The Church’s Prophetic Call: Responding to Nostra Aetate
Tue, May 12
|Tucson
This talk is about the Church’s mission to respond to the prophetic call of Nostra Aetate and Orientalum Ecclesiarum. It traces the vision from Pope Leo XIII through Vatican II and shows how the Church urges the faithful toward deeper dialogue, understanding, and authentic witness.
Time & Location
May 12, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Tucson, Tucson, AZ, USA
About the event
Longer talk description:
In this talk, Simone Rizkallah will explore the Church’s mission as a faithful response to its prophetic call, especially as we mark the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. She will situate this mission within the Church’s historical vision—from Pope Leo XIII’s early pontificate, during which he addressed both the Jewish people and the Eastern Churches with a spirit of dialogue and hope for Christian reunification, to the transformative documents of the Second Vatican Council, including Nostra Aetate, Orientalium Ecclesiarum, and Lumen Gentium.
Simone will emphasize the Church’s deeply Hebraic and Near Eastern origins, noting that of the 24 Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, 23 are Eastern, preserving ancient liturgical, theological, and cultural traditions. Through philosophical reflection and cultural engagement, she will illustrate how the Church calls the faithful—especially lay Catholics—to live out this vision today through dialogue, understanding, and courageous witness in a pluralistic society.