Cardinal Fernández says all religions exist for peace, never for war

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has reflected on the continuing relevance of the Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra aetate on its 60th anniversary. "All religions are for peace, never for war," he said. His comments appear in the note "Un camino de esperanza" (A Path of Hope), which stresses the need for peaceful coexistence among different faith traditions.

Fernández focused on one of the central passages of Nostra aetate: "We cannot invoke God as the Father of all men if we refuse to behave as brothers toward some of them, who have been created in the image of God." In his view, that principle carries particular weight today, when the Church condemns every form of discrimination and persecution based on race, color, social status or religion as contrary to the will of Christ.

Pope Leo XIV made the same point in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, warning that "whoever uses the name of God to legitimize terrorism, violence or war betrays his true face."

Identity and authentic dialogue

The cardinal also drew on the teaching of St. John Paul II on dialogue, stressing that holding a clear identity of one's own is a condition for a genuine encounter with other religious traditions, not an obstacle to it. Authentic dialogue, Fernández said, requires each side to show its identity and the beauty of its faith, without proselytism, but with an invitation to discover the goodness and beauty of divine love.

Fernández closed by recalling that the mission of the Church is to be a sacrament of God's immense love for all humanity, actively committed to building a future of peace, justice and respect. Cooperation with other religious traditions is indispensable in that work, he said, so that every person can experience the truth that springs from love of neighbor.