Morris B. Abram, president of the American Jewish Committee, labeled today as “an anti-Semitic attack” the article in which Bishop Luigi Carli of Segni wrote that Judaism as a religion carried “by its very nature” the judgment of condemnation by God. “
Mr. Abram, also U.S. Representative on the U.N. Human Rights Commission, said that Bishop Carli’s sentiments “seemed in direct contradiction” to the recommendation within the Statement on the Jews in the Declaration on Non-Christian Religions passed by Vatican Council II last fall for “a mutual knowledge and respect which is the fruit, above all, of Biblical and theological studies as well as fraternal dialogues.”
Calling Bishop Carli’s statement “insidious” and a reflection of “the type of primitive mentality that was defeated so overwhelmingly at Vatican Council II.” Mr. Abram said it was “bizarre and a travesty” to think that a declaration that “deplores” displays of “anti-Semitism directed against Jews at any time and by anyone” should itself be used as the basis for “an anti-Semitic attack.”
Mr. Abram’s statement recalled that Bishop Carli, during the days when the so-called Jewish Declaration was being deliberated at Vatican Council II, had argued that the Jewish people of today as well as those of Jesus’ time were responsible for the Crucifixion. The American Jewish Committee leader recalled also that the Jewish Declaration had been approved by “the overwhelming vote of 1, 763 to 250. ” Mr. Abram said he was “certain” that other Catholic leaders, “more in tune with modern life than is the medieval arrogance of the Bishop of Segni, ” would repudiate his sentiments, “just as they did” when the Declaration was passed in Rome last fall.
The best answer to Bishop Carli’s statement, Mr. Abram continued, would be an extension of the ecumenical movement already under way throughout the United States and the world. “Already a groundswell of ecumenical activity, with Jews and Catholics striving to understand each other after 2, 000 years of misunderstanding, is being heard in the land, ” he said, adding that the American Jewish Committee was “proud to be able to be involved in this activity. “
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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.
