Responsibility for the declaration on Catholic-Jewish relations to be dealt with at the third session of the Ecumenical Council next fall will remain with the Secretariat for Christian Unity headed by Cardinal Bea and will not be given over to the newly announced Secretariat for Non-Christians, according to an article prepared for tomorrow’s issue of Osservatore Romano, official organ of the Vatican.
In describing the field of activity of the new Secretariat for Non-Christians, the article, by Paolo Cardinal Marella, head of the new body, declares that his Secretariat will act outside the Ecumenical Council and denies rumors that it will invite non-Christian observers to the Council.
In explaining the tasks of the new Secretariat, the article mentions the necessity for new contacts based on sympathy and mutual understanding, but primarily on frankness. It declares that ignorance, prejudice and even ill will have often led to distorted viewpoints and, that the religious world cannot fall behind in an era of mutual understanding.
The article says that, for the time being, the Secretariat will maintain a small central Institution in Rome but that most of the contacts will be made in the field.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
