Interreligious Dialogue - Option or Necessity?

The Second Vatican Council in its documents provided a basis for the necessity of interreligious dialogue for the Catholic Church. From the council proceedings one can see that these interfaith exchanges are a result of the development of the Catholic doctrine of salvation. In the paper we will examine how this decision of Vatican II further developed in the documents and subsequent practices of the postconciliar Popes. We will also describe the contacts, conversations, and meetings of the representatives of the Catholic Church with the largest non-Christian religions in Slovenia over the last 50 years. Finally, we will show that the decision to embrace interfaith dialogue at Vatican II was indispensable for the proclamation and putting into practice of the Gospel in modern times.