The American Jewish Committee has praised a Roman Catholic pastor for initiating a “fundamental rethinking” of a 72-year-old American Passion Play to bring the drama into line with post-Vatican II teachings and insights.
Rabbi James Rudin and Judith Banki, respectively AJC’s director and associate director of Interreligious Affairs — both of whom attended and strongly criticized the Oberammergau Passion Play during its 1984 performances in Bavaria, West Germany — expressed appreciation to the Rev. Kevin Ashe, pastor of the Holy Family Church in Union City, New Jersey, for having “opened the text of his church’s Passion Play to critical review by scholars.” The two AJC leaders viewed the play recently at Father Ashe’s invitation.
Reporting to the AJC’s Board of Governors meeting, Rudin said: “In 1984, the American Jewish Committee published a document calling attention to a variety of Passion Plays performed annually in the United States. Among others, the Holy Family Passion Play, known as America’s Oberammergau, was criticized in that document for religious stereotyping and historical misrepresentation. Shortly after its publication, we received a call from Father Ashe expressing his willingness to revise the drama in consultation with Roman Catholic specialists.”
SCRIPT WAS REVIEWED
Banki, author of a number of analyses of the Oberammergau production, added: “Father Ashe was as good as his word. He submitted the script of the play to Catholic scholars such as Dr. Eugene Fisher, Professor Leonard Swidler, and Father John Kelley for their analysis and suggestions.”
Fisher is executive secretary of the Secretariat on Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops; Swidler is editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Temple University: Kelley is founder of the Rockaway Catholic-Jewish Council. All three have written about Passion Plays.
Banki said, “He also took notice of comments and analyses published by the American Jewish Committee and other Jewish sources. Father Ashe’s approach to this sensitive area represents a model for other Passion Play producers.”
Rudin and Banki strongly stressed that their concern with the Holy Family Passion Play and other such dramas was not to diminish or belittle the foundation of Christian faith, but to remove from Passion Plays the “vicious, anti-Jewish stereotypes which have served to inflame anti-Semitism and to obscure the religious and historical realities of the time.”
SUBSTANTIAL PROGRESS CITED
The present production, they said, makes substantial progress toward correcting such stereotypes. For example, Banki specified, it places Jesus “within the Jewish community of his time, not in opposition to it.”
Unlike most such dramas, it depicts Pontius Pilate “as a deceitful and manipulative ruler who would not hesitate to ruthlessly quell any popular uprising against Roman rule.” Moreover, she added, it gives some “dimensionality” to the character of the high priest.
“We believe the positive elements in this play can be additionally strengthened,” Rabbi Rudin said, “and we will be communicating our suggestions to Father Ashe at his request.”
IMPORTANCE OF CONSULTATION
Ashe also underscored the importance of the process of consultation. He paid tribute to James Maxwell, author of the present version; David McNitt, its director, and the cast of amateurs–many of them members of the parish and some who have been in the play for over twenty years — for their willingness to keep adapting the script and action to incoming suggestions and insights.
“Rethinking and revising this drama has been an educational journey for all of us,” Ashe said, “and I hope it has been the same for our audiences.” He noted that the Passion Play is still not “written in stone” and is open to further revision.
He also expressed a hope that Christian-Jewish dialogue groups would view the drama as a form of adult education, stimulating discussion and leading to greater mutual understanding. Initially concerned that the changes in the play might alienate traditionalists, Father Ashe was pleased to report that reactions have been positive.
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