Subject: Catholic and Jewish Dialogue
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 00:28:09 +0000
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Eddie Chumney
Subject: Catholic and Jewish Dialogue
To: <HEB_ROOTS_CHR@geocities.com>
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'CHURCH NEED NOT APOLOGIZE FOR SHOAH'
In meeting with Chief Rabbis, though, Latin Patriarch says: 'We
share the pain of the Jews' -
By Shahar Ilan, Ha'aretz Religious Affairs Correspondent,
Ha'aretz - March 24, 1998
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the most senior official of the
Roman Catholic Church in Israel, yesterday said that the Vatican
does not need to apologize for the Holocaust "because we did not
do it." Sabbah spoke in Arabic at a press conference prior to
his meeting with Chief Rabbis Yisrael Lau and Eliahu Bakshi-Doron
at the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem.
When he spoke in English, however, his statements were much more
moderate. Sabbah sharply denounced the Holocaust and said that
"the people who carried it out are the enemies of Christianity
and not Christians. We share the pain of the Jews in the
Holocaust."
In response to Rabbi Lau's criticism that the document, "We
Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah," which was published last
week by the Vatican, did not contain an apology, Sabbah said in
Arabic, "It is unreasonable for the Vatican or any other
Christian to apologize for such an act because if we do
apologize, the implication is that we did it. We did not do it
and we are not apologizing for something done by others."
Shifting his tone when he switched to Hebrew, Sabbah became
considerably more moderate and claimed that the problem belonged
solely to the Christians in the West.
ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS MINISTRY TO OPEN CHRISTIAN OFFICE
IINS News Service -Israel-3/22
The Ministry of Religious Affairs will tomorrow hold a reception
on the opening of the Ministry's Christian Communities
Department. The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and the
heads of the Christian communities in Israel will attend. (GPO)
POPE: CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM SEE EYE TO EYE
Weekend News Today Source: Nando Times (Reuters) Sun Mar 22 ,
1998
Emphasizing his concern for human rights and dignity on his
three-day visit to Nigeria, Pope John Paul said Christianity and
Islam both viewed abuses against weaker members of society as a
sin, Reuters reported. The Pope said although the two religions
differed in how they understood their one God, both upheld the
value of human life at all its stages. "Among the important
convictions which we share, both Christianity and Islam stress
dignity of every human person as having been created by God for a
special purpose," he told the gathering of 34 Moslem leaders,
among them their widely-recognized spiritual leader Sultan
Mohammed Maccido of Sokoto.
The Sultan of Sokoto told the Roman Catholic leader he was
greatly admired for his efforts to promote peace and dialogue
between faiths. "You are an emissary of peace...You are fighting
for the dignity of the people of Nigeria and throughout the
world."
The Pope said both religions should strive to cooperate,
particularly in nations such as Nigeria where Christians and
Moslems live side by side, and should try to ensure that religion
is never used uncrupulously to create conflict. The Moslem
clergy applauded when the Pope finished his address and then
presented him with a carpet.
MEETING IN VATICAN BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND JEWS
Vatican City March 24, 1998 Vatican Iinformation Service
The 16th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison
Committee among representatives of the International Jewish
Committee on Interreligious Consultations and the Holy See's
Commission for Religious Relations with the Jew, began yesterday
afternoon in the Vatican.
According to the communique by the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, under whose auspices the Holy See
Commission falls, the meeting will last until March 26. Fifty
people are expected to participate, including members of
international Jewish organizations, consultors of the Holy See
Commission and experts and representatives from episcopal
conferences.
The encounter will focus on education. Its principal theme is
"What and How do we - and Ought we - teach about each other?"
The communique adds that the meeting "will also offer an occasion
for the presentation of the document published on March 16 by the
Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, 'We Remember: A
Reflection on the Shoah'."
POPE WELCOMES CATHOLIC-JEWISH LIAISON COMMITTEE
Vatican City, March 26, 1998 (Vatican Information Service)
This morning in the Consistory Hall, the Pope welcomed "with
pleasure" the members of the International Catholic-Jewish
Liaison Committee as they gathered in Rome for their sixteenth
meeting. Following is the text of his speech to them:
"Your committee has contributed much to improving relations
between our two communities by fostering theological reflection
and dialogue on significant religious and social issues. The
Joint Declaration issued as a result of your last session noted
important convergences in Catholic and Jewish understandings of
the family, the foundation of society. You have explored the
biblical visions of God's creation, with its consequences for the
appreciation of the dignity of the human person and of our
responsibility for the natural environment.
"The progress which you have already made shows the immense
promise held out by continuing dialogue between Jews and
Catholics. But your work is also an impressive sign of hope to a
world marked by conflict and division, all too often fomented in
the name of economic or political gain. A commitment to
authentic dialogue, rooted in a sincere love of truth, and an
openness to all members of the human family, remains the first
and indispensable path to the reconciliation and peace which the
world needs. When believers look at events in the conviction
that all things are ultimately governed by Divine Providence,
they will surely grow closer in that blessed harmony which the
Psalmist likens to the precious oil poured out on the head of
Aaron, or the dew which falls on the mountains of Zion.
"Dear friends, may your present meeting discover ever more
effective ways to make known and appreciated by Catholics and
Jews alike the significant advances in mutual understanding and
cooperation which have taken place between our two communities.
Upon you and your important work I invoke abundant divine
blessings."
COMMUNIQUE FROM CATHOLIC-JEWISH LIAISON COMMITTEE
Vatican City, March 27, 1998 (Vatican Information Service)
Following are excerpts from the English- language joint
communique released yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of the
March 23-26 meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison
Committee in the Vatican:
"Following the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church and
international groups representing the Jewish People both in
Israel and in the Diaspora determined to establish together a
mechanism to follow through on the extraordinary moment in
history represented by the Council's Declaration 'Nostra Aetate'
('In Our Time'). . . . The result was the establishment of the
International Liaison Committee (ILC) between the Holy See and
the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious
Consultations (IJCIC). . . . (The just-concluded) meeting is
the first to be held within the Vatican City State itself."
"The two co-chairs of the meeting (were) Cardinal Edward Idris
Cassidy, president of the Commission for Religious Relations with
the Jews, and Dr. Gerhard Riegner, honorary vice-president of
the World Jewish Congress."
"The Cardinal expressed his appreciation for the cooperation of
the Jewish partners in the dialogue to find solutions for such
difficult issues as the Carmelite Convent adjacent to Auschwitz
and the long process involved in establishing full relations with
Israel. Regarding the Holy See Commission's Statement 'We
Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah', the Cardinal noted that
Catholics still have much to learn. But he also pointed out that
the Jewish community as well needs to understand better how the
Catholic Church views itself."
"Dr Riegner commented that the meeting was taking place only 'a
few days' following the release of the Commission's document, 'We
Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah'. . . . He, as a personal
witness to that tragic history, stated that the Jewish community
had been 'deeply impressed' by the 'very strong passages' in the
statement, . . . its 'binding commitment' to ensure that such
evil does not happen again, and the willingness to review the
painful history of past 'anti-Judaism' in the Church.
"He nevertheless expressed serious disappointment that in his
opinion the document 'avoids taking a clear position on the
direct relationship between the teaching of contempt and the
political and cultural climate that made the Shoah possible'. He
furthermore expressed (a) strong reservation concerning the
document's presentation of some facts in the historical record."
"In discussion on the Vatican's record during the Shoah, and the
Jewish demand for impartial access to the relevant archival
material, Cardinal Cassidy suggested that a joint team of Jewish
and Catholic scholars review the relevant material in the volumes
produced by Catholic scholars."
"The Committee's discussion took up four major themes: . . ."
"1. Teaching About Each Other. . . . Reports on the state of
Catholic education vis-a-vis Jews and Judaism were given. . . .
Great progress was noted in removing the ancient 'Adversus
Judaeos' tradition (or 'teaching of contempt') from current
Catholic education around the world, with much activity promoting
dialogue reported. . . . (Also) discussed were
misunderstandings of Christianity and Catholicism widespread in
the Jewish community and steps that might be taken by Jewish
educators to promote more accurate understanding."
"2. Statements of the Catholic Church on the Shoah. . . . The
ILC as a whole expressed its commitment to continue the
dialogue." "Consideration and discussion were devoted as well to
a remarkable series of statements offering reflection on the
Shoah by Catholic Bishops' Conferences, especially in Europe."
"3. After discussion, the Statement on Ecology, originally
proposed in Jerusalem, was passed with strong support.
"4. The Millennium/Jubilee Year. In discussing preparation for
the coming Millennium/Jubilee Year 2000, emphasis was placed on
the vision proposed by Pope John Paul II that the turning of the
Christian Millennium should provide Christians with the occasion
for a reckoning of the soul (confession/inner conversion; heshbon
hanefesh/teshuvah) not only with consideration of historical
Christian anti-Jewish theology and mistreatment of Jews, but
across the historical spectrum. . . . (There were
recommendations for the) establishment of a mechanism to ensure
international bilateral consultations and planning for
interreligious programming in the Holy Land and throughout the
world. It is our hope that Pope John Paul II will be able to
visit the Holy Land in connection with the Jubilee celebration.
"Finally, it is our common hope that the coming of the Millennium
will see the establishment of permanent, peaceful relations
between Israel and her neighbors."
POPE'S RIGHT-HAND MAN STAKES HIS CLAIM TO THRONE
>From Richard Owen in Rome - London Times 3/26/98
The Pope's right-hand man yesterday attempted to emerge from the
shadow of the ailing pontiff and raise his profile as a potential
successor by declaring that the Roman Catholic Church needed
"urgent and continuous reform" under a strong papacy for the new
millennium.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, 70, the Vatican Secretary of State, or
Prime Minister, astonished Vatican-watchers by praising Hans
K=81ng, the Swiss theologian and the fiercest liberal critic of the
Pope. Dr K=81ng is banned from teaching because of his repeated
questioning of papal infallibility.
Cardinal Sodano, a former Vatican diplomat in Latin America, is
the most senior official in the Vatican after the Pope. This
week he, rather than the Pope who was recovering from a three-day
visit to Nigeria in humid heat, received Madeleine Albright, the
US Secretary of State. The Pope, 77, is said to have Parkinson's
disease and he has suffered a series of other health problems.
There are reports that he has given Cardinal Sodano an undated
letter of resignation to be used in case he becomes "mentally
incapacitated".
La Repubblica noted that Vatican statements are seldom made by
chance. "Since there is no formal campaigning for the papacy,
senior officials use other occasions to throw their hats into the
ring and outline their ideas on the future of the Church," the
newspaper said.
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