A Message of Greeting

Seymour D. Reich

Chairman, International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations

[Delivered at the 17th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, New York, May 1, 2001.]

Your Eminences, Cardinal Kasper, Cardinal Cassidy and Cardinal Keeler, members of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews, members of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, guests:

This is an historic moment in Catholic-Jewish relations, and as chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, known as IJCIC, it is my honor and privilege to welcome you. Although I have been active in Jewish affairs for most of my adult years, no other involvement has so profoundly affected my life as the momentous and unprecedented effort to advance the dialogue between our two faiths.

I have been particularly honored and privileged to have known and worked with Cardinal Cassidy and Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, whom I consider leading statesmen in promoting the vision of Pope John XXIII that was endorsed by the Second Vatican Council. And I look forward to working with Cardinal Kasper, whose distinguished and distinctive record provides us with great encouragement for the future.

I first met Cardinal Cassidy ten years ago in Prague, at the biennial meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee. His moving statement on t'shuva --repentance -- was one I shall never forget. It was a powerful declaration on the need for remorse and contrition and served as the basis for a groundbreaking call by our liaison committee for Catholic renunciation of anti-Semitism as "a sin against God and humanity." It was a theme that subsequently was given worldwide attention by Pope John Paul II.

The efforts of Cardinal Cassidy have played a key role in the new relationship between the Holy See and the Jewish people and the epochal reversal in the interaction between Roman Catholicism and Judaism.

As reflected in our meeting here in New York City this week, Catholic and Jewish relations have come a long way in the 35 years since the Second Vatican Council, which repudiated the concept of Jewish guilt in the death of Jesus and called for mutual respect and discussion between the two faiths.

Regrettably, the Catholic Church's repudiation of Jewish guilt in Jesus's death has still not reached some who call themselves Christians, as demonstrated in the United States recently by highly publicized anti-Semitic remarks of a famous professional basketball player and a well known conservative political commentator.

Nonetheless, if we are to understand how far we have come in Catholic-Jewish relations, it is important to remember where we once were, even though it is sometimes painful to recite the recent past.

In 1858, for example, Pope Pius IX ordered the kidnapping by papal police of Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish boy who had been "baptized" - in quotes -- by a housemaid without his parents' knowledge or consent, so he could be raised as a Catholic. Subsequently, Edgardo was educated for the priesthood.

In 1904, Pope Pius X met with Theodor Herzl, the founder of modem Zionism. The Pope listened to Herzl's explanation of the principles and purposes of his new movement and replied, "Jews have not recognized our Lord; we cannot recognize the Jewish people."

The contrast between the Holy See's policy before John XXIII and its subsequent sea change must stand as one of the most remarkable journeys in human history. Under John Paul II, the last decade, especially, has stood out as an epochal voyage in interfaith understanding and interaction. And the rewards have been enormous. For the first time, Church leaders have acknowledged that anti-Semitic stereotypes had been influenced in part by theological and popular Christian teachings over the centuries. We recognized that problem in Prague when Catholic and Jewish delegates joined together to call for a halt to anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and agreed to create a kind of "early warning system" to avert Catholic-Jewish conflicts. I regret to point out that such a system has not yet been put into practice.

Like Pope John XXIII, the present pope has led the revolution through symbolic acts and explicit changes in church policy. In 1986, he visited and prayed at Rome's main synagogue, the first recorded such visit by a pope. In 1994, the Holy See formally recognized Israel and established full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

One of John Paul II’s most significant achievements has been a reaffirmation of the special parental relationship between Judaism and Christianity. He termed it "a relationship which could be called a real 'parentage' and which we have with the Jewish religious community alone, notwithstanding our many connections with other world religions. This 'link' can be called a 'sacred' one."

Another symbolic and evocative act signifying the relationship between Christianity and Judaism was the pope's visit to Israel during the millennial year and his appearance at the Western Wall, where he placed a note in it as a prayer of penitence, and visited Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust, where he met with Jewish survivors of the death camps and honored the righteous gentiles who risked their lives to save Jews. During that visit, he also became the first pope to visit the official residence of the president of Israel in Jerusalem. For me, who had been invited to attend by both the Israeli government and the Vatican, witnessing these events proved to be a moving and even spiritual experience.

Still, genuine relationships, like those between brothers or close friends are rarely without occasional disagreement and even discord, especially on issues of genuine moment. In spite of the monumental strides on the road to normalization of Catholic-Jewish relations, our extended dialogue has encountered some obstacles along the way. Dialogue is our common language. There must be no ultimatums or "last chance" threats from either side to end our partnership.

Among the issues that have distressed Jews has been the canonization of Edith Stein, a Jewish woman who had converted to Catholicism and became a nun but nevertheless was murdered by the Nazis, not because she was a nun but because they viewed her as a Jew. Her canonization as "a martyr for the Church," has led critics to protest that it was an attempt to "Christianize" the Holocaust.

Another contentious issue has been the report of the beatification of Pope Pius IX, to whom I made reference earlier and whose 1858 order to seize the six-year-old Jewish child, Edgardo Mortara, roused worldwide indignation, even at the time of the kidnapping a century and a half ago. Some officials of the Church have justified the beatification of Plus IX on the ground that his action in the mid-19th century should not be viewed through 20th or 21st century eyes and that he was merely following the practices of the time. But many have countered that if saintliness is seen as the goodness, wisdom and courage to behave righteously and attempt to right wrongs in whatever century they occur, then Pius IX's conduct falls far short of saintliness. By way of contrast they cite the life of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, who recognized the wrongs of the past and sought to rectify them.

Many in the Jewish community also find troublesome the recent Dominus Iesus declaration by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of the Holy See's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that non-Christian religions "are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who in thc church, have the fullness of the means of salvation." In fairness to Cardinal Ratzinger, it should be mentioned that he has since declared that his reference to "non-Christian religions" excluded Judaism. Unfortunately, this exception has not resonated extensively in public and certain doctrinal and theological issues in the declaration remain unclear.

In the face of John Paul II's assurance that the "commitment of the Catholic Church to ecumenical dialogue is irrevocable," Cardinal Ratzinger's statement continues to confuse many of us who are working closely with Catholic Church leaders to advance ecumenical dialogue.

What is needed is a statement from the Holy See clarifying what is now a clouded mixed message regarding the Catholic Church's relations with the world's other religions. Hopefully, such a clarification will be forthcoming in the near future. As you know, Cardinal Kasper will address this issue at the session on Dominus Iesus later this afternoon.

In fact, with Cardinal Kasper's encouragement and after consultation with my IJCIC colleagues, I did communicate with Cardinal Ratzinger in an attempt to clarify some of the issues, but to date I have received no response.

Another divisive issue in recent years has centered on the role of Pope Pius XII during the Holocaust. Books, articles and a stage drama sharply critical of the wartime pontiff have created a sharp controversy between critics and defenders of Pius XII, made even more heated by the reports that he is a candidate for sainthood.

The Jewish community has accepted the fact that the final decision in Church matters, such as the selection of saints, is the Church's alone to make. But Jewish leaders have also felt justified in voicing anxiety and even criticism when such matters impact the concerns of the Jewish community

Arguably, a key issue in our community has to do with the confusingly blurred picture of the Holy See's World War II policies. This lack of clarity is due in large part to the difficulty of historians and scholars to access closed Vatican archival records from that era. Although the Holy See selected and published 11 volumes of such material between 1965 and 1981, as of now a mountain of additional documentation remains unpublished and unavailable in the Vatican archives.

Whether Pius XII was indifferent to Jewish suffering during the Holocaust or instrumental in rescuing many Jews and others from Nazi persecution continues to be a source of uncertainty and even controversy. In March, 1998, representatives of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews and IJCIC met together in Rome. Cardinal Cassidy made the visionary suggestion that a joint team of Catholic and Jewish scholars - three to be designated by the Holy See and three by IJCIC -- to examine the 11 volumes of wartime Vatican documents already published and to ask questions. This proposal was adopted by the Catholic-Jewish International Liaison Committee.

We will hear from two members of the scholars panel at a session tomorrow afternoon. In its preliminary 21-page report, issued last October, the scholars concluded that while the Holy See undoubtedly had been made aware during the war of atrocities and other Nazi crimes, the 11 published volumes of archival material were marked by an absence of records reflecting the pope's personal and official reactions to such reports and pleas for papal action sent by local Church officials and Vatican representatives in Nazi-occupied areas.

The Catholic-Jewish scholars reported that the inability to detail the how's and why's of Holy See policy was limited by the lack of access to much unpublished archival material and accounted for the sharp division of opinion between defenders and critics of Pius XII. As an example, the scholars specified some 47 areas where additional documentation was needed to further explain the thinking and actions of the Holy See during the war. The inability to access unpublished material, they said, has also contributed increasingly to distorted portraits, both condemnatory and adulatory, of the wartime pope. They asked that the archives be opened. While the Holy See has not yet answered the Catholic-Jewish panel's request for documentation regarding the 47 areas in question or to open the archives, the scholars hope a favorable response will be forthcoming. It should be remembered that the project itself was sanctioned by the ILC.

Another disturbing element, particularly during the current upheaval in the Middle East, has been the anti-Israel, anti-American and racist utterances and articles by many Church officials stationed in the Holy Land, whose one-sided support for the Palestinian side without regard to Israel's concerns or the role of Palestinian extremists and leaders in fomenting and intensifying violence and terrorism. Such a divisive role does not comport with Holy See efforts to advance dialogue and achieve accord between the opposing sides in that troubled area.

In the final analysis, however, it is remarkable that despite contentious differences and disagreements at times, the Catholic-Jewish dialogue has continued to evolve and flourish. Much of the progress is due to the inspiration and efforts of Pope John Paul II and Church leaders like Cardinal Willebrands and Cardinal Cassidy, whose active intervention in promoting the dialogue and championing interreligious relations has been a historic milestone in Church policy -- a true legacy of John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council. Under John Paul's leadership, Roman Catholicism has accomplished a giant leap in coming to terms with the past through advocacy of redemption and reconciliation..

Nonetheless, the Church and Jewish community, while aware of the progress that has been made, are mindful of the work that remains undone and of the importance of building on the foundation jointly constructed by our Catholic-Jewish partnership.

The positive achievements of the past 35 years speak for themselves. They are testimony to a reborn relationship between Catholicism and Judaism that has begun to reverse the harsh heritage of hatred and suspicion that has marked the past 2000 years of our collective history. But it is important for us to recognize that neither side in our dialogue is monolithic, that internal differences exist both within the Vatican and the Jewish communities, and that there are competing ideas, interests and groups on each side with differing priorities. Yet despite our differences, the dialogue has been the key to our success. For 35 years, we have achieved impressive gains through persuasion, compromise and attempts to understand each other's views. Let us continue in that spirit.

Thank you.