United Church of Canada approves a "milestone" document on the church's relations with the Jewish community

By John Asling [from The United Church of Canada website]

The 38th General Council of The United Church of Canada has approved a "milestone" document on the church's relations with the Jewish community that acknowledges a history of anti-Semitism within Christianity.

Working in one of three decision-making commissions on August 13, Council received the final report of Bearing Faithful Witness, a study program the church has been engaged in since 1988, and approved a statement on United Church-Jewish relations today that says that anti-Semitism is an affront to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dow Marmur, Rabbi Emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, one of the interfaith guests at Council, called the document a "milestone" in Jewish-Christian relations. "The United Church of Canada is making a lasting contribution to Jewish-Christian dialogue," Marmur said.

Former moderator The Very Rev. Dr. Robert Smith, of the Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations Unit, told commissioners the statement was one of the significant issues to come before the General Council, which is meeting August 10-16 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

"No other religion is as closely related to Christianity as Judaism," the final report, states. "The Christian God is the God of Israel. Jesus and all the apostles were of Israel. Christian scripture includes the scriptures of Israel."

The report calls for a major study of evangelism that would differentiate it from proselytism and show it to be bearing faithful witness to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but, "without seeking the conversion of the Jews or others."

The accompanying statement, "United Church-Jewish Relations Today,"

acknowledges a history of interpreting the New Testament in a way that has failed to acknowledge the context within Judaism in which many passages are rooted
rejects all teaching of contempt toward Jews and Judaism and the belief that God has abolished the covenant with the Jewish people
affirms the significance of Judaism as a religion, a people, and a covenant community and that the state of Israel has the right to exist in peace and security

While some commissioners were concerned that an expression of support for the state of Israel's existence and security would diminish support for Palestinians and others in the Middle East, the Rev. Dr. Bruce Gregersen, United Church Area Secretary for the Middle East and Interfaith Dialogue, reminded the Council that that kind of support for Israel is long-standing church policy. The church also supports the rights of Palestinians to their own state, he added.

The statement also encourages members, congregations, presbyteries, and Conferences:

to seek opportunities to meet with Jews and learn about modern Judaism
to continue to study the issues raised and other issues related to Jewish-Christian relations
to be vigilant in resisting anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism in church and society
to create ongoing worship opportunities within the church for highlighting the importance of the Jewish-Christian relationship.

Upon the affirmation of the report and the accompanying statement, Smith offered a brief prayer that concluded, "We affirm a hope that a new day is dawning upon us."

Find the full text of the statement in .pdf format at: http://www.united-church.ca/bfw/pdf/bfw.pdf

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NPAJAC’s Statement on the Usage of the Term “Holocaust”

The National Polish American - Jewish American Council

1156 Fifteenth Street, NW

Suite 1201

Washington, D.C. 20005

Phone: (202) 785-4200

Fax: (202) 785-4115

www.npajac.org

mail@npajac.org

National Polish American – Jewish American Council Co-Chairs Martin I. Bresler and John J. Pikarski, Jr., issued the following statement on Friday, September 12, 2003:

The National Polish American - Jewish American Council has sought, since 1979, to be a leader in the process of enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation between the Jewish and Polish communities in America.

Questions have arisen recently within the Council with regard to the application of the term “Holocaust” and to whether or not that term is properly used to include the immense Polish suffering during World War II. The Council’s actions and discussions have unfortunately, but not surprisingly, been falsely characterized in the press.

Recent statements to the press and elsewhere implying that what was an internal discussion of the Council, now made public, evidences a disregard for Polish suffering during World War II are not only a distortion of the record of the Council but, more important, are a disservice to the very goal of the two communities learning to communicate with each other in a spirit of mutual respect.

The National Polish American – Jewish American Council has always acknowledged, understood, and respected the suffering of the Polish nation under Nazi oppression. In fact, the Council regards part of its core mission to foster a balanced understanding of the Polish World War II experience – the extent of loss of Polish life, the particular harshness of the occupation regime, and the true nature of the death camps as Nazi enterprises forcibly placed on Polish soil. We have worked tirelessly to commemorate all those who suffered during World War II – a principle that has been an essential part of the Council’s correspondence, releases, and statements.

The usage of the term “Holocaust” has been a source of ongoing debate among scholars and historians for over five decades now. The Council has frequently referred to the definitions provided by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other internationally recognized authorities as responsible resources on this matter.

In light of the discussions within the Council and in order to strengthen our dialogue on such matters, the Council has recently established a committee charged with finding appropriate approaches for constructive discussion over the use of the term “Holocaust.”

One such approach under consideration is the convening of a national conference in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2004 that will bring together Polish American and Jewish American community leaders, as well as leading scholars and historians, to discuss this matter. The purpose of such conference would be to create a forum for sharing thoughts and ideas, and would not be intended to generate a new definition of the term “Holocaust.”

We strongly believe that no discussion of the Holocaust can nor should diminish or exclude the remembrance of the suffering of Christians and other non-Jews during that dark period in Poland, where the Nazis applied the most oppressive and brutal occupation measures in all of Europe. The story of the extraordinary suffering of the Polish nation under Nazi occupation, which resulted in three million Christian Poles being murdered during the War, must be told to ever-wider audiences.

The Council will continue to urge intellectuals and the general public to recognize and commemorate the tragedies Jews and Poles have endured during World War II, and advocate that they are taught as central episodes of what were arguably the darkest days in human history.

As co-chairs, we are committed to continuing to urge the media, academic institutions, and our national leaders to remember and highlight the suffering of the Polish nation under Nazi occupation.

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Cardinal Kasper calls for putting Catholic teachings on Jews and Judaism into action

A September 9 article by John Thavis of Catholic News Service reports on an essay by Cardinal Walter Kasper published on September 7 in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. The president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews wrote in observance of the fourth European Day of Jewish Culture.

While the Catholic Church has acknowledged that Christian antisemitism contributed to making the Shoah possible, the cardinal wrote, these sentiments must be translated into the attitudes and actions of ordinary Catholics.

Cardinal Kasper said that although it is scriptural teaching that God has not abandoned his covenant with the Jewish people and that the church did not "replace" Israel in the divine plan because of the crucifixion, such ideas were commonplace in Christian Europe for many centuries.

Such misreadings of the bible were criticized by. Pope John Paul II in 1997 as "erroneous and unjust interpretations of the New Testament [that] circulated for too long a time about the Jewish people and their presumed guilt, generating sentiments of hostility." They "contributed to lulling consciences," so that "the spiritual resistance of many was not what humanity had the right to expect on the part of disciples of Christ" during the Nazi persecution of Jews, the pope had said.

The CNS story notes that Cardinal Kasper gave examples of the church's changed attitudes toward Jews. In 1928, he observed, the Vatican defined anti-Semitism as "hatred toward a people at one time chosen by God." Today, Kasper the church would make it clear that the covenant between God and the people of Israel endures.

In 1998, the Vatican declared that a "process of repentance" for Christian antisemitism was required, because, "as members of the church, we are linked to the sins as well as the merits of all her children." Cardinal Kasper, stating that this repentance had to be put into practice in specific deeds, pointed to Pope John Paul's "Mass of Pardon" in March 2000 and his visit shortly after to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, as models for all.

"[W]e are all called to participate in this same process of conversion and reconciliation, in inner attitudes, in prayers and in facts," Cardinal Kasper wrote.

The full text of Cardinal Kasper's essay is available here.

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Cardinal Kasper: Vatican has not endorsed Mel Gibson's The Passion

September 25, 2003

In response to some erroneous media reports, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, has clarified the Holy See's position on the upcoming Mel Gibson film, The Passion.

Neither the Holy See nor the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (U.S.C.C.B.) has come to an official judgment of the film. This is because the film has not been screened for the responsible hierarchical authorities.

Cardinal Kasper's clarification was required after the endorsement of the film by Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, the Vatican's prefect for the Congregation of the Clergy. In an interview with an Italian journalist, Antonio Gaspari, the cardinal expressed the wish that all priests might see the film. Some media outlets misconstrued these remarks as an official position of the Vatican. On CNN's Paula Zahn Now, for example, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos was described as the "Vatican spokesman on matters of faith."

In a letter to the Anti-Defamation League, Cardinal Walter Kasper explained, "The view expressed by Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos is a purely personal one and bears no official status."

The official Vatican spokesman for religious relations with the Jewish people is Cardinal Kasper himself, and on matters of faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

According to an article to appear tomorrow in Forward, Cardinal Kasper also wrote to the A.D.L. that the U.S.C.C.B. will review the film upon its release and will "clarify the continuing commitment of the Catholic Church to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council in promoting understanding and reconciliation with the Jewish people."

The same Forward article also quotes Msgr. Francis Maniscalco, the U.S. bishops' communications director as repeating a statement from June that the USCCB will review the film upon its release. That June press release had pointed to four relevant U.S. Bishops' documents, including in the 1988 Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatization of the Passion.