Pope: Catholics, Jews must join in common witness of faith in
God
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said Catholics and Jews not
only must respect and understand one another, they must give the
world a common witness of faith in God and in his
commandments.
In a message read at a Vatican commemoration of the 40th
anniversary of "Nostra Aetate," the Second Vatican Council
declaration on relations with non-Christians, Pope Benedict called
for "an ever more compelling shared witness."
The pope particularly urged joint efforts for the protection of
"the sanctity of life, the promotion of human dignity, the rights
of the family and the need to build a world of justice,
reconciliation and peace for future generations."
The Oct. 27 event, sponsored by the Vatican's Commission for
Religious Relations with the Jews, looked at progress made in
Catholic-Jewish dialogue and on paths to follow for the
future.
Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, declined to attend the
ceremony because the Vatican chose as one of the main speakers
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the retired archbishop of Paris who
converted to Catholicism from Judaism as a young teenager.
Rabbi Di Segni told reporters that, on a symbolic level, the choice
seemed to contradict the fact that dialogue requires respect for
the identity of others and a renunciation of attempts to convert
them.
Oded Ben-Hur, Israel's ambassador to the Vatican, attended the
ceremony along with rabbis and Jewish scholars from other parts of
Europe and North and South America.
Cardinal Lustiger and Rabbi David Rosen, president of the
International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Relations,
delivered the keynote speeches.
Rabbi Rosen said "Nostra Aetate" and updated information about the
Catholic Church's official teaching regarding Jews and Judaism must
be given more attention in Catholic education programs, especially
in seminaries.
He also said the church must deepen its reflections about the
implications of saying God's covenant with the Jewish people is
still valid.
Within the church, he said, there still is debate about whether
Catholics should relinquish all attempts to convert Jews to
Christianity, causing concern among Jews and fueling a reluctance
to dialogue with Catholics.
"These 40 years since the promulgation of 'Nostra Aetate' have seen
a remarkable reckoning of the soul on the part of the church," as
well as a rediscovery of the Jewish roots of Christianity, the
rabbi said. Members of the Jewish community are beginning to
rethink their relationship with Christians, setting aside many of
the fears and suspicions of the past, he added.
Members of both communities, he said, are aware they must work
together for the good of the world.
In his message, Pope Benedict said the anniversary was a time to
thank God for the progress made in fostering reconciliation and
understanding, "despite a complex and often painful history, and
especially after the tragic experience of the Shoah, which was
inspired by a neopagan racist ideology" espoused by the
Nazis.
"Nostra Aetate," the pope said, encouraged Catholics and Jews "to
recognize their shared spiritual roots and to appreciate their rich
heritage of faith in the one God, maker of heaven and earth, who
established his covenant with the chosen people, revealed his
commandments and taught hope in those messianic promises which give
confidence and comfort in the struggles of life."
German Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican commission
for relations with the Jews, said "Nostra Aetate" proclaimed the
church's "no" to anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism and its "yes" to
the Jewish roots of Christianity.
"It is a tragedy of history that the 'no' as well as the 'yes' were
expressed only after the terrifying experience of the Shoah, an
atrocious and -- until then -- unimaginable crime," he said.
Cardinal Kasper said the Vatican II document was "just the
beginning of the beginning" and required further Catholic
theological reflection on God's covenant with the Jewish people and
its continued validity, as well as Jewish theological reflections
about Christianity.
The new relationship, the cardinal said, also calls for serious
collaboration in promoting faith and morality, justice and peace,
"especially in that land which is holy for both."
Cardinal Lustiger said that as believers in God and as those who
follow his commandments, "Jews and Christians together have a
responsibility to civilization and the whole of humanity."
In a world where "good" too often is defined as whatever makes an
individual or nation happy or rich, Christians and Jews remind
people and rulers that "good" has a higher, objective standard,
Cardinal Lustiger said.
As people who recognize God as creator of all, Christians and Jews
can be a force for building unity among peoples based on respect
and on the obligation to provide special care for society's weakest
members, he said.
"The balance and peace of the world are at stake here," the French
cardinal said.
Cardinal Lustiger said he had no doubt the future of
Catholic-Jewish relations would include tensions, but he said he
hoped the faithful of both communities would allow their
differences to "become a goad for reaching -- carefully and
obediently -- ever deeper into the mystery of which we are the
joint heirs."
U.S. Archbishop William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, attended the ceremony, as did U.S.
Cardinals William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Theodore E. McCarrick
of Washington.
Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops