Morris B. Abram, President of the American Jewish Committee, welcomed today the promulgation by Pope Paul VI and the Vatican Council of the declaration on the Jews as “a turning point in 1,900 years of Jewish-Christian history” and as “the climax to an unprecedented effort to bring about a now era in relations between Catholics and Jews.”
Stating that the declaration’s rejection of the charge of Jewish collective guilt for the Crucifixion and its repudiation of anti-Semitism are “significant clarifications of Church teachings,” Mr. Abram added the hope that they would help “purify the climate of relations between Christians and Jews throughout the world.”
Mr. Abram expressed particular gratification for the “vigorous leadership” of Augustin Cardinal Bea and the Cardinals and Bishops of the American hierarchy. “Their devoted efforts have won for them the friend ship and confidence of all men of good will and unquestionably has earned for them an honored place in the history of Jewish-Catholic relations,” he said. “As a result of this action by the highest authorities of the Catholic Church,” Mr. Abram went on, “we are confident that close and friendly ties will be increasingly developed between the Jewish and Catholic communities of America and elsewhere in the years ahead.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
