8.153. Didn’t Paul VI say we should hold non-Christian religions in high esteem? Isn’t that just showing respect and promoting peace?
Yes, Paul VI did say this in 1975:
“We also hold in high esteem the non-Christian religions.”
This statement is often repeated in post-Vatican II theology as a gesture of interreligious respect and diplomacy. But in truth, it represents a direct contradiction of pre-Vatican II Catholic teaching, and reflects a dangerous modernist departure from divine revelation.
The Catholic Church—prior to Vatican II—never praised false religions. In fact, it consistently condemned them as errors that lead souls away from salvation. Pope Pius XI in 1928 declared:
“It is clear that the Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in their [non-Catholic religions’] assemblies, nor is it in any way lawful for Catholics to give to such enterprises their encouragement or support. For if they do so, they will be giving countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien to the one Church of Christ.”
Pius XI reaffirmed what all true popes before him had taught: that false religions are not to be “esteemed”—they are to be rejected as man-made systems opposed to the truth revealed by Jesus Christ. While individual adherents of those religions are to be treated with human dignity and compassion, their religions must never be praised, since to do so would insult God, confuse the faithful, and lead souls into error.
The idea of “holding in high esteem” religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Judaism—which explicitly deny the Trinity, reject Christ, or promote idolatry—is blasphemous. It contradicts divine revelation, violates the First Commandment, and undermines the Church’s mission to convert all nations.
Moreover, Paul VI’s statement was not isolated—it formed part of a wider Vatican II error, especially seen in Nostra Aetate, which falsely claimed that other religions “often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.” This language leads directly to religious indifferentism—the false belief that all religions are more or less equally good and salvific.
| Category | Traditional Catholic Teaching | Vatican II / Paul VI Position | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| View of Non-Christian Religions | False, man-made systems that lead away from salvation | “Held in high esteem” as valuable traditions | Praising false religions violates the First Commandment and confuses the faithful |
| Key Documents | Mortalium Animos (Pius XI), Quanta Cura (Pius IX) | Evangelii Nuntiandi (Paul VI), Nostra Aetate (Vatican II) | Post-Vatican II texts contradict earlier infallible magisterium |
| Mission of the Church | To convert all nations to the one true Faith | To promote dialogue and mutual respect among religions | Dialogue without the aim of conversion is religious indifferentism |
| Attitude Toward Pagans and Heretics | Call to repentance and baptism | Affirmation of their religious “values” and experiences | Affirming religious error is false charity and spiritual betrayal |
| Salvation | Only through the Catholic Church | Possible through “rays of truth” in other religions | Directly contradicts the dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus |
| Fruits | Conversions, martyrdom, Catholic civilization | Interfaith events, syncretism, apostasy | “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:16) |
Summary:
Paul VI’s praise for non-Christian religions is not a gesture of charity—it is a grave betrayal of the Catholic Faith. True charity calls souls out of error, not into comfort. The saints and missionaries of the Church never “esteemed” paganism—they condemned it, preached Christ crucified, and converted nations.
To esteem a false religion is to esteem a lie about God. That cannot come from the true Church. It can only come from a false church—the one built by Vatican II.
“All the gods of the Gentiles are devils: but the Lord made the heavens.”
Further reading:
Mortalium Animos (On Religious Unity) by Pope Pius XI (1928)