Anniversary reflections on Catholic-Jewish amity

I can say with all sincerity that there is nothing I have experienced in my 29 years as a bishop that touched me more deeply or uplifted my spirit more profoundly than "From Fear to Friendship," the Palm Sunday Reconciliation Service that was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany on March 23, 1986.

The deep trust of the Jewish community manifested in attending that service, given the 2,000-year history of Christian anti-Semitism that preceded it, and the heartfelt sorrow for this appalling behavior expressed on the part of those who represented our Christian community have had salutary ripple effects across our nation and across our globe.

The Cathedral service was the result of years of open, candid and frequently painful dialogue on the part of a group of dedicated Jewish and Catholic laity who began living-room dialogues designed to diffuse the fears, grudges, myths and stereotypes we may have had about one another, and to understand better each other's beliefs, practices, rituals, traditions and values.

Historic changes

Our local experience needs to be viewed through the lens of three historical factors that served as predecessors to improved relations between Christians and Jews:

1. The Age of the Enlightenment disseminated the principles of equality and the dignity of all people. Thus, it became harder to preach contempt for another people and treat their religion as inherently inferior.

At the same time, there was the growing power of secularism, which was eroding all religious claims. Hence, many spiritual leaders concluded it was more important to form religious alliances to battle against secularism and materialism than to fight and kill one another.

2. The murder of six million Jews and five million non-Jews during the Second World War resulted in a general awareness of the immensity of the burden of guilt that the Church carried not only for its general silence (with some noble exceptions) between 1933 and 1945, but also because of the teaching of contempt towards Jews and Judaism that it carried on for so many centuries.

Without the long history of Christian anti-Judaism and Christian violence against Jews, Nazi ideology could not have taken hold, nor could it have been carried out without the complicity of Christians. This sad reality caused a profound reevaluation on the part of the Christian community relative to its relationship toward Judaism.

3. The third factor was the establishment of Israel in 1948, the only state in which Jews formed the majority. As a result, the Jewish people developed more confidence in their dealings with Christians.

The very existence of the spotlight shining so strongly on Israel, and especially on Jerusalem, gives particular importance to any attempt to promote mutual understanding between Christians and Jews.

In common

These historical factors paved the way for the bishops of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s to issue their revolutionary document "Nostra Aetate" ("In Our Age"), which repudiated 2,000 years of Christian anti-Semitism.

It emphasized not what divides us, but what we as Jews and Christians share in common: the Hebrew Scriptures; the patriarchs, matriarchs, prophets and psalmists; the Covenant; the promises of the one and unique God; and a messianic hope.

That teaching of the Second Vatican Council was brought to new heights by the late Pope John Paul II, who reinforced the irrevocable covenant God made with the Jewish people, and the spiritual patrimony that inextricably binds the Jewish and Christian communities to each other.

In his first meeting with Jewish leaders following his installation, Pope Benedict XVI stated that "at the beginning of my pontificate, I wish to assure you that the Church remains firmly committed in her catechesis and in every aspect of her life to implementing this decisive teaching [of Nostra Aetate]."

More to do

What will the future look like? While not a prophet, let me note briefly three areas for continued progress:

1. It seems to me that the time has come for a reawakening among Christians to the Jewish origins of Christianity. We in the Christian community must now focus anew on the fact that Jesus was a faithful Jew; that He was born, lived and died a Jew; that His family and followers were Jewish; that the first Christians were Jews; and that the New Testament is, for the most part, a Jewish work.

It is important that the Jewish community take a greater interest in the Jew, Jesus.

It seems to me, in other words, that mutual exploration of the Jewishness of Jesus holds tremendous promise for the future of Jewish-Christian dialogue.

2. In the present Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are two issues about which the Jewish and Roman Catholic communities must be very sensitive to each other's perspective.

The first is the Jewish perspective on the connection between their ancient homeland and the State of Israel. On the other hand, the Jewish community must understand the connection Christians have with their holy places, and the need to preserve a Christian presence and identity in those places: the Basilicas of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Annunciation in Nazareth and the Nativity in Bethlehem; and the Churches of All Nations in Gethsemane and of the Beatitudes in Galilee.

3. We in the Jewish and Christian communities must seek to implement at all levels -- local, national and international -- a joint declaration made by the Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee in 2004: that "given the global dimensions of poverty, injustice and discrimination, we have a clear religious obligation to show concern for the poor, and those deprived of their political, social and cultural rights.

"Jesus, deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition of His day, made a commitment to the poor a priority in His ministry. [And] the Talmud affirms that the Holy One (Blessed be God) always cares for the needy."

We must also seek to commit ourselves to the struggle against terrorism. As Christians and Jews, we must work cooperatively, collaboratively and tirelessly to eradicate the insidious threat to life terrorism poses.

It is my hope and prayer that we will accept the challenge that this Declaration extends, embrace it and fulfill it for the honor and glory of God, and for the hope, peace and betterment of God's people.

God bless you -- and Shalom.

(These are portions of a talk given by Bishop Hubbard at the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Palm Sunday Reconciliation Service, which was held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany on March 23, 1986. The anniversary was observed April 9 at Temple Ohav Shalom in Albany. See separate article for more details.)

(4/13/06) [[In-content Ad]]