Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the controversial head of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, struck a conciliatory note on Jewish-Catholic relations Thursday morning when asked at a news conference here to give his perception of the Catholic view on Judaism.
Ratzinger, in New York for a biblical scholarship conference, said Catholics should “respect the point of view of our Jewish brothers,” who do not see the New Testament “as a fulfillment.”
His remark appeared to be a reversal of the position he expressed last October in a highly contentious interview with an Italian magazine. In it, he was quoted as saying that Catholic-Jewish dialogue should be based on the notion that “the faith of Abraham” finds its “fulfillment” in Jesus Christ.
But Thursday, Ratzinger, whose thinking is considered to be very close to that of Pope John Paul II, seemed to balance his previous comments with admiring reflections on Jews and Judaism.
“We must be able to read the Old Testament the way the Jews read the Old Testament, rather than always looking at it from a Christian perspective,” he said.
The New Testament is, for Christians, “the key to understanding the Old Testament,” he said. “I think especially that the argument of our theology is we should see it (the New Testament) as a partial fulfillment of the Old Testament.” He added, “On this part I think we can really have a dialogue.”
Ratzinger emphasized that Christians should respect the Jewish viewpoint on the Old Testament “just as I am sure they respect our position.”
The cardinal was in New York for a two-day conference on modern biblical scholarship as the guest of a prominent Lutheran minister, Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, director of the Center on Religion and Society.
MET WITH JEWISH LEADERS
On Wednesday, Ratzinger met with some Jewish representatives as private guests of Cardinal John O’Connor, the archbishop of New York. Invitations were extended to some members of the International Jewish Committee on Interfaith Consultations.
But several members of the umbrella group declined to participate in the meeting, apparently objecting to the way in which it was arranged.
On Wednesday morning, members of the American Section of the World Jewish Congress, a member organization of IJCIC, met in special session and at that time decided to urge their members not to attend the meeting.
But those who declined to attend rejected the notion that they were “boycotting” the meeting, as reported Thursday in The New York Times.
Among those who declined the invitation were Rabbi Mordecai Waxman, former chairman of IJCIC; Seymour Reich, president of B’nai B’rith International; Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly; and Rabbi Henry Michelman, executive vice president of the Synagogue Council of America, which is the American secretariat of IJCIC.
WANTED TO CONVEY ‘DISTRESS’
Kelman said the Jewish leaders “wanted to convey their distress that the cardinal did not go through the normal channels which had been established throughout the last 20 years,” particularly on “such a sensitive issue. . . . Instead, he took it upon himself to choose the Jews who would be invited.”
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, current IJCIC chairman and international affairs director of the American Jewish Committee, was out of the country and did not attend the meeting.
Reached after his return to New York, Tannenbaum said he had “some concern that confusion developed about the channels,” through which such dialogue should occur.
He said that normally, such contacts are arranged by “Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, president of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, and IJCIC, which together have been working on these kinds of problems for about 20 years.”
Michelman said that “as much as I deeply appreciated the invitation from O’Connor, and as much as I feel he was very sincere in his desire to bring Cardinal Ratzinger and Jews together, I felt that personally it was inappropriate for me to attend,” because “meetings and consultations with Vatican officials are to be engaged with the consensus of IJCIC and the cooperation of the Vatican.”
Rabbi A. James Rudin, AJCommittee director of interreligious affairs, who attended both the private meeting with Ratzinger and the news conference, declined to provide his assessment of the meeting.
Another IJCIC member who attended the private meeting, Judith Banki, associate director of interreligious affairs for the AJCommittee, said, “The decision to accept a private invitation graciously offered by Cardinal O’Connor didn’t imply a total agreement with sentiments attributed to Cardinal Ratzinger.”
Calling the exchange “helpful and constructive,” Banki said she was satisfied that Ratzinger “did clarify his position on the Jews.” She did not elaborate.
Because of the heavy volume of news from the Middle East, today’s Daily News Bulletin has been expanded to six pages.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
