide on Kurdish leaders. In 1918 the Jews killed the Russian Imperial family and ordered the death penalty for anyone who criticized Judaism. Then they killed sixty-six million Christians and desecrated the churches. In 1932 the Jews starved to death ten million Ukrainian Christians. In 2021 Milton Kapner, Catholic who converted from Judaism, said that if a Jewish person repents and becomes Christian through baptism, then he will start working for Jesus and stop working for Satan. Kapner writes, “I did it! Why can’t they?” Consequently, it is confusing when Nostra Aetate writes, “God holds the Jews most dear.”
The history of Islam is clear. Muslims attacked and conquered the cities of Damascus in 635, Antioch in 636, and Jerusalem in 637. Further, Muslims invaded Rome in 846 and forced Pope Sergius II to pay tribute. Further, Muslims hijacked and crashed jet airliners in 2001 killing 2,996 people, bombed a nightclub in Bali in 2002 killing 202, and bombed a train in Madrid in 2004 killing 193. Before Islamic conquest, North Africa, Egypt and Syria were Catholic. According to the Koran, it is ethical to kill non-Muslims, since every non-Muslim is an idolater, and all idolaters must be killed. “Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they drove you. Idolatry is worse than carnage” (330). St. Thomas Aquinas writes, “Mohammed enticed peoples with the promise of carnal pleasures, to the desire of which the concupiscence of the flesh instigates” (Summa Contra Gentiles, I, 6, 4). Islam promotes the seven deadly sins for selfish reasons. According to an ex-Muslim, “It’s a myth that Islam is a religion of peace.” Consequently, it is misleading when “Nostra Aetate” writes, Muslims “value the moral life.”
The history of Hinduism is clear. In 1322 a historian wrote, “A Christian was unaccepted in this country [India].” In 1784 Hindus killed 20,000 Christians in Seringapatam. In 1999 Hindus burned down 157 Christian buildings in Ranalai. In 2008 Hindus burned down 395 churches, destroyed 6,500 Christian homes and killed more than 500 Christians. Many were burnt alive. In 2014 a historian wrote, “It’s a myth that Hindus have been peace-loving.” Consequently, it is confusing when “Nostra Aetate” writes, “She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct.”
The history of Buddhism is clear. In 1999 the Buddhist country of Burma used fines, imprisonment, forced conversions, starvation, gang rape, and child abuse to oppress Christians. In 2000 Buddhists attacked 14 Christian churches in Sri Lanka. In 2003 Buddhists attacked over 100 Christian churches in Sri Lanka. In 2012 Buddhist violence against Christians caused Sri Lanka to be listed as a country with high religious hostilities. Male monks in Buddhism promote the inferiority of women. In 2025 a historian said, “Buddhism is not all about peace and calm.” Consequently, it is perplexing when “Nostra Aetate” writes, Buddhism “reflects a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.”
The history of Christianity is clear. Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Mt 22: 21). The Lord acknowledged every politician and every politician should acknowledge the Lord. If a politician acknowledges and respects the Lord, then cities will have “lofty Gothic cathedrals and Summas of theology, bustling universities and public debates, law schools and hospitals, flourishing monasteries and convents, dynamic new religious orders, steady population growth across Europe, technological and scientific discoveries, exquisite mastery of arts and crafts such as stained-glass window production and manuscript illumination, the spread of troubadours, lyric poetry, and epic poetry (El Cid, legends of King Arthur, the Nibelungenlied, the Romance of the Rose, the Divine Comedy), the code of chivalry, an unprecedented status accorded to women, widespread religious devotion among the people and their rulers” (Peter Kwasniewski, Substack 20260518). And if Caesar does not acknowledge and respect the Lord, then cities have tyranny, such as oppressive taxation, and sophistry, such as the document “Nostra Aetate”.
The analogy is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,”,“God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers.” This is not Catholic, because the baptized are able to love Jesus more than the unbaptized. The analogy is trying to say that Christians and Jews are similar, but Jews are a superior and “most dear.” On the contrary, Christians and Jews are different, because Christians get baptized in order to serve the Lord Jesus and Hebrews reject baptism and reject Christ as the Messiah. Thus, because “Nostra Aetate” states an analogy that is weak, and because “Nostra Aetate” suggests that Jews are closer to God than Catholics, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St. Peter writes (2 Pet 2: 1), “There will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions.”
The motive is confusing. According to “Nostra Aetate,” “The spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend mutual understanding and respect.” This is confusing, since the beliefs among Catholics and Jews are not mutual and not equal. Patrimony is defined as “an estate inherited from one’s father” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1966, p. 1656). Catholicism inherited doctrines and rituals from Judaism and share a common estate. However, Catholicism quickly developed a different set of doctrines and rituals within the first century after Christ based on grace. Thus, because “Nostra Aetate” does not acknowledge how the New Covenant replaced the Old Covenant, and because “Nostra Aetate” does not acknowledge that the full set of Catholic set of doctrines and rituals are different than the empty set of Jewish doctrines and rituals, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. St. Paul writes (Heb 8: 13), “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”
To review, “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive. “Nostra Aetate” fails to acknowledge that the Church has the power to defeat Satan, fails to acknowledge that the Catholic Church wishes baptism for all men and not for Jews alone, states false information about “liberation” in Buddhism, states false information about “inquiry” in Hinduism, discourages people from having “discrimination” when researching true and false doctrine, promotes the irresponsible recommendation to “forget the past” and to ignore history, fails to acknowledge that Judaism and Islamism promote the seven deadly sins, encourages Catholics to have “reverence” for “the conduct” of Hindus and Buddhists while downplaying their inferiority of women, fails to accept that all politicians should acknowledge and respect the Lord, encourages Catholic to see Jews as superior and discourages Catholics from discriminating the difference between baptized Catholics and non-baptized people, and fails to acknowledge that Catholic and Jewish doctrines are not mutual and that the old covenant is “obsolete” and discontinued. St. Paul writes, (1 Cor 1: 23), “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumbling block.”
I shall now use my freedom to choose my two favorite reasons above. I have decided that I prefer the history and the motive. I shall now use my freedom to make an enthymeme. “Nostra Aetate” is deceptive, because “Nostra Aetate” ignores the Lord’s counsel that politicians acknowledge and respect Him just as much as He acknowledges and respects them, and because “Nostra Aetate” has the presumption to ignore St. Paul’s observation that Old Covenant is “obsolete” and discontinued.
Final remarks. Non-Catholics can use “Nostra Aetate” as an excuse to avoid the sacrament of baptism. The eighty-eight Bishops who did not approve of “Nostra Aetate” in 1965 were rightly concerned about Catholic communities in Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim countries. The main problem is that “Nostra Aetate” downplays the Church’s ability to save souls from hell which where people go when they promote the seven deadly sins. St. Peter writes (2 Pet 1: 2), “Grace to you and peace be accomplished in the knowledge of God and of Christ Jesus our Lord.”
© By Theodore Faulders, May 18, 2026.