Interfaith colloquium educates on Vatican II

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The 1965 document on non-Christian religions that came out of the Second Vatican Council reversed much of the anti-Semitism present in the Christian world then - but that progress is still sometimes threatened, said speakers at a recent colloquium in Loudonville.

Judy Banki and Dr. Philip Cunningham, prominent players in the field of interfaith dialogue, shed light on the lingering effects of the document, "Nostra Aetate" ("In Our Era"), during the annual Kieval Institute Colloquium at Siena College. The pair also offered a behind-the-scenes look at the document's inception.

Siena's Hayyim and Esther Kieval Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies was founded in 1983 to provide opportunities for Jewish and Christian scholars to discuss academic subjects.

Ms. Banki is a senior adviser to Tanenbaum, a New York City-based organization promoting interreligious respect, and an internationally-known writer, lecturer and expert in interreligious affairs since the 1950s.

She also calls herself a "child of Vatican II," having followed the council from a Jewish perspective to see how it would affect her religion's relationship to Christianity.

Dr. Cunningham is a theologian, a professor of theology specializing in Christian-Jewish relations and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

How it began
The duo outlined the history of the monumental document, starting with background on Jewish-Christian dialogue in the early 20th century. For instance, a 1938 draft that justified the separation of Jews from the rest of humanity because of their "violent repudiation" of Jesus never got promulgated; otherwise, Dr. Cunningham noted, "Nostra Aetate" wouldn't have happened.

Blessed Pope John XXIII called for an ecumenical council in 1959, launching a lengthy process of drafting and redrafting the document that ultimately became "Nostra Aetate." Theological conservatives, Arab governments and some religious leaders resisted the document's release, adding pressure to the Vatican to appease multiple groups. "It was a daily rollercoaster," recalled Ms. Banki, who once authored a memo documenting the omission of Jewish history in Catholic textbooks and liturgies. By the time "Nostra Aetate" was adopted along with the document on religious freedom on the final day of the council, "both had survived determined assault [and] were weakened in their final forms."

Today, she noted, most of the bishops and members of the Jewish community involved in the document's publication are deceased. "I remain a somewhat battered veteran of that 50-year struggle," she said.

Aftereffects
Dr. Cunningham summarized the key effects of the document:

• It repudiated the long-standing "deicide" charge, declaring that Jews are not collectively cursed for all time for the alleged responsibility of Jesus' crucifixion;

• it affirmed the religious bond and spiritual legacy shared by Jews and the Church;

• it implied that the covenant between God and Jews is still active;

• it deplored anti-Semitism "at any time or from any source;"

• it expressed no interest in trying to convert Jews, leaving the eschatological end of the world judgments up to God; and

• it stressed the need for accurate biblical interpretation and joint dialogue and research.

Today, some Catholics still argue about the continuation of the Jewish covenant with God and whether Catholics should attempt to convert Jews. Many later documents and positions have been seen as steps backward, including Pope Benedict XVI's 2008 reinsertion of a line about Jewish conversion into a Good Friday prayer used at Latin Masses.

"We learn who we are through our liturgies," Ms. Banki said, reflecting on Good Friday being a historically dangerous day for Jews. "You can change textbooks; it's very hard to change liturgies."

Q-and-A time
One of the approximately 30 audience members at the colloquium asked why "Nostra Aetate" doesn't go further by declaring Judaism "a bona fide parallel step to salvation." Dr. Cunningham said theologians are beginning to expand on this concept, and several Church leaders have reinforced the document's position.

But another audience member brought up "Dominus Iesus" ("Jesus is Lord"), the 2000 document written by Pope Benedict XVI while he was still a cardinal, which seemed to recant the idea that non-Christians can be saved without Jesus.

Then there's the idea of the "anonymous Christian" - that non-Christians can be saved by Christ whether they know it or not - popularized by theologian Karl Rahner. It swayed the Second Vatican Council and still affects the Church's relationship with non-Christians.

"I think we can do a lot better than 'anonymous Christians,'" Dr. Cunningham said. In "Nostra Aetate," he said, "we recognized Judaism in its authenticity. The developments that have already occurred cannot be undone. They can be slowed; they can be resisted - but we're not going to go back to the teaching of contempt."

Others in the audience addressed the use of the word "Israel" in Catholic documents - a theological reference to the people of Israel, said Dr. Cunningham - and requests for formal courses in sensitivity to Jews for priests, seminarians and other Church leaders.

Dr. Cunningham has pushed for education on that, too: "When you're out there in the real world, you easily can slip back into the default position, which is not to address these issues. We Christians need to understand who we are as Christians in a different way."

All of this, Ms. Banki reiterated, will take time, and Christians and Jews need to pray that "Nostra Aetate" isn't reversed while they "hold hands together and just walk uphill."[[In-content Ad]]