ROME. Last week, Pope Francis once again reaffirmed his and the Vatican’s determination to fight anti-Semitism. He said: “I take this opportunity to reaffirm the Catholic Church’s commitment to countering all forms of anti-Semitism, especially through preventive action, especially at the educational level in families, parish communities and schools, and in lay associations. “. The message was distributed by Father Norbert Hofmann, secretary of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism (affectionately known by all as “the chief rabbi of the Vatican”) during a visit to the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, of a international delegation made up of 21 members and the leaders of 11 of the most important Jewish organizations in the world, including the American Jewish Committee (AJC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), B’nai B’rith International, the World Jewish Congress (WJC), the Israel Jewish Committee for Interfaith Relations (IJCIR) and several groups of rabbis representing Orthodox, Conservative, and Reformed groups. They came as delegates of the IJCIC – the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations – for a week of visits to the Vatican, in which they had talks with the heads of various departments as well as with the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism.
Unfortunately, several scheduled meetings have been canceled due to the current wave of Covid 19. However, all the meetings that have taken place have been particularly cordial and rich in content. Cardinal Parolin’s willingness to receive us was much appreciated, as he was preparing to leave the next morning for an important diplomatic visit to South Sudan to replace Pope Francis, who had to cancel his trip and all audiences due to of an annoying knee problem.
Francis’ message was received with gratitude, in recognition of the Holy Father’s awareness of the main concerns of this delegation, especially in light of today’s difficult times. The main theme discussed in the many meetings of the group was, in fact, education to build a better understanding and work together to overcome all prejudices, including anti-Semitism and the persecution of Christian minorities in countries outside North America and from Europe.
As Francis recalled, the IJCIC was founded in 1970, that is five years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of “Nostra Aetate”, the document destined to forever transform the tormented, and often tragic, interreligious relationships that began. about two thousand years ago when the first Christians separated from the Jewish mother religion.
IJCIC delegates represented 11 organizations from 3 continents. They met with the heads of the departments dealing with Christian-Jewish interreligious dialogue and other issues, as well as education, the Eastern Catholic Churches and international relations, and talked about the hopes for peace, the end of the current war and other wars , and of course how to develop a better dialogue to curb the lingering tide of anti-Semitism and racism.
The document “Nostra Aetate” of 1965, from which today’s multiform and fraternal Catholic-Jewish relations derive, marked the beginning of a great turning point in Catholic-Jewish relations and in the Church’s relations with Islam and other religions of the world. Today, documents on our dialogue continue to be written by both sides, incorporating the tremendous progress made over the years and making even “Nostra Aetate” seem almost obsolete, which in its day was something of a miracle.
For those who recall the extremely formal and limited beginnings of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee (ILC), composed of a smaller IJCIC and Vatican experts appointed by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, current meetings have shown a significant expansion in terms of areas of dialogue. In the early years full of trepidation and hope but also of suspicion, the dialogue was strictly limited to “religious” themes (but not to theological ones, given the sensitivity of the Jews to the history of forced conversions) and the Jewish delegations could only meet the in charge of the Pontifical Commission, which for historical and theological reasons is hosted by the Council for the promotion of Christian unity. In the years preceding the Vatican’s opening to diplomatic relations with Israel, the meetings of Jewish delegations with other officials and department heads of the Holy See were considered by the Vatican to be “too political” and therefore taboo. But St. John Paul II’s decision to open diplomatic relations with Israel, which led to the signing of the Fundamental Agreement of December 30, 1993, changed things. Today, Jewish leaders regularly travel to Rome for constructive updates and talks with various Vatican departments, including those of the Secretariat of State.
It was very encouraging to discover that Pope Francis’ emphasis on education is in tune with the IJCIC opinion that this is the primary means of building mutual understanding in future generations, which is in fact already being implemented. thanks to the influential “Congregation for Catholic Education”. Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, secretary of the Congregation, illustrated the “Global Compact on education” launched by Pope Francis on 12 September 2019 to the IJCIC delegates. Monsignor Zani gave each representative a brochure explaining the objectives and methods, a “Vademecum … a manual for educators who must guide children and young people through educational and extracurricular, formal and informal paths, in the construction of our common home”. He was pleased to reveal to us that, among other consultants, he had also conferred with three rabbis from three countries on three continents: Italy, Israel and Argentina.
The current president of the IJCIC, Rabbi David Sandmel of the ADL, said: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the closest link of the IJCIC is with the Roman Catholic Church. ‘Judaism is our main contact, it is equally important for us to renew and expand our relations with other offices in the Vatican. On this visit, for example, we met the Congregation for the Clergy and the Congregation for Catholic Education, each of the which deals with issues affecting the daily lives of Catholic faithful around the world. They can be instrumental in ensuring that Catholic priests and educators are aware of progress in Jewish-Catholic relations since Vatican II and that they teach and preach on Jews and Judaism according to the post “Nostra Aetate” directives, thus avoiding falling back into the erroneous and dangerous negative stereotypes of the pass ato “.
Rabbi Noam Marans of the AJC, who was the previous president of the IJCIC, recalls that “for six decades, the Catholic Church has worked to reverse two millennia of anti-Jewish teachings that have laid the foundation for the demonization of Jews, which have led to repeated violence against the Jewish people and contributed to the widespread anti-Jewish sentiment that made the Holocaust possible. These tangible advances in Catholic-Jewish relations must be nurtured to be sustained. This is why Jewish religious leaders have spent a lot of time. whole week meeting the heads of the Vatican dicasteries, to deepen the key relationships at the highest levels of the Church and face together the continuing challenges of our time, including growing anti-Semitism. We were welcomed as brothers; Catholic and Jewish leaders addressed to each other with frankness, attention and trust “.
Rabbi David Rosen, who has twice served as the IJCIC president and heads the AJC delegation, added that “the level at which the IJCIC delegation is received is a testament to the deep commitment of the IJCIC. Holy See in relations with the Jewish people. But above all, these meetings strengthen the bonds of friendship between our communities to which Pope Francis has so eloquently referred “.
Another very positive sign of these times of new and significant dialogue was the presence of five female delegates in the group: Rabbi Shoshana Boyd-Gelfand, member of the IJCIC Governing Council and former Chief Executive of the British Movement for Reform Judaism; Rabbi Tamar – Elad Applebaum, founder of ZION, an Israeli congregation of Eretz in Jerusalem and vice president of the Assembly of Rabbis of Massorti; Betty Ehrenberg, executive director of the World Jewish Congress; Anita Winter, known for the material and emotional assistance provided to Holocaust survivors in Switzerland, and myself, the head of the AJC at the Holy See.
It should be noted that in 1970 and for the following decades the IJCIC was made up of orthodox, reformed, conservative and secular leaders who managed to agree on a common policy, but they were all men. The unanimously agreed and welcomed addition of female Jewish leaders and, in particular, female rabbi, is another noteworthy step forward.
And indeed there was also another Rabinessa in the delegation – Rabbi Amy Roth, wife of Rabbi Noam Marans.
* Lisa Palmieri Billig is Representative in Italy and Liaison to the Holy See of the AJC – American Jewish Committee
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