The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988.

The Dicastery does not have responsibility for relations with other Christian religions, which are the responsibility of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, which also has oversight of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

Mission

The Dicastery is the central office of the Catholic Church for promoting interreligious dialogue in accordance with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the declaration Nostra aetate. It has the following responsibilities:

  1. to promote mutual understanding, respect and collaboration between Catholics and the followers of other religious traditions;
  2. to encourage the study of religions;
  3. to promote the formation of persons dedicated to dialogue.

While the Dicastery is responsible for the promotion of inter-religious dialogue, it does not cover Christian-Jewish relations. This is the responsibility of the entirely separate Pontifical Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews, which reports to the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, and is headed by the prefect of that dicastery, Cardinal Kurt Koch.

The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue is the central hub for dialogue in the Catholic Church. However, dialogue is often carried out at the local level by individual churches, many of which are supported by regional or national dialogue commissions. The PCID works closely to support these commissions and encourages their formation in areas where they do not yet exist.

The Dicastery is restricted to matters of religion and interreligious dialogue. It does not address social or economic issues, which are covered by other departments in the Roman Curia.

The Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims is part of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.