Pope Paul VI received on Friday the international Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee and restated the rejection of the church of “every form of anti-Semitism.” He also called for the establishment of “a true dialogue between Judaism and Christianity,” at the same time acknowledging “the difficulties and confrontations, with all the regrettable elements involved, which have marked relations between Christians and Jews over the past 2000 years.”
Referring to the document published last week by the Vatican Commission, the Pope said Catholics had been invited to learn more about the Jewish faith and it was hoped this would provide the necessary conditions for a beneficial development of mutual relations. The Pope received the delegation in the presence of Cardinal Jan Willebrands, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism.
The international Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee released the following statement to the press after conferring with the Pope:
“The fourth annual meeting of the Liaison Committee took place in Rome from January 7 to January 10. The meeting was presided over by Rabbi Joseph Lookstein, chairman of the international Jewish Committee for inter-Religious Consultations and vice-president of the Synagogues Council of America, by Rabbi Henry Siegman, executive vice-president of the Synagogue Council of America, and by the Reverend Edward Flannery, secretary of the Secretariat for Jewish-Catholic Relations in the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in the United States, and Father Bernard Dupuy, secretary of the Commission for the Relations with Judaism in France.
DISCUSS CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS
“Recent developments in the field of Catholic-Jewish relations were discussed. The establishment of a Committee for Religious Relations with the Jews, and the problem of the guidelines and suggestions for the implementation of Nostra Aetate 4, they considered as encouraging steps for the practical application of the Conciliar Declaration on the Relations between the Catholic Church and the Jews in different essential areas.
“The document establishes a framework for the development of Catholic-Jewish relations in a spirit of mutual respect, with due recognition of basic differences. It opens new avenues for further clarifications of important and some times controversial issues.
“The Jewish delegation expressed appreciation for several aspects of the guidelines, particularly the condemnation of anti-Semitism, the recognition of the continuing development of Jewish history and religious tradition, also after the rise of Christianity, the encouragement of studies of Judaism in Catholic education and the call for Joint social action.
“The Jewish side raised questions about several aspects of the guidelines, including their failure to note the essential significance of peoplehood and land in Jewish faith. Questions were also raised with regard to the affirmation in the guidelines of the obligation of Catholics to witness to their faith within the context of dialogue, and the suggestion for common prayer.
NO ATTEMPT AT PROSELYTIZING JEWS
“The Catholic delegation made it clear that neither the document taken as a whole nor any part of it should be understood as an attempt at proselytizing Jews. Furthermore, the Catholic delegation stated, that the document did not make a general recommendation for common prayer but referred only to circumstances in which this would be acceptable to both sides.
“The meeting also discussed the concept of human rights in the Christian and Jewish traditions with the participation of members of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace. It was decided to pursue the study and to envisage in the future practical cooperation in the field of human rights. Finally, the meeting exchanged information on a series of matters of mutual concern, on the future progress and on the effectiveness of the methods of work of the Liaison Committee.”
The Jewish address at Friday’s meeting was delivered by Dr. Gerhard Riegner, secretary general of the World Jewish Congress.
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.
