New text on Jewish-Christian relations from the Vatican
On Thursday, December 10, 2015, the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews published a new document on the relations between Jews and Catholics.
Read the document here
The long and theologically dense document, entitled “The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable”, marks the fiftieth anniversary since Nostra aetate, published in 1965. The new document traces the development of Jewish-Catholic dialogue over the past fifty years and celebrates the deepening of dialogue and collaboration between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.
The document also tackles the theologically complex issue of what God’s fidelity means within the context of the Jewish people and their ongoing history. Catholics do not try to convert Jews but rather try to understand the significance of the continued vitality of Judaism and the Jewish people. Whereas Catholics always give witness to Jesus as Christ and Son of God, they do this with great sensitivity, aware of how often in history Jews have been deeply wounded by the behavior of Christians.
The document was introduced in a press conference in the Vatican by Cardinal Koch, President of the Commission and he was joined by two Jewish figures, Rabbi David Rosen from Jerusalem and Professor Edward Kessler from Cambridge in England.
View the press conference here
Le Pape François rencontre une survivante d’Auschwitz