Catholics and Jews gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Sept. 22 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of an historic Vatican II statement on relations with non-Christian religions that ushered a period of unprecedented dialogue and sharing of faith.
"Nostrae Aetate," said Cardinal Roger Mahony, "undertook a rethinking of Judaism and the Jewish people in Catholic theology and liturgy, repudiating historic Christian teachings of contempt towards Jews and positively asserting the common spiritual heritage the Christians and Jews share."
An intimate setting was created by placing rows of chairs next to the altar in the Cathedral sanctuary, where some 150 people gathered. "Nostrae Aetate," promulgated Oct. 28, 1965, proclaims that "the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions" and "decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism directed against Jews at any time and by anyone."
Presentations on the significance of the document were offered by Rabbi Michael Signer, professor of Jewish Thought and Culture at the University of Notre Dame, and Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore, who serves as a member of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Jews and, as a young priest, attended Vatican II meetings about "Nostra Aetate."
Rabbi Signer said that at the time Catholics and Jews worried that entering into dialogue might diminish each religion's unique identity. However, four decades of conversation have proved fruitful and meaningful, he said, as Catholics and Jews discover what is at the core of their faith.
"We human beings are created in the image and likeness of God," he said, echoing a similar Catholic belief. The creation story, he added, moves into stories of relationship as humanity zig zags between closeness and alienation, exile and return.
"How shall we live together?" asked Rabbi Signer. "Nostra Aetate," he said, pointed towards a new path in which Catholics and Jews appreciate their common shared scriptural inheritance and turn to each other "not to fight, but to derive nurture" in a spirit of mutual respect.
Cardinal Keeler said that by engaging in dialogue with Jews, Catholics have come to understand more deeply and respectfully that Christianity is the daughter of Judaism and that Jesus during his life was a Jew.
"To miss the Jewishness of Jesus and his message is to diminish the Gospel," said Cardinal Keeler.
Christians have needed to repent and seek forgiveness for Christian anti-Judaism that laid the groundwork for Nazi genocide. What happened under Nazism, he said, "is contrary to all religion."
Cardinal Mahony said he was grateful for the leadership of Blessed John XXIII and Pope Paul VI for pursuing the preparation and final approval of the document. Pope John Paul II "vigorously implemented" the document and Pope Benedict XVI recently met with two chief rabbis in Cologne, Germany prior to World Youth Day.
Papal leadership has helped to animate many local efforts, said the cardinal. Among them are the study of Judaism by some 7,500 Catholic high school students taught by a rabbi, and participation by Catholic school teachers in the Bearing Witness Institute and the Holy Land Democracy Project to learn how to combat anti-Semitism, present the Holocaust and contemporary issues. The annual Catholic/Jewish Women's Conference gathers for the 29th time this year, and a group of priests and rabbis meet monthly in dialogue sessions.
Esther Romero, a senior at Sacred Heart High School in Los Angeles, participated in the commemorative event and told The Tidings she has enjoyed learning Hebrew scripture and visiting a synagogue through her high school. Her studies have helped her to appreciate the similarities between the religions and to understand that "our Catholic faith comes from Judaism."
Commemorative event sponsors included the Ecumenical and Interreligious arm of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California and the American Jewish Committee.
Rabbi Mark Diamond, executive vice president of The Board of Rabbis of Southern California, recounted a time many years ago when his grandfather admonished that if his grandson entered a church it would be akin to betraying his Jewish faith and his people.
"He embodied his milieu, his life and times. He could not conceive of a world where Catholics and Jews listen and learn, worship and work together," said Rabbi Diamond. "Thank God, we live four decades after Nostra Aetate opened the doors of interfaith cooperation and commitment."
Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, executive director of the American Jewish Committee said that growing relations between Catholics and Jews had transformed the experience of faith and community for both peoples. "It's a different world," said Rabbi Greenebaum. |