The retired Bishop of Tyler, Msgr. Joseph Strickland, has called to "reject and repudiate" a passage in the new Vatican note marking the 60th anniversary of Nostra aetate, which states that viewing proselytism as the only way to relate to others "no longer makes sense" in a world that has become an interconnected and constantly evolving "global village."

The criticism targets paragraph 54 of A Path of Hope: Sixty Years of Dialogue and Interreligious Fraternity in Light of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra aetate, published jointly by the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and for Interreligious Dialogue.

"No longer make sense"

Addressing the relationship among different religious traditions in the contemporary world, the note calls for "a change of mentality" and states:

"Entrenchment in a defensive posture and the view that proselytism is the only way to relate to others no longer make sense in a world that increasingly resembles an interconnected and constantly evolving global village."

The document was approved by Leo XIV on June 22 and published this Wednesday on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the conciliar declaration Nostra aetate.

Strickland: "The Truth is not in constant evolution"

Strickland reposted the passage on his X account and responded directly to its wording.

"This Vatican statement must be rejected and repudiated by all who hold that Jesus Christ and His Church are the only way to the Father," the American bishop wrote.

Strickland contrasts the document's reference to a world "in constant evolution" with what, for the Christian faith, remains unchanging. "The Truth is not in constant evolution. The Truth is Jesus Christ present with us in the world, and His Church is the vehicle of our salvation," he affirms.

The bishop's response therefore places the point of discussion beyond cultural changes or new forms of interreligious relations: no evolution of context can alter the truth received or the mission Christ entrusted to His Church.