In this week’s unprecedented ecumenical moment in Rome, King Charles III of Great Britain and Pope Leo XIV stood and prayed together. This moment in the Sistine Chapel was the first joint act of worship between an English monarch and a Catholic pontiff since the 16th century—set amid the Vatican’s commemorations for the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (28 Oct 1965).

Nostra Aetate (“in our time”) expressed a ground-breaking change in the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish people. Jews were no longer to be seen as perfidious “Christ-killers”, hypocrites, self-justifying “Pharisees”, money-lovers, guilty of the crime of deicide, but as “elder brothers”, “beloved for the sake of the fathers” and continuing covenant-partners with the Almighty, whose “gifts and calling are irrevocable”. So much has changed, but there is still much work to be done.

Since the 1965 declaration, a flood of new teaching on how to read the Scriptures, relate to the Jewish people and navigate the complexities of the Vatican’s relationship with the State of Israel has emerged. Especially noteworthy of how the Catholic-Jewish relationship has matured is the 2015 reflection, The Gifts and the Calling of God Are Irrevocable, which urges Jews and Christians to be a blessing together through humanitarian action and stewardship of creation. “One ancestor, one family, many nations, many religions—but one humanity,” it stressed—then named the practical work of dialogue, service, and learning side-by-side.

A needed next step: include Messianic Jews in the dialogue

As Jewish–Christian relations enter a seventh decade after Nostra Aetate, a crucial but challenging next step is to welcome Messianic Jews to this conversation. Their presence helps both Jews and Christians alike to grapple theologically—and charitably—with the ongoing Jewish confession of Yeshua within the people of Israel. The Vatican’s anniversary events and the royal visit generate a rare public window to highlight this need clearly and constructively.

Jesus — the Messiah of Israel? Messianic Judaism and Christian Theology in Conversation (Crossroad, 1 Oct 2025 – English translation of Jesus – der Messias Israels? Messianisches Judentum und christliche Theologie im Gespräch)

A timely resource for this very conversation is the new volume edited by Jan-Heiner Tück, Mark S. Kinzer, and Thomas Schumacher (with James Earle Patrick). Originating in a Vienna (2022) symposium under Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the book gathers Messianic Jewish and Christian theologians to ask how the Jewish confession of Yeshua belongs within the Church’s self-understanding and Israel’s story. Contributors include, among others, R Kendall Soulen, David Rudolph and Markus Tiwald—with essays and responses that press beyond supersessionism toward covenantal partnership. The collection’s significance lies in modelling a conversation between Messianic Jews, Catholic and Protestant theologians, and Jewish Catholics, with academic rigour and ecclesial sensitivity and inter-confessional sensitivity.

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Prayer

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You make peace and build the world in mercy.
Teach us the way of peace between Catholics and Protestants, Jews and Christians, and all humanity – made in Your image

Bless King Charles and Pope Leo, and all spiritual leaders,
to work together for justice, compassion, and care of creation.
Open a richer dialogue between Jews and Christians,
and bring Messianic Jews to the table as faithful witnesses to Israel’s hope.
May we be a blessing to the world. Amen.

Prayer

Hebrew
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם, יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב
אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹנֶה עוֹלָם בְּחֶסֶד
הוֹרֵנוּ דֶּרֶךְ שָׁלוֹם בֵּין קָתוֹלִיקִים וּפְרוֹטֶסְטַנְטִים, בֵּין יְהוּדִים וְנוֹצְרִים
וּבֵין כָּל הָאֱנוֹשׁוּת שֶׁנִּבְרְאָה בְּצַלְמֶךָ

בָּרֵךְ אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ צַ׳רְלְס וְאֶת הָאַפִּיפְיוֹר לֵאוֹ, וְאֶת כָּל הַמַּנְהִיגִים הָרוּחָנִיִּים
לַעֲבוֹד יַחַד לְמַעַן צֶדֶק, רַחֲמִים וּשְׁמִירַת הַבְּרִיאָה
פְּתַח דִּיאָלוֹג עָשִׁיר יוֹתֵר בֵּין יְהוּדִים וְנוֹצְרִים
וְהָבֵא אֶת הַיְּהוּדִים הַמְּשִׁיחִיִּים אֶל הַשֻּׁלְחָן כְּעֵדִים נֶאֱמָנִים לְתִקְוַת יִשְׂרָאֵל
וִיהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁנִּהְיֶה בְּרָכָה לָעוֹלָם. אָמֵן

Transliteration
Elohei Avraham, Yitzḥak ve-Ya‘akov,
Atta oseh shalom u-voneh ‘olam be-ḥesed.
Horeinu derekh shalom bein Katolikim u-Protestantim, bein Yehudim ve-Notzrim,
u-vein kol ha-enoshut she-nivre’ah be-tsalmekha.

Barekh et ha-Melekh Charles ve-et ha-Apifiyor Leo, ve-et kol ha-manhigim ha-ruḥaniyim,
la‘avod yaḥad le-ma‘an tzedek, raḥamim u-shemirat ha-beriyah.
Petaḥ dialog ‘ashir yoter bein Yehudim ve-Notzrim,
ve-have et ha-Yehudim ha-Meshiḥiyim el ha-shulḥan ke-edim ne’emanim le-tikvat Yisra’el.
Ve-yehi ratzon she-niheyeh berakhah la-‘olam. Amen.

Sources & further reading

• Rabbi Alexandra Wright, Parashat Noaḥ: King Charles, Pope Leo and the Sixtieth Anniversary of Nostra Aetate, sermon at LJS, 25 Oct 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSnMFQDwH8Q and transcript here
• Reuters: King Charles and Pope Leo pray together in Sistine Chapel (23 Oct 2025). (Reuters)
• Vatican News/Press and USCCB coverage of the royal visit and ecumenical prayer. (Vatican News)
• Vatican Press Office: Nostra Aetate 60th events this week in Rome. (press.vatican.va)
• Jesus — the Messiah of Israel? Messianic Judaism and Christian Theology in Conversation (Crossroad, 1 Oct 2025): catalog listings and description; Vienna symposium background; sample contributors. (Amazon)