Catholic Bishops Warn Against Proselytizing Jews in ‘dialogues’

The American Catholic hierarchy distributed today a set of guidelines on Catholic-Jewish relations which warn against proselytizing of Jews, recommend changes in Catholic textbooks and call for creation in each diocese in the United States of a commission or secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Affairs.

The guidelines were approved and distributed by the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ subcommission for Catholic-Jewish Affairs to all Catholic bishops in this country. The subcommission is a unit in the Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

The guidelines advise Catholics to take the initiative in fostering “Catholic-Jewish understanding” and couple the recommendation with a warning that “proselytizing is to be carefully avoided in the dialogue.”

Once a dialogue with Jews has been established, the guidelines proposed, such meetings should be “marked by a genuine respect for the person and freedom of all participants and a willingness to listen and to learn from either party.” Such meetings should be “jointly planned and developed” by Catholics and Jews.

CALL FOR POSITIVE PROJECTION OF JUDAISM IN CATHOLIC TEXTBOOKS

The guidelines called for an examination of Catholic school texts, prayerbooks and other media, “under competent auspices,” to remove “not only those materials which do not accord with the content and spirit” of the Ecumenical Council statement on Catholic-Jewish relations “but also those which fail to show Judaism’s role in the salvation-history in any positive light.”

The guidelines include eight general principles, ten recommended programs for Catholic-Jewish dialogues and seven themes for Catholic-Jewish relations which “merit the attention and study of Catholic educators and scholars.”

The sub-commission pointed out that Americans were faced with “an historic opportunity to advance the cause of Catholic-Jewish harmony throughout the world — an opportunity to continue leadership taken in that direction by our American bishops during the great debate on the statement at the Council.” The statement, somewhat diluted from the original draft, repudiates the charge of collective guilt of the Jewish people in the crucifixion of Jesus, deplores anti-Semitism and calls for Catholic dialogues with Jews.

URGE ‘HONEST TREATMENT’ OF HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN ANTI-SEMITISM

The guidelines also proposed that prayers in common with Jews “should be encouraged” and that such prayers “should meet the spiritual sensibilities of both parties.” Advancement of Catholic-Jewish relations should be accomplished on all levels, “clerical and lay, academic and popular, religious and social. Particularly recommended were “open houses” in houses of worship and “living room dialogues.”

The guidelines also urge that “slower and deeper explorations of pertinent issues by Catholic and Jewish scholars must be given a high priority.” They suggest that the crucifixion story be presented in such a way “as not to implicate all Jews of Jesus’ time or of today in a collective guilt for the crime.” They also recommended strong repudiation of anti-Semitism, a frank and honest treatment of the history of Christian anti-Semitism in our history books, courses, and curricula.

The guidelines proposed that “diocesan and parochial organizations, schools, colleges, universities, and especially seminaries should organize programs” to implement the Schema on Catholic-Jewish relations. The guidelines said the Catholic pulpit should also be used “for expounding the teachings of the (Vatican) statement and exhorting participation in programs fitted to the parochial level.

The sub-commission suggested that orientation and source material to carry out the recommendations “may be sought from the various Catholic and Jewish organizations that have been active in the field of Christian-Jewish relations.