Should Catholics Seek to Convert Jews
(If Jews Are in True Covenant with God?)
A Panel Discussion on Reflections on Covenant and Mission
Background
In August 2002, delegates of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the National Council of Synagogues issued a "dialogue document" entitled Reflections on Covenant and Mission. The Catholic portion stated that a:
... deepening Catholic appreciation of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people, together with a recognition of a divinely-given mission to Jews to witness to God?s faithful love, lead to the conclusion that campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity are no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church.
The publication of this text generated strong reactions. A Southern Baptist official called failure to convert Jews the worst form of antisemitism. The "Jews for Jesus" condemned it. Some Catholic voices questioned its theology. Other Catholics and most Jews welcomed it.
On Ash Wednesday, February 9, 2005, in an event co-sponsored with the Theology Department, three Boston College theologians revisited the issues raised by Reflections on Covenant and Mission and discussed their own approaches to the relevant issues. Click on the titles below to read their presentations:
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Philip A. Cunningham |
Fred Lawrence |
Michael Himes |
Watch the Panel Presentations in Streaming Video
Courtesy of Boston College Front Row:
