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Revised note on dialogue boost to Catholic-Jewish relations
Larger, underlying questions yet to be resolved, expert says
Oct. 08, 2009
Rabbi Alan J. Katz, Sister of St. Joseph Lorraine Julien and Paula Franco, a teacher from the Albany, N.Y., diocese take a close look at a Torah scroll at a synagogue in Rochester, N.Y. They were participating in the Bearing Witness Program, an effort of the Anti-Defamation League to give Catholic school educators a better understanding of Jewish culture.. (CNS)
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PDF versionUpdated from Oct. 6.
The revision of a U.S. bishops' public note on Catholic-Jewish dialogue and a new statement of dialogue principles, which was announced Oct. 6, do not resolve all the issues raised by the earlier, controversial note, but they "should be sufficient to allow the Jews to return to the dialogue," says a leading authority on Catholic-Jewish relations and longtime Vatican consultor on the topic.
The U.S. bishops' conference announced Monday that five key officials of the conference had excised a controversial passage from a public note on Catholic-Jewish dialogue issued in June by two bishops' conference committees.
U.S. Jewish leaders had found the passage offensive and said faithful Jews could not enter into dialogue with Catholics if those Catholics were always at least implicitly seeking their conversion.
The church officials, who included Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, bishops' conference president, also issued a six-point "Statement of Principles for Catholic-Jewish Dialogue" that clearly affirms that God's covenant with the Jews has never been revoked.
"Jewish covenantal life endures till the present day as a vital witness to God's saving will for his people Israel and for all of humanity," it says.
The six-point statement and an accompanying letter to heads of five leading U.S. Jewish organizations were dated Oct. 2 and released by the bishops' conference Oct. 6
Eugene J. Fisher, who directed Catholic-Jewish relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for 30 years until his retirement in 2007, told NCR that the revision of the note and the new statement of dialogue principles should be able to restart the dialogue.
However, he said the note and the six-point statement still do not address the "eschatological caveat" regarding Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. Eschatological refers in Christian theology to the end-time of the resurrection of the dead and Christ's return in glory.
While the original note referred to Christ as the fulfillment of the God's covenants with Israel, Fisher said, it does not include the distinction made in 1985 by the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. According to that document, he said, the fulfillment of the old covenant "was not perfected with the first coming of Christ, but awaits its perfection with his coming -- or return -- at the end of time."
The "crisis" in Catholic-Jewish dialogue generated by the June note may be over, Fisher said, "but we are, as Cardinal [Walter] Kasper [president of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism] has said, only at the beginning of the beginning of working our way through such theological questions as the nature of [the covenant's] fulfillment in Christ."
Christians and Jews stand together in expectation of the Messiah – for Jews, his first coming, for Christians, his return – Fisher said.
The six-point statement and an accompanying letter to heads of five leading U.S. Jewish organizations were dated Oct. 2 and released by the bishops' conference Oct. 6
Signing the letter and statement, in addition to Cardinal George, were Cardinal William H. Keeler, retired archbishop of Baltimore, the episcopal moderator of Catholic-Jewish relations; Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta, chairman of the bishops' conference Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the bishops' Committee on Doctrine, and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, N.Y., Catholic co-chair of the bishops' consultation with the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America.
The original note in question had been issued jointly by the bishops' conference doctrinal and ecumenical committees.
The most controversial passage in the note had said, "Though Christian participation in interreligious dialogue would not normally include an explicit invitation to baptism and entrance into the church, the Christian dialogue partner is always giving witness to the following of Christ, to which all are implicitly invited."
That sentence and the immediately previous sentence, leading in to it, will be deleted from the note, the bishops said.
When the note was released, it immediately provoked criticism from several leading scholars in Catholic-Jewish dialogue.
Philip A. Cunningham, director of the Institute for Catholic-Jewish Relations at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, told NCR at the time that the statement about implicitly inviting dialogue partners to enter the church reopened "a can of worms … a Pandora's box that most of us who have been involved in dialogical work had thought had been resolved a long time ago."
In August, in a rare joint letter, five of the leading U.S. Jewish organizations protested that the note "is antithetical to the very essence of Jewish-Christian dialogue as we have understood it in the post-Vatican II era."
They said even an implicit invitation to enter the church in the context of interreligious dialogue amounts to inviting the Jewish participants to apostasize. Further, the language saying that "interreligious dialogue would not normally include an explicit invitation to baptism" implies that in some situations it could include such an explicit invitation, they said.
The Jewish organizations expressing concern were the Rabbinical Council of America, American Jewish Committee, Orthodox Union, Anti-Defamation League and National Council of Synagogues.
The Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council America, the respective synagogal and rabbinical organizations of Orthodox Judaism, have an ongoing joint consultation with the bishops' conference .
The National Council of Synagogues, representing the synagogal and rabbinical organizations of Conservative and Reform Judaism, has a separate ongoing consultation with the bishops' conference .
While the AJC and ADL are not in formal consultation with the bishops, both are important voices in the Jewish community and longtime advocates of improved Catholic-Jewish relations.
In their letter to the heads of those organizations, Cardinal George and his fellow bishops' conference officials said their new six-point statement on dialogue and the amendment to the original note "make clear our intentions and hopes for future dialogue between committed Catholics and committed Jews."
In the six points they reaffirmed Catholic belief that "Jesus Christ is the unique savior of all humankind" and that Catholics must "bear witness to Christ at every moment of their lives."
But they added that "lived context shapes the form of that witness to the Lord we love. Jewish-Catholic dialogue, one of the blessed fruits of the Second Vatican Council, has never been and will never be used by the Catholic Church as a means of proselytism – nor is it intended as a disguised invitation to baptism."
"In sitting at the table," they said, "we expect to encounter Jews who are faithful to the Mosaic covenant, just as we insist that only Catholics committed to the teachings of the church encounter them in our dialogues."
The six point statement can be found at www.usccb.org/seia/StatementofPrinciples.pdf
The bishops' letter can be found at www.usccb.org/seia/ResponsetoRabbis.pdf
[Jerry Filteau is NCR Washington correspondent.]
This is defeat for the
This is defeat for the anti-Semitic, Mel Gibson, pre-Vatican II wing of the church. The anti-Semitic wing of the church has been on a roll in recent years. The return of the Latin Mass with an anti-Semitic reference in its Good Friday prayers were a disaster and foreshadowed the lifting of the excommunication on the Holocaust denier, Bishop Williamson. Hopefully we are now moving back in a positive direction.
Steve
The Latin mass was never
The Latin mass was never rendered illicit, meaning that the old prayers were being used until the present Pope revised them to be in keeping with Vatican II. I would invite you to examine the readings and prayers of the ember days of September, which include a great deal of sensitivity and respect for the Jewish holidays, sensitivity and respect that was discarded with the 1970 missal.
Perhaps, IMHO, the difficulty
Perhaps, IMHO, the difficulty could have been avoided by using the verb "sharing" rather "implicitly inviting", such as: "The Christian dialogue partner, listening respectfully to the experience of God as preserved in Hebrew scriptures and in the life of the Jewish communities, will also welcome the opportunity to share his or her own experience of Christ, as circumstances and mutual trust permit, since this joyful experience is at the heart of the spiritual life of Christian churches and communities, and cannot be kept for ourselves."
This is disgraceful and
This is disgraceful and distorts the meaning of dialogue. Dialogue is precisely a vehicle to discuss and debate truth-claims. If the key to dialogue is that "no Jewish person be offended" and offense is defined as giving witness to the Gospel then what purports to be dialoge is another Catholic surrender. Proselytism has taken on a pejorative connotation of brow-beating something which violates another's religious freedom by design. Errors like the two-covenant theory re salvation and that Jesus is not the unique Savior is very much in the background. Catholics should not give any credence to these. It just seems to me that whenever the Jews get upset, Catholics cave. Dialogue if anything is a two-way street.
So the Bishops leave the
So the Bishops leave the Christian faith.
uhmmmm, and YOU get to decide
uhmmmm, and YOU get to decide who's coming and who's going?
Why just the Jews? Why not
Why just the Jews? Why not also the sincere seekers of God of all the other religions?
All readers might find
All readers might find helpful in this regard the great work including the writing by our reverend Sister Joan Chittister OSB published under the title of The Tent of Abraham.
Bravo, Cardinal George and
Bravo, Cardinal George and companion Bishops. You have done something most courageous, and I hope that the other Bishops will come to realise that. Your call to the faithful of the Catholic Church to live their commitment fully should be even more insisted upon. Let the Holy Spirit do His work, for heaven's sake, He will bring Judaism in when and if He wills, and we as Church should not try to hasten the process of Jewish conversion unduly. It has not worked in the past, and most probably won't do so either in the future.
Ho-hum ---- wow
Ho-hum ---- wow
This kind of dialogue is
This kind of dialogue is nothing less than a constant capitulation on the
part of the Catholic Church to the demands of the Remnant of Israel.
We are always apologizing for the clear mandates of our own divinely inspired
sacred scriptures that belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is fundamental for eternal salvation. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Dialogue is suppose to be a two-way street. Can anyone out there refresh
my memory as to when any Jewish rabbinical organization has ever capitulated
to demands of the Catholic Church? Probably because we have never seriously
demanded anything of them. It's either their way or no way. Jesus was not
wrong when He referred to them as a proud and stiff-necked people. They
continue to refuse to recognize Him as the Son of God at their own peril.
The Roman Catholic Church has
The Roman Catholic Church has to tread carefully concerning the Jews due to the historical treatment of Jews by the Roman Catholic Church, i.e. the Inquisition. Jews now have their own homeland in Israel and Jerusalem is their biblical capital. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible. The Q'ran mentions Jerusalem ZERO times. Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. Christians have only a historical interest in that area. Christians have no continuing city as states Peter in one of his epistles.
...and while we are in the
...and while we are in the process of watering down our faith so that we don't upset heretics, let's rewrite/edit the Gospels so that they don't upset the Jews as well!
What is the point of this
What is the point of this type of dialogue anyway? I do think the Jews have a point in wanting the "invitation to conversion" language removed. I would find that offensive as well if I were on their side. But still what exactly are the two sides going to talk about? If they were to actually discuss the question of the Mosaic Covenant with each side being honest, then I could see a value to the talks.
But apparently the bishops have already given in on this one. While it is true that the Mosaic Covenant has not been actually "revoked" by God since He never goes back on his Word, is it still really in effect? Is this what the bishops are saying? It is my understanding that the Jewish Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ which means that for all practical purposes it is over.
Consider what Pope Pius XII (not a favorite of the Jews) had to say about this issue in his encyclical, "Mystici Corporis"
29. "And first of all, by the death of our Redeemer, the new Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished; then the Law of Christ together with its mysteries, enactments, institutions, and sacred rites was ratified for the whole world in the blood of Jesus Christ. For, while our Divine Savior was preaching in a restricted area - He was not sent but to the sheep that were lost of the House of Israel - the law and the Gospel were together in force; but on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees, fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross, establishing the New Testament in His blood shed for the whole human race. "To such an extent, then says St Leo the Great, speaking of the Cross of our Lord, "was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mystical veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sacred secret was rent violently from top to bottom."
30. "On the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried and to be a bearer of death, in order to give way to the New Testament of which Christ had chosen the Apostles as qualified ministers;"
It looks like Boy George & his entourage of bishops will have some "splainin' (RRicardo) to do if one on the other side has a copy of this encyclical!
Lets all remember- Jesus as
Lets all remember- Jesus as 100% Jewish- and died 100% Jewish.
If we spent more time "following" Jesus and living the gospel, there would be less need trying to "convert". Let's work more at transformimg the hearts in our own faith tradition(we have a whole lot of used to be Catholics. Look as Mother Theresa as a BEAUTIFUL example. NO need to baptize and convert- only to love as Jesus did. That is living the gospel of the Risen Christ!! I am very happy to see some of the bishops have come to see this the damage in this "clarifying" passage. It carries much more harm than good.
I applaud the willingness of
I applaud the willingness of our Bishops to be willing to enter into dialouge without demeaning the sacredness of the Jewish faith to its people. Jesus was willing to meet people where they were and in a way that respected their dignity, I just don't see how we can do anything less and call ourselves Christians. We have too many examples in our history of beating people up with our religious belief. I'm glad to see that our Bishops are willing to trust God in this and meet our brothers and sisters with graciousness.
Pat, well said! I hope and
Pat, well said! I hope and pray that others will reflect on the points you make in your post. I know that I will and I believe that I will be a better Christian for it.
Blessings on the bishops for
Blessings on the bishops for revising the supersessonist document issued by the USCCB committees-
The Jewish people have mirrored the passion of Jesus - holding on to their covenant with YHVH- since the first century -from the assault by Rome, the Muslim & Crusader attacks, the Inquisition and expulsions, the pogroms and the fury of Hitler and now to the extermination rantings of Ahmidinejad, The Orthodox have held on to their desire for the Messiah to come and rescue the world. They daily pray and do acts of loving kindness to hasten his coming. How many pious Christians daily yearn for the coming of the Christ? What fools will say that they are not true to the covenant?
Cave ab homine unius libri
Thank God the U.S. bishops
Thank God the U.S. bishops have retracted the serious mistake they made in June.
One of the central, vital teachings of Vatican II was the perpetuity of God's coventant with the Jewish people. The Council soundly rejected as profoundly unbiblical prior suggestions that in Jesus' life, death and resurrection, God had somehow abrogated the original covenant with Abraham, Moses and their offspring. One reason the Council officially condemned such suggestions is that historically they were a fundamental rationale for anti-Semitism and eventually the horror of the Holocaust.
The Council also mandated dialogue between Catholics and other major religions, not only as a means of identifying what we can affirm together, but also to learn from other believers what distinguishes our faith from theirs. But the bishops' corrective action is important above all for reiterating that Christianity is opposed to anti-Semitism in all of its forms.
So now God is still in a
So now God is still in a covenential relationship with the Jews irrespective of Christ? Is this the teaching of Vatican II? Is the Trinity schizophrenic? I don't think so!
On the contrary, God the Father no longer interacts with the Jewish people as a People. He interacts with each & every Jewish person as an individual as He interacts with each & every human person as an individual. The Mosaic Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ.
These are interesting
These are interesting theories; but they are not Catholic theology, and I challenge you to quote any official teaching of the Catholic church which supports them.
God has never interacted solely with individuals, before Christ or after Christ. The Father says eternally, "You shall be my people, and I shall be your God." God says this simultaneously to the People of the Old Covenant and the People of the New Covenant. You may not like it that God behaves this way. But you may not deny that God does.
You don't need any quotes;
You don't need any quotes; you just need to use logic.
The point of God's interaction with the Jewish people was to bring about the Messiah. The Messiah arrived and he was rejected by the vast majority of Jews. The ones who accepted him became Christians. What is the point of the covenant after the time of Christ? There is no point to it.
The bishops are just playing a game here. If any Jew is saved after the time of Christ, it is only because he was invincibly ignorant of the Truth of Christ & his Church. Such a person can be saved because he has an unconscious desire to belong to the One True Church, the Catholic Church. I'm talking about someone who believes in the one true God (as the Jews do) and is truly sorry for all his sins; i.e., has a perfect contrition. Such a person will be saved because of what Christ did and through his Church. There is no other way of salvation. Such a Jewish person will not be saved because of an on-going Mosaic Covenant. All other Jews & non-Christians who do not fit this description will perish in the flames of Gehenna. This is the meaning of the doctrine, "Outside the Church there is no salvation."
As I said, this is not
As I said, this is not Catholic theology. But since you dismiss official Catholic teaching as "the bishops...just playing a game," the only theology you are prepared to find logical is your own. Evidently you have founded your own "true church." That is your right. But please don't confuse it with ours.
Well, if all you are looking
Well, if all you are looking for is a quote, look above in the thread where I quote from an encyclical by Pius XII. Pre-Vatican II theology clearly saw the Jewish Covenant as dying on the Cross with Christ. If the Conciliarists such as yourself believe otherwise then please explain how this works. All the modernist American bishops said was that the Covenant was not revoked. That is true enough since God doesn't go back on his Word. The bottom line is that the Old Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ.
What is it with the NCR and
What is it with the NCR and their obsession with Catholic-Jewish dialogue? What has it ever achieved? Nothing positive as far as I can see. All it has ever been is a long string of demands and continual moaning from the otherside. The old covenant was abolished by Christ's death on the cross. Outside of the new covenant, which is the promise to Christ's spouse - the Catholic Church - there is absolutely no salvation. To say that the old covenant still applies to the Jews is to say that there is salvation outside of Christ, which is heretical. This also proves that bishops conferences have absolutely no teaching authority.
This whole discussion is
This whole discussion is simply a matter of confused logic.
God the Father is Yahweh.
God the Son is Yahweh.
God the Holy Spirit is Yahweh.
Jesus' own Name boldly proclaims "Yahweh is Salvation."
Therefore,
God the Father is Salvation.
God the Son is Salvation.
God the Holy Spirit is Salvation.
End of discussion.
(What DO they teach them in these schools today?)
Heaven forbid, let us not
Heaven forbid, let us not upset the Jews, whether they be observant, secular, zionist, or atheistic. We Catholics should water down our faith to jewish satisfaction. They are playing the guilt card with such contempt for us, the next thing they will demand that we regard Jesus Christ not as the UNIQUE son of God, part of the trinitarian God with the Holy Spirit, but just as a blasphmer and heretic who deserved to be crucified for threatening the jewish power structure.
They will not recognize the Messiah on his second return. They are too busy exterminating the women, men and children in Gaza, both muslim and christian. Using the guilt card manipulating decent, good people is the most powerful weapon in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Our country needs to wake up!!!
What needs to be kept in mind
What needs to be kept in mind is that God's covenential relationship with the Jews brought out the unveiling of the Trinity. It was the Father who interacted with the Jews as the Chosen People and it was the Father's intent to introduce them to the Son. Needless to say, the Jews were not impressed with the Second Person of the Trinity. After the Son left from Mount Tabor, the Spirit entered the picture on Pentecost. Let us be frank, the Jews missed the boat! Did not the Father himself call them a stiff necked people? Maybe the Bishops should remind the Jews of this in the dialogue.
How does one put all this back in the box as if it never occured to maintain that yes indeedy God the Father is still in a covenential relationship with the Jews of today? Can someone please explain that little fact to me? Thank you!
The Archdiocese of Boston,
The Archdiocese of Boston, USA has made available information on its official website which is not in agreement with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Ecumenical / Interreligious Affairs Section of the diocese website has the text of Nostra Aetate , Vatican Council II but it comes with a Jewish Left interpretation of Vatican Council IL. Judaism is the ordinary way of salvation for Jews is the clear-false message. This is contrary to the Catholic Magisterium, the Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit.We see the same pattern with the Revised Note of the USCCB bishops.
Also the dialogue is being conducted with only one group of Jews, those who are pro abortion and homosexuality and teach syncretism. They do not represent all Jews. The website only refers to ADL, Boston College Center for Jewish Christian Learning, SIDIC and Rabbis who share their ideology.
The articles suggest Catholics should not convert Jews and that Judaism is an equal path to salvation as the Catholic Faith.
There are Jewish Rabbis who have publicly criticized the ADL and have said that they do no object to Catholic Mission and Catholics converting Jews, since they also pray for the conversion of Christians. They also oppose the ADL on the subject of homosexuality and abortion.
(Click on Ecumenical and Inter Religious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Boston website.Then click on
ADL online guide: Nostra Aetate: Transforming the Catholic-Jewish Relationship.(http://www.adl.org/main_Interfaith/nostra_aetate.htm) includes essays by some of the world's leading Jewish-Catholic interfaith experts who analyze the history and significance of Nostra Aetate, (http://www.adl.org/main_Interfaith/nostra_aetate_whatisit.htm) as well as a practical "how-to" guide on teaching the lessons of Nostra Aetate to new generations of Catholics and Jews.
This “Catholic” website mentions that the Jewish Anti-Defamation League‘(ADL) has announced the creation of a new online guide that explains the historic changes in Church theology and provides educational resources in order to teach them. The Archdiocese encourages it. The resources no where mentions that Nostra Aetate does not say that Judaism is a path of salvation. Neither does Nostra Aetate say that Jews in general are saved in Judaism or that Jews do not have to convert. So the educational resources are in error.
The Catholic Church sees salvation among the Jews and Muslims as the extraordinary, exceptional way. This is how Nostra Aetate and Vatican Council II are officially interpreted by the Catholic Church.
The website puts aside Vatican Council II as interpreted by the Church and only what is liked and comfortable is chosen. Nostra Aetate is served without Vatican Council II’s Ad Gentes, the Church’s teaching on Missionary Activity.Ad Gentes 7 says all people need to enter the Catholic Church.
Lumen Gentium 14 says Catholic Faith and Baptism are needed for all. The website holds that non Catholic religions are the ordinary way of salvation.
Ad Gentes 7 Vatican Council II: that all people need to enter the Catholic Church.
Lumen Gentium 14 Vatican Council: Catholic Faith and Baptism are needed for all.
The Decree on Ecumenism ( UR ) 3, Vatican Council II: Catholic Church is the true faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church 845: God the Father wants all people to worship Him and to enter the Catholic Church. God the Father wants all people to be united into the Catholic Church.
Notification,N.7, Fr. Jacques Dupuis S.J, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican Prefect: Cardinal Ratzinger: All people need to be oriented into the Catholic Church and to be a part of her .
THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST
Do the priests and laypersons who maintain the website have the right to celebrate Holy Mass and/or receive the Holy Eucharist?What about the Bishops mentioned above?
A Catholic Religious needs to believe in the teaching outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation, since it is linked to the Creed (Nicene and Apostles) and the First Commandment. Otherwise the religious has no right canonically to call himself a Catholic. If he is a priest he is not to celebrate Holy Mass or to receive the Holy Eucharist. Extra ecclesiam nulla salus is a dogma of the Catholic Church. To reject a dogma is a mortal sin.
ECCLESIA DEI INDULT
The website is a negative proclamation of the religious in Boston .
Cardinal Castrillion Hoyes former Prefect of the Vatican Ecclesia Dei required all priests who celebrate Holy Mass according to the Tridentine Rite to sign an indult stating that they accept the Catholic Church’s interpretation of Vatican Council II. What about the priests who support the Boston Archdiocese Website and work at the Office for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue. Do they not have to sign an indult?
Dissent in writing can be checked canonically. The website has it there for all to read.
You bring out good points
You bring out good points here. It's very dishonest of American bishops like George & his ilk to imply that the covenential relationship between God the Father & the Jews is still in effect. They are being dishonest here to appease the Jews. That's the bottom line.
Salvation is open to all people, not just Catholics. And in today's Church, it doesn't look like the net of salvation is cast very wide! Among non-Christians, Jews are better placed than others since they believe is something which was completely valid before Christ and which now provides the foundation for his Church.
Salvation is effected by Christ and through his Church alone; there is no other way. There is not now a covenential path with God for Jews which allows them to be saved independently of Christ. No way!
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