Milestones in Recent Catholic-Jewish Relations

Since the Second World War, the Catholic Church has been involved in a deliberate process of rethinking its relationship to Judaism and the Jewish people. Especially in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, Catholic - Jewish relations have improved tremendously - on local, national and international levels.

As several Jewish and Catholic leaders have noted, there have probably been more positive encounters between Jews and Catholics in the last sixty years than in the previous fifteen hundred. These years have been a time of renewal, hope and growing cooperation between these two faiths evidenced by the multitude of Catholic - Jewish dialogue groups, organizations and institutions that have emerged throughout the world since Vatican II.

The following listing of events provides a taste of how relations between Catholics and Jews have been changing and developing in recent decades - and this is a journey that has only just begun.

1947 -    Ten Points of Seelisberg
An international conference of Jews, Protestants and Catholics, gathered in Switzerland to confront the reality of anti - Semitism and the Holocaust, issues a series of ten principles to guide Christian teaching and preaching when referring to Jews and Judaism.

1959 -    Good Friday Prayer
Pope John XXIII modifies the intercessory prayer for the Jews in the Church's Good Friday liturgy by suppressing the term "perfidious (faithless, unbelieving) Jews." Over the years, the prayer continues to undergo revision to bring it more in keeping with the renewal in Church teaching about the Jews and Judaism.

1960 -    Pope John XXIII and Jules Isaac

Jules Isaac, a noted French Jewish historian, presents Pope John XXIII with historical documentation on Christian anti - Judaism and attitudes which contributed to the Holocaust.

1962 -   Pope John XXIII Convokes Vatican II

In convening the Second Vatican Council, John XXIII envisions a renewal of the whole Church. Vatican II is seen as a watershed event in a new openness toward Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Indigenous Peoples, and others.

1965 -    Nostra Aetate
The Second Vatican Council issues Nostra Aetate (The Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.) Nostra Aetate No. 4 addresses the issue of Christian attitudes towards the Jewish people. This document marks the end of a long era in the history of Catholic - Jewish relations and the beginning of a new age of dialogue between the two ancient communities.

1970 -    Official Catholic - Jewish Dialogue Organizations
The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation (IJCIC) is created to establish relations with the Holy See's Office for Catholic - Jewish Relations. Representatives of the two bodies form the International Liaison Committee (ILC) which meets regularly from 1971 onwards.

1974 -    New Vatican Commission
What was formerly the Office for Catholic- Jewish Relations - created in 1966 and attached to the Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity - is renamed the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

1974 -    "Guidelines and Suggestions for Implementing the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate ( No. 4)"
This Vatican document proposes some concrete suggestions born of experience to help to promote in the life of the Church the attitudes towards the Jewish people articulated in the 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate No.4. In particular, this document encourages Christians to "acquire a better knowledge of the basic components of the religious tradition of Judaism and to learn by what essential traits the Jews define themselves in light of their own religious experience."

1978 -    Karol Wojtyla elected Pope
From the beginning of his twenty-six year pontificate, the newly elected Pope - John Paul II - sets out to build a new relationship between the Church and the Jewish people.

1980 -    Pope John Paul II - A Covenant Never Revoked
Addressing the Jewish community in Mainz, Germany, John Paul II insists on the eternal validity of God's covenant with the Jews, a theme repeated in subsequent Church teachings.

1985 -    "Notes on the Correct Way to Present Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church"
This Vatican document provides a helpful reference for those who teach and preach about Jews and Judaism and wish to do so in accord with the current teaching of the Church.

1986 -    Pope John Paul II Visits Rome Synagogue
John Paul II becomes the first Pope in history to visit Rome's chief synagogue. In his speech he reiterates the Second Vatican Council's condemnation of all discrimination toward the Jews and states: "The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism therefore we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers."

1993 -    Israel - Vatican Accord
Israel and the Vatican establish full diplomatic ties, easing centuries of discord.

1994 -    Concert at the Vatican Commemorating the Holocaust
Pope John Paul II and Elio Toaff, the chief rabbi of Rome, preside at a concert which takes place on the day when Jews throughout the world remember the Holocaust victims.

1997 -    Exhortation to Pontifical Biblical Commission
John Paul II challenges the Commission members to help Christians understand that the Hebrew Scriptures are essential to their faith.

1997 -    Vatican Symposium "Roots of Anti - Judaism in the Christian Milieu"
Addressing the symposium, John Paul II says, "In the Christian world...erroneous and unjust interpretations of the New Testament regarding the Jewish people...have circulated too long engendering feelings of hostility toward this people."

1998 -    "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah"
In a long - awaited document on the Holocaust, the Church expresses repentance for those Christians who failed to oppose the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

2000 -    Pope asks for Forgiveness
In a Penitential Ceremony held at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Pope John Paul II asks God to forgive the Church for acts of hostility and contempt toward the Jewish people.

2000 -    Visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel
During John Paul II's historic visit to Israel, he visits Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall, and places in the Wall a prayer which asks for God's forgiveness "for those who have caused these children to suffer."

2000 -    "Dabru Emet: A Jewish Statement on Christians and Christianity"
This statement by an interdenominational group of Jewish scholars presents eight suggestions about how Jews and Christians might relate to one another.

2002 -    "A Sacred Obligation"
The Christian Scholars Group on Christian - Jewish Relations publishes its response to Dabru Emet. "A Sacred Obligation" affirms the Jewishness of Jesus as well as Judaism's enduring covenant relationship with God. This publication is only one of many responses received from Christian theologians and groups around the world, affirming and building upon Dabru Emet's key statements.

2002 -    "The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible"
The Pontifical Biblical Commission publishes a thorough study of the relationship between the New Testament and the Hebrew Scriptures. The document notes that Christians have much to learn from Jewish interpretation of the Bible and confronts the problem of anti - Jewish passages in the New Testament.

2005 -    Jewish Leaders Thank Pope John Paul II
One hundred and sixty Jewish leaders from around the world travel to the Vatican to thank Pope John Paul for his extraordinary efforts in promoting Catholic - Jewish dialogue.

2005 -    Pope Benedict XVI Calls for Renewed Dialogue
Pope Benedict visits a synagogue in Cologne, Germany and calls for a renewal of Christian - Jewish dialogue: "We must come to know each other much more and much better. Consequently I would encourage sincere and trustful dialogue between Christians and Jews."

2006 -    Meeting with Chief Rabbi of Rome
In a meeting with Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI states that Christians share with Jews a mission to fight "hatred and misunderstanding, injustice and violence."

2007 -    Honoring Holocaust Victims in Vienna, Austria
Joining Vienna's chief Rabbi, before a memorial to the Viennese Jews who perished in Nazi death camps, Pope Benedict says the purpose of his visit is to show "our sadness, our repentance and our friendship to the Jewish people."

2009 -    Papal solidarity with the Jewish people
In a weekly audience, Benedict XVI declares that the Holocaust (Shoah) "should be a warning for everyone against forgetting, denying or diminishing its significance." He expresses his hope that the Holocaust should teach new generations that only the strenuous path of listening, dialogue, love and pardon leads to real fraternity and peace in truth.

2009 - The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Holy Land 

While the above listing of Milestones covers important developments in the Roman Catholic tradition, the Churches of the Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox and Evangelical traditions have likewise been breaking significant ground in Christian - Jewish relations over the past sixty years.

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