News in Christian-Jewish Relations:  February, 2003

This month:

 


French clergy and scholars visit New York's Jewish Community 

A February 18 Catholic New Service story by Tracy Early describes the visit of a French Catholic delegation - consisting of an auxiliary bishop,  seven priests, two deacons and two other scholars - to New York City's Jewish community. The purpose of the visit according to Father Patrick Desbois, the French bishops' secretary for Catholic-Jewish relations, was to prepare the delegation for more intensive dialogue work in France. The delegates were selected by Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris and are academics with backgrounds in Jewish and Hebrew studies, but little direct experience with living Judaism. 

The  Feb. 11-14 tour included visits to Orthodox, Conservative and Reform seminaries,  lectures by Jewish scholars, and visits to synagogues of historic and current importance. A highlight was a visit and discussion with the local Hassidic community, an unprecedented event. 

Fr. Desbois stated that 70 United States rabbis will visit Paris in March and a delegation of French bishops will visit New York next year. 

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1933 Letter of Edith Stein to Pope Pius XI made public

Webmaster's Note: The following press release issued on Feb 23 by the Institute of Carmelite Studies in Washington, D.C. makes public a 1933 letter of Dr. Edith Stein to Pope Pius XI. Dr. Stein entered the Carmelite convent in Cologne several months later.  

Almost six decades later on October 11, 1998, she was canonized as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, her Carmelite name, by Pope John Paul II. The canonization generated some controversy, but in his homily on that occasion John Paul expressed the hope that "her witness [would] constantly strengthen the bridge of mutual understanding between Jews and Christians."

Edith Stein's letter to Pius XI testifies to the seriousness of Nazi oppression of German Jews, and urges that responsibility must fall "on those who keep silent in the face of such happenings." The press release and text of the letter follows:

 

Institute of Carmelite Studies Press Release
     The attached text was sent by Dr. Edith Stein, then noted philosopher, writer and educator in Germany in the Spring of 1933. She had not yet entered the Carmelite monastery of Cologne (being received there on October 14, 1933) and she saw her lectureship at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy terminated in the Spring, because of anti-Semitic Nazi laws.  The date of April 12, 1933 probably indicates the delivery time since a cover letter of presentation to Vatican officials that was written for it by her spiritual director, Archabbot Raphael Walzer of Beuron Abbey, bore that date.
     For years the letter was kept in the Vatican's archives and not even released for inclusion in the published correspondence of Stein, who lately has been canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church (on October 11, 1998).  It was released to the public on February 15, 2003 as part of the documentation dating from the pontificate of Pius XI now available for study.
     The current text was translated from the original German in a collaborative effort by Mrs. Susanne Batzdorff, Jewish niece of Edith Stein and frequent author of both books and articles increasing knowledge of her aunt; Sr. Josephine Koeppel, the Carmelite nun translator of Stein's autobiographical work Life in a Jewish Family and also her correspondence Self-portrait in Letters, 1918-1942; and Rev. Dr. John Sullivan, publisher for the Discalced Carmelites of The Collected Works of Edith Stein.  [249 words]




TEXT OF LETTER TO THE POPE FROM EDITH STEIN

Holy Father!

As a child of the Jewish people who, by the grace of God, for the past eleven years has also been a child of the Catholic Church, I dare to speak to the Father of Christendom about that which oppresses millions  of Germans.  For weeks we have seen deeds perpetrated in Germany which mock any sense of justice and humanity, not to mention love of neighbor.   For years the leaders of National Socialism have been preaching hatred of the Jews.  Now that they have seized the power of government and armed their followers, among them proven criminal elements, this seed of hatred has germinated.  The government has only recently admitted that excesses have occurred.  To what extent, we cannot tell, because public opinion is being gagged.  However, judging by what I have learned from personal relations, it is in no way a matter of singular exceptional cases.  Under pressure from reactions abroad, the government has turned to  "milder" methods.  It has issued the watchword "no Jew shall have even  one hair on his head harmed."  But through boycott measures--by robbing  people of their livelihood, civic honor and fatherland--it drives many to desperation; within the last week, through private reports I was informed of five cases of suicide as a consequence of these hostilities.   I am convinced that this is a general condition which will claim many more victims.  One may regret that these unhappy people do not have greater inner strength to bear their misfortune.  But the responsibility  must fall, after all, on those who brought them to this point and it also falls on those who keep silent in the face of such happenings.

Everything that happened and continues to happen on a daily basis originates with a government that calls itself "Christian."  For weeks not only Jews but also thousands of faithful Catholics in Germany, and, I believe, all over the world, have been waiting and hoping for the Church of Christ to raise its voice to put a stop to this abuse of Christ's name.  Is not this idolization of race and governmental power which is being pounded into the public consciousness by the radio open heresy?  Isn't the effort to destroy Jewish blood an abuse of the holiest humanity of  our Savior, of the most blessed Virgin and the apostles?  Is not all  this diametrically opposed to the conduct of our Lord and Savior, who,  even on the cross, still prayed for his persecutors?  And isn't this a  black mark on the record of this Holy Year which was intended to be a year of peace and reconciliation?

We all, who are faithful children of the Church and who see the conditions in Germany with open eyes, fear the worst for the prestige of  the Church, if the silence continues any longer.  We are convinced that this silence will not be able in the long run to purchase peace with the present German government.  For the time being, the fight against  Catholicism will be conducted quietly and less brutally than against Jewry, but no less systematically.  It won't take long before no Catholic will be able to hold office in Germany unless he dedicates himself unconditionally to the new course of action.

At the feet of your Holiness, requesting your apostolic blessing,
(Signed) Dr. Edith Stein, Instructor at the German Institute for Scientific Pedagogy, Münster in Westphalia, Collegium Marianum.

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Vatican Opens Access to New Archival Material

Vatican archival material on relations between the Holy See and Germany during the pontificate of Pius XI (1922-39) became available to scholars on Saturday Feb. 15. They consist of 650 files containing thousands of documents. The processing of the documents in order to make them available to researchers has been accelerated because of the controversy surrounding the actions of Catholic leaders before and during World War II. The Pius XI materials according to the standard schedule would have become accessible in 2009.

Also available to researchers after Feb. 15 are materials from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. These include documents on the Vatican's views on racism, fascism, Nazism, and eugenics  Later in 2003, the Vatican is to release a CD-ROM of its dossier on prisoners of war dating from 1939-1947, a block of more than 3,000 folders with references to more than 3.5 million prisoners from across Europe.

Other documents from Pius XI's papacy are scheduled to become available in 2005 or 2006, including 1931-1934 files from the papal nuncio's palace in Berlin, the future Pius XII.

Texts from during the papacy of Pius XII are to be made open to scholars between 2007 and 2009.

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Pope and Roman Chief Rabbi Meet

The new chief rabbi of Rome, Dr. Riccardo di Segni, met with Pope John Paul in Vatican City on the morning of February 13, 2003. The pope greeted the rabbi and expressed the Church's desire to deepen its ties with the Jewish people. The rabbi expressed the need for ongoing collaboration and invited the pope to revisit the Rome synagogue during its centenary year in 2004. The texts of their prepared remarks follow.

John Paul II

Esteemed Chief Rabbi of Rome and beloved brothers in the faith of Abraham!

1. I am happy to meet you, esteemed Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, after your election as Chief Rabbi of Rome, and I cordially greet you and the representatives who have accompanied you. I renew my congratulations to you for the important office entrusted to you, and on this importantl occasionI would like to remember with profound esteem your illustrious predecessor, Prof. Elio Toaff.

Today’s visit allows me to emphasize the intense desire of the Catholic Church to strengthen its ties of friendship and reciprocal collaboration with the Jewish community. Here in Rome the Synagogue, symbol of the faith of the children of Abraham, is a close neighbor of the Basilica of Saint Peter, center of the Church, and I thank God who allowed me on 13 April 1986 to traverse the short distance that separates these two temples. That historic and unforgettable visit was a gift from the Almighty, and an important milestone on the path toward understanding between Jews and Catholics. I hope that the memory of that event will continue to exert a beneficial influence, and that the path of reciprocal trust that has developed to date will intensify relations between the Catholic community and the Jewish community in Rome, the oldest in Western Europe.

2. It must be recognized that in the past our two communities have lived side by side, sometimes writing 'a tormented history', not free in several instances of hostility and distrust. The Vatican Council II document Nostra Aetate, the gradual application of the conciliar dictate, the gestures of friendship that have been made by both sides, have however contributed in these years to orienting our relations towards an ever greater reciprocal understanding. I hope that this effort proceeds, that it may be shaped by initiatives of fruitful collaboration in the social, cultural and theological fields, and may deepen the knowledge of those spiritual ties that join us.

3. In these days dangerous cries of war echo throughout the world. We, Jews and Catholics, perceive the urgent mission to implore God the Creator and the Eternal One for peace and that we ourselves become workers of peace.

Shalom! This beautiful word, so dear to you, means salvation, happiness, harmony and underlines that peace is a gift from God, a fragile gift, placed in the hands of humanity and one to be safeguarded by the dedication of our communities. 

May God make us agents of peace, in the awareness that when humanity performs works of peace, it becomes capable of bettering the world.

Shalom! This is my cordial greeting to you and the entire Jewish community of Rome. May God, in his goodness protect and bless everyone of us. May He bless, in particular, all those who forge a path of friendship and peace between men and women of every race and culture.

Rabbi Di Segni:

In nearly two thousand years that our communities have lived together in this city, there have been numerous encounters between the Bishop of Rome and the Rabbi of Rome. Even during the long periods of submission and often of humiliation, there were also not lacking instances of collaboration, such as when rabbis, who were also doctors, mounted the steps of the papal palaces to offer their medical expertise. We know well that the climate of these last decades is remarkably changed and today, as never before, the prospects of constructive encounters in equal dignity are unfolding. This has been possible thanks to the great initiatives of Pope John XXIII, but no Pope has never contributed so much as John Paul II. We recognize and are grateful for this.

The way is not simple and demands the patience and a constructive will that remains firm in the face of unavoidable difficulties, which often appear on the horizon of theology, historical interpretation, and education. Our presence here today should be a gesture of continuity and availability. We follow with attention the large and small positive signs, and at this moment for example, we are comforted by the signs of rapprochement with the State of Israel and by the recent visit of President Moshè Katzav to the Vatican.

The witness of the One God who has revealed himself and the duty to pursue holiness inspire our actions and impose responsibilities upon us before all. For this reason, collaboration between Jews and Christians is necessary for us and for the world; it is a fertile sign of peace and blessing. First and foremostl in the defense of life, of human dignity and peace, whenever threatened and offended because, in our Scriptures humanity has been created in the divine image and so each individual must be respected. And it is necessary to watch for and to work against xenophobia, prejudice, and antisemitism and all other forms of hostility against those who are different.

The prospects that unfold for collaboration are numerous. In this context, and in our city, may we suggest a permanent form of consultation, that on one hand could work to prevent possible misunderstandings, and on the other could define procedures for concrete activities.

The Jewish Community remembers your historic visit to our Synagogue in 1986. Our Synagogue will celebrate the first centenary of its inauguration next year. The doors of this sacred building are always open in accord with the words of Isaiah (56:7), "my house will be called house of prayer for all the peoples". 

The blessing that should accompany our every meeting is, first of all, a personal wish for your good health, strength, and wisdom for many years to come.

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