 
|
‘Nostra Aetate’ began an important chapter in Jewish–Catholic relationshipsThe following column comes from a speech Bishop Thomas Wenski gave Oct. 17 at Temple Israel in Winter Springs. Forty–three years ago, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council — among their many teachings — issued a relatively short but immensely significant document called “Nostra Aetate,” Latin for “In our time” — the first words of the declaration concerning the Catholic Church’s relationships with non–Christian religions. So this document does not deal exclusively with our relations with the Jewish faith; however, it opened new prospects for Jewish–Catholic relationships in terms of dialogue and solidarity — and that is what concerns us this evening. And — considering that for almost 2,000 years — these relationships have been, to put it generously, strained — this is something that deserves to be celebrated. It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of “Nostra Aetate.” Nevertheless it is important to understand some of its pre–history, if you will. And, of course, that brings us to the sad history of the Shoah and the genocide attempted against the Jews of Europe, when, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, “the Holiness of God was no longer recognized, and consequently contempt was shown for the sacredness of human life.” Shortly after the end of WWII, a group of Protestant and Catholic theologians met in Seelisburg, Switzerland, to consider the implications for their churches of the devastation of the Holocaust. These theologians proposed 10 points which recognized first of all that the Holocaust would have been impossible had all Christians been true to the teachings of Jesus Christ on the mercy of God and the love of one’s neighbor; and then made the commitment to avoid any presentation and conception of the Christian message which would support anti–Semitism under whatever form. But theologians, as important as they think themselves to be (and, in fact, are), do not speak for the Church, in the way that the bishops do. And so while acknowledging their influence with their respective denominations and recognizing that their work represented a necessary preparation for what was to follow, the watershed document is “Nostra Aetate.” Jewish–Christian and specifically, Jewish–Catholic relationships will be discussed in terms of before “Nostra Aetate” — and after “Nostra Aetate.”
|
Advertisement
|