 |
| Pope Benedict |
Why should an Orthodox Jew care what goes on in the Catholic
Church? Well… when a religion boasts membership in the billions, what happens
there definitely affects us. Not in any
theological way. But most certainly in a sociological one.
The fact that The Catholic Church is the direct and unbroken
chain of Christianity going back to the 2nd Temple era… and that
their religion stems from Jewish roots add to that importance. So too does the
fact that the Jewish people and the Church have been intimately intertwined
over the 2 millennia since Christianity’s founding – mostly not for the better.
I need not go into all the pogroms and other anti Semitic acts perpetrated
against the Jewish people in the name of their religion. Suffice it to say that it
was responsible for much carnage toward our people.
That of course all changed with Vatican II. Although many Jews
are still suspect about the motives of the Church and believe it to be just a
new ploy in trying to convert us, I believe that the change in their attitude
was sincere. They no longer consider us ‘Christ killers’. They no longer say
that Judaism has lost its legitimacy and has been replaced by Christianity. They
now consider us their ‘older brother’ religion and quite legitimate.
Since Vatican II there has been great progress between the Catholic church and the Jewish people. Our relationship has never been better. And the
current Pope deserves credit for that. No one said it better than this:
“During his period (as pope) there were the best relations ever between the church and the chief rabbinate and we hope that this trend will continue,” “I think he deserves a lot of credit for advancing inter-religious links the world over between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.” “(I wish the Pope) good health and long days.
These are
the words of Rabbi Yona Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel. Could not have said
better myself. I hope that the
next Pope will be no worse… and that relations continue to improve.
