Concurrent resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's promulgation of Noestra Aetate, the declaration on the relation of the Roman Catholic Church to non-Christian religions, and the historic role of Nostra Aetate in fostering mutual interreligious respect and dialogue.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oregon for yielding me this time.

I rise to urge support of H. Con. Res. 260. I want to thank first my colleagues and friends, Chairman Hyde and Representative Lantos. Both have been tremendously helpful in bringing this resolution forward. This resolution has the support of 65 bipartisan cosponsors here in the House. As my friend pointed out, it commemorates the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, a hallmark declaration by the Roman Catholic Church on religious respect and interfaith relations, and it celebrates the historic relationship between Jews and Catholics and among other religions worldwide.

My resolution also calls for this country and this Congress to continue to condemn and combat anti-Semitism and all forms of religious hatred and bigotry around the world.

First a little bit of history, Mr. Speaker. This was initiated by Pope John XXIII through the Second Vatican Council, and Nostra Aetate then was issued by, Pope Paul VI, in October, 1965, 40 years ago, after a vote of 2,221 to 88 by the Catholic bishops.

It is a historic declaration, and we should remember its essential message: the need for interreligious dialogue and religious respect, and that is a message that is still vitally important today.

Seen from this perspective, today, the affirmations of this document may not seem so impressive. But those of us who remember back to that time, on a bit of reflection, will understand how monumental this statement was, how far it reached throughout the world, beyond the Catholic Church, beyond Christians. It was a paradigm shift in how religious people think about each other.

As my friend, the gentleman from Oregon said, in this day we certainly need a refresher course in how religious people can think about each other in a positive way.

Over the past 40 years, there has been noticeable progress. Nostra Aetate was written by Catholics for Catholics, but its impact has been felt by almost all people of faith in the world. Less than three pages in length, this document, that goes by the Latin words that mean ``in our time,'' was a rare moment of self-check for Catholics. We all know how hard it is to look inside ourselves and find things that need to be improved, things that are wrong and need to be changed.

Nostra Aetate was a controversial document at the time. I am not sure that anyone knows all the internal politics that went into writing it, but even in the press at the time, it was known to be controversial.

Why should we be talking about it here in the House of Representatives? Why should we be talking about religion? Why should we be talking about a Roman Catholic document? Is it even appropriate here? Well, certainly not in a worshipful or a theological or an ecclesiastical way, but this is an important document in world history that says a lot to us as Americans.

Remember, there is much that we honor in our country's history. There is much genius that we see in our founding documents, in our Constitution. One of the greatest accomplishments of this country was to establish freedom of religion, freedom for religious belief and religious practice, and freedom from religion. That is rare, even today. It truly was a stroke of genius by our Founders. And, as so much, in our constitutional heritage it is still a work in progress.

Freedom of religion, freedom for religion, freedom from religion are concepts that are hard to incorporate into our lives. We are not talking about simple tolerance, but a recognition that if we are a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal, then it is not enough just to recognize the right of each other to exist, but as a nation we achieve positive social and political good that comes from learning from and drawing on and building up each other. So it is indeed appropriate that

we in this body, as we wrestle with the modern-day embodiment of the ideas of our Founders, that we recognize this historic document. It was a bold and courageous document.

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to face some obvious and unattractive blemishes that one might have. It is bold and courageous to say that another's fundamental faith and belief has validity, because that can only raise questions about the meaning of one's own belief. This was a courageous document.

Now, I speak as one who by affirmation, heritage, upbringing, and religious practice is neither Roman Catholic nor Jewish, but the change that this made in America certainly has improved my life and the life of every American. Anti-Semitism has been a poison that has from time to time surfaced in our country. Certainly, we see it on the rise in too many places around the world today. But this document put a check on the official sanction of religious intolerance, and it has led to a number of improvements.

Father John Pawlikowski, pointed out that this year Nosta Aetate has led to a cleansing of educational materials, and the removal of hateful and bigoted language that previously appeared. It has led to mutual recognition of the spiritual value of others' religious sacred writings of others; it has led to a fundamental rethinking of the relationship between the church and other religions, a process that is still under way.

It led to Pope John Paul's visit to the Auschwitz death camp when he spoke about the memory of the people whose sons and daughters were intended for total extermination. He said that it is not permissible for anyone to pass by the inscriptions there with indifference.

It led to his unprecedented visit to a synagogue in Rome in 1986, and to Pope John Paul's visit to the Holy Land, including Israel and Palestine. It led to a pivotal moment when he shook hands with Prime Minister Ehud Barak. It led to the moment when he walked across the plaza at the western wall and inserted his handwritten prayer expressing Christian regret for the wrongs done to the Jewish people.

This had reverberations all around the world and certainly here in the United States, the country built on the concept of liberty and religious freedom.

This morning on public radio, a young man presented his essay called ``This I Believe.'' Eboo Patel is the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Corps, a Chicago-based organization fostering the international interfaith youth movement. He pointed out that when he attended high school in the western suburbs of Chicago not many years ago, he, as a Hindu, ate lunch with a Jew, a Mormon, a Catholic, and a Lutheran. They were all devout to a degree, he said, but they never really talked about religion. They all knew that they had some differences in their permitted diets and certain times that they could not eat certain things. He was comfortable in his tolerance for the others.

But then he went on to talk about the most painful recollection of his life, which occurred when he allowed anti-Semitic comments about his friend to go unchallenged. He quoted the great American poet Gwendolyn Brooks: ``We are each other's business; we are each other's harvest; we are each other's magnitude and bond.''

He said, ``I cannot go back in time and take away the suffering of my Jewish friend, but through action, I can prevent it from happening to others.''

Martin Luther King in a different, but related, matter said, ``Through the laws that we pass,'' such as we pass in this body, ``we cannot change a person's heart. But,'' he said, ``we can restrain the heartless.''

Like Mr. Patel, none of us can go back, but we can look back and we can see the progress that has been made in the last 40 years to fulfill the spirit of Nostra Aetate; and we can continue every day to take action to ensure that it does not happen in our schools, in our communities, in our cities and towns.

Nostra Aetate was not empty sentimentality; it was historic, important, and effective. It made a difference in the history of the world. As Rabbi David Rosen, the Director of the American Jewish Committee's Interreligious Department, wrote, ``Even if the effect of this transformation has not fully reached the rank and file around the world, its ramifications cannot be overestimated, and there is much to give thanks for on this anniversary. The anniversary 40 years ago at the end of October is well worth recognizing.''

Nostra Aetate was the first statement on interreligious respect that had been issued in the 2,000-year history of the church. Rabbi Gary Bretton Granatoor, Director of Interfaith Affairs at the Anti- Defamation League, reminded the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and me that the pilgrimage out of the wilderness took 40 years from Egypt to Sinai to Canaan. He said that it is not surprising that in 40 years, we have not fully achieved the vision of Pope John XXIII around the world or here in this country, but we have made enormous progress. Nostra Aetate demanded that the church and all people of faith examine themselves anew in relation to other peoples of faith.

We need to ensure we carry this message of religious respect to all that we do here. We can learn the spirit of Nostra Aetate and take action to check religious bigotry, religious hatred and advance the American experiment--the American Dream--of a more perfect union, built not just on respect, but on an understanding that we are indeed a nation conceived in liberty, dedicated to the proposition that all are equal, and all have something to contribute to America's success.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 260) recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate, and the continuing need for mutual interreligious respect and dialogue, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in many respects, the past 40 years have been immensely troubling and difficult ones. Indeed, they have been filled with intolerance, hatred, and genocide. Think of Rwanda. Think of Cambodia. We spend entirely too much time on the floor decrying unspeakable crimes and preparing our concrete responses.

Our own shores have witnessed terrorism on a massive scale. And while we have avoided massive destruction on the scale of the Second World War, or another Holocaust, just last month we saw a new Holocaust called for, in essence, by the head of state of a member of the United Nations.

There are certainly countervailing forces of good in the world, forces that are prepared to deal one way or another with hate and the consequences. One way to deal with the forces of hate is to prepare to meet them on the battlefield or defeat them in shadowy wars carried out in the back alleys of far-off lands.

There is another path, the one we commemorate today: to foster understanding, indeed love, among diverse peoples and remove the roots of war from their hearts.

Forty years ago, Pope Pius VI issued a declaration entitled Nostra Aetate, ``In Our Times.'' This constituted the Roman Catholic Church's statement expressing its respect for adherents of non-Christian religions and denouncing every form of bigotry directed against them. The groundbreaking statement contained extended discussions of Catholicism's relations with some of the major religions, especially Islam and Judaism, and most specifically concerning the charge of deicide leveled against Jews even in contemporary times. Further, it jump-started many rounds of respectful discussion among religious leaders and laypersons.

A few moments ago, I alluded to some of the horrors the world has witnessed in the past 40 years. In order to judge the impact of Nostra Aetate, we must ask ourselves how much worse a world without the gracious spirit of Nostra Aetate would have been. It would clearly have been a more dismal place.

I ask that all my colleagues join in this very important concurrent resolution originated by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise to strongly encourage my colleagues in the Senate to support this resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate, and the continuing need for mutual interreligious respect and dialogue.

October 28, 2005 marked the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, which means ``in our time.'' On October 28, 1965, Nostra Aetate affirmed the respect of the Roman Catholic Church for Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism, and called upon all Catholics to engage in dialogue and cooperation with the followers of other religions. Nostra Aetate states that the Roman Catholic Church, moved by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecution, and displays of anti-Semitism directed at Jews at any time and by anyone. As stated in the resolution, Nostra Aetate marked a new relationship between Catholics and Jews worldwide and opened a chapter in Jewish-Christian relations that is unprecedented in its closeness and warmth.

With Nostra Aetate, Pope John Paul VI called on all Catholics not only to decry the persecution of people of non-Christian religions, but also to love and respect them.

As it is stated in a passage from Nostra Aetate: ``In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely its relationship to non-Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship. . . . Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?''

Nostra Aetate acknowledges that all people of all religions are united by the fact that we are all searching for the answers to the most basic questions about life and God, and that we must love and respect one another, despite our differences.

The message of Nostra Aetate is of particular importance today, amidst the conflict in the Middle East and terrorism in the name of Islam. As we continue the battle against the rise in anti-Semitism, prejudice against Muslims, and all other forms of intolerance and xenophobia, both internationally and within the United States, we must remember the value of this message that calls for interreligious respect, tolerance, and dialogue and decries all forms of hatred.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with my friend from Texas to support this concurrent resolution. The document marked a historic milestone in the effort of the Roman Catholic Church to improve its relations with Jews and non-Christian religions and to launch a new, progressive, positive dialogue among them.

Mr. Speaker, in a world that is increasingly drawn together through economic, cultural and ties of all kinds, there simply is no place for bigotry, racism, religious hatred, intolerance, or prejudice. The document whose 40th anniversary we are recognizing makes that abundantly clear. And it is appropriate for us to reflect upon that at this time, recognizing also the important role of the Holy See in the fight against religious intolerance and discrimination, and I have appreciated the leadership that we have seen coming from the Vatican of late in this regard.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt), the author of today's resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this point. I would just conclude by welcoming also the resolution's expression of support for the United States to continue to lead the fight against anti-Semitism and other forms of religious and racial prejudice and discrimination, and that people of all faiths have a critical role to play in that matter.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, though I was absent during the legislative week of Tuesday, November 1 through Friday, November 4, 2005 and Monday, November 7, 2005 for medical reasons, I wish to have my intended votes recorded in the Congressional Record for the following votes: November 1, 2005:

Rollcall vote 557 on H.R. 3548--``aye''; and Rollcall vote 558 on H.R. 3989--``aye''. November 2, 2005:

Rollcall vote 559 on H.R. 1606--``aye''; Rollcall vote 560 on H.R. 4061--``aye''; and Rollcall vote 561 on H.R. 1691--``aye''. November 3, 2005:

Rollcall vote 562 Appealing the Ruling of the Chair concerning the Iraq War Investigation--``aye''; Rollcall vote 563 on H. Res. 527-- ``aye''; Rollcall vote 564 on Amendment numbered 2 in House Report 109- 266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 565 on Amendment numbered 5 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 566 on Amendment numbered 6 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; Rollcall vote 567 on Amendment numbered 11 in House Report 109-266--``nay''; and Rollcall vote 568 on H.R. 4128-- ``aye''. November 4, 2005:

Rollcall vote 569 on H.R. 3057--``nay''. November 7, 2005:

Rollcall vote 570 on H. Con. Res. 260--``aye''; Rollcall vote 571 on H.R. 1973--``nay''; and Rollcall vote 572 on H. Res. 444--``aye''.