In 2002, the Catholic Church quietly released a 210 page document revealing a new respect for the "Old Testament" and the Jewish people. But the document went further, saying that the Jewish people were entitled to their belief that the Messiah had not yet come. This shocked many Christians and took the Jews by surprise. Many also wondered why there was so little fanfare and publicity about this important theological shift. Three years later, the man mainly responsible for this report, Cardinal Jospeh Ratzinger, was elected pope, and continues today as Pope Benedict XVI. Below are excerpts from the text of the article published in the Jewish Week on January 25, 2002. A notable quote from Eugene Fisher, ecumenical director for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops: "The Catholic Church will never again sanction an organization devoted to the conversion of the Jews. That is over, on doctrinal, biblical and pastoral grounds. Finito.” In light of hundreds of years of persecution, including torture and forced conversions, this is a remarkable statement.
The Wait Is Over: Jews' Messiah Now Kosher
Vatican affirms Jewish position; scholars scramble to decipher new doctrine.
The Jewish Week/Jan 25, 2002 (excerpts)
By Eric J. Greenberg
…last week…the Vatican’s top biblical scholars recently issued a report that for the first time in nearly 2,000 years apparently validates as legitimate the Jewish wait for the Messiah.
A 210-page document titled “The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible,” by the Pontifical Biblical Commission and authorized by the Vatican’s top theologian, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, reportedly states that “the Jewish messianic wait is not in vain.”
…
The new document also reportedly contains an apology to the Jewish people for anti-Semitic passages contained in the New Testament, and also stresses the continuing importance of the Torah for Christians.
…
But despite the potential significance of the new Vatican document, it was seemingly buried upon publication, quietly placed in bookstores in Rome last November. There was no press conference or public announcement, unlike many other important Vatican documents such as the 1999 “We Remember” Holocaust report.
In fact, the world was unaware of the new “Messiah doctrine” until last Friday, when The New York Times published a story about it based on a short report two days earlier by the Italian news agency ANSA.
“Everything in the report is now considered part of official Church doctrine,” Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls acknowledged after it became public.
Despite its potential significance, the document still was unavailable in English this week, being translated only in Italian, French and Polish. Further, the Vatican did not post it on its Web site in any language.
“For the time being the document ... will not be available [on] the Internet,” the Pontifical Biblical Commission told one American rabbi Monday, adding, “an English translation will be available [in] days.”
That left American Jewish and Catholic interfaith leaders scrambling this week for any information.
Initial speculation generally was positive, even as the interfaith leaders stressed that they were speaking without having seen the text. They also all questioned the “strange” behavior of the Vatican in failing to publicize such a significant document.
“The way it was released is extremely strange,” said Father John Pawlikowski, director of the Catholic Jewish Studies Program at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. “Normally they launch these things with fanfare and press conferences. Also the lack of an authorized English translation is particularly disturbing.”
…
In Rome, Vatican officials denied they tried to hide the document fearing criticism from right-wing Catholics who oppose theological change.
“There was no intention to hide it,” said a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini.
In the United States, Eugene Fisher, ecumenical director for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, blamed a Vatican leadership that is understaffed and “clueless” about what is important to world interest.
But Fisher, who said he saw an English draft of the text last year, expounded on its importance. He noted that the theologically conservative Cardinal Ratzinger — the second most powerful person in the Vatican after the Pope — signed off on it.
(he continued)…The Catholic Church will never again sanction an organization devoted to the conversion of the Jews. That is over, on doctrinal, biblical and pastoral grounds. Finito.”
With all due respect to the initiator of this post, I couldn't care less what they have to say about our Holy Torah and our Mesorah. Their statements are always veiled in their own theology. They would never say anything to contradict their avoda zorah. This should mean bupkes to any and all Jews.
ReplyDeleteBUBKES – Yiddish (probably short for kozebubkes, literally, goat droppings), plural of bubke, bobke, diminutive of bub, bob bean, of Slavic origin; akin to Polish bób bean
ReplyDeleteWaiting valid and kosher l'havdil because they are alluding that the wait is for the "second coming"! Their intent is to equate ours and theirs with the same person. I don't trust their intent and language. They will not give up on their 'theology'.
ReplyDelete