Cardinal: Jews, Christian Have Plenty to Talk About

"Dialogue is possible, since Jews and Christians share a rich common patrimony that unites them. It is greatly to be desired that prejudice and misunderstanding be gradually eliminated on both sides."

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Jewish-Christian dialogue is possible because the two faiths share a common patrimony, and this dialogue will progressively remove prejudices, says a cardinal who addressed the synod of bishops.Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a Jesuit priest and former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and former secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, addressed the world Synod of Bishops on Monday.

He explained a 2001 document from the Pontifical Biblical Commission on Jewish sacred Scriptures and the Christian Bible. The document aimed, the cardinal said, to go deeper into the question of the supposed anti-Semitism of the Bible, though it "later took on wider horizons."

"This work was accomplished with scientific rigor and with a spirit of respect and love for the Jewish people," Cardinal Vanhoye said. "The texts were not treated superficially but were studied and researched. So the document is not always easy to read. And the texts themselves inspire respect and love for the Jewish people."

It is made up of three chapters.The first is titled "The Sacred Scriptures of the Jewish People, Fundamental Part of the Christian Bible." Here is explained that "the Old Testament is not simply a piece among others in the Christian Bible. It is the base, the fundamental part. If the New Testament was established on another basis, it would have no real value. Without its conformity to the sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people, it could not be presented as the accomplishment of God's project," he said.

The second chapter "takes into consideration the 'fundamental themes in the Jewish Scriptures and their reception into faith in Christ.' The Jewish people's Scriptures are received in the Christian Bible under the name Old Testament," the cardinal continued. "The document immediately points out that 'by "Old Testament" the Christian Church has no wish to suggest that the Jewish Scriptures are outdated or surpassed. On the contrary, it has always affirmed that the Old Testament and the New Testament are inseparable. Their first relationship is precisely that.'"

The third chapter of the document is called "The Jews in the New Testament." Here is explained, the cardinal noted, that "it would be an error to conceive Judaism at that time as a monolithic reality. On the contrary, we must note the existence of different currents of thought and behavior, which often opposed each other." The document goes on to study the way the Jews are presented in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles.

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Citing the document, Cardinal Vanhoye explained, "Real anti-Jewish feeling, that is, an attitude of contempt, hostility and persecution of the Jews as Jews, is not found in any New Testament text and is incompatible with its teaching. What is found are reproaches addressed to certain categories of Jews for religious reasons, as well as polemical texts to defend the Christian apostolate against Jews who oppose it."

The cardinal's final exhortation, then, acknowledged that the document states "the New Testament is 'in serious disagreement with the vast majority of the Jewish people,' because 'it is essentially a proclamation of the fulfillment of God's plan in Jesus Christ -- announced in the Old Testament -- puts it in serious disagreement with the vast majority of the Jewish people who do not accept this fulfillment. [...]

"'Although profound, such disagreement in no way implies reciprocal hostility. The example of Paul in Romans 9:11 shows that, on the contrary, an attitude of respect, esteem and love for the Jewish people is the only truly Christian attitude in a situation which is mysteriously part of the beneficent and positive plan of God.'"

Thus, the cardinal continued quoting: "Dialogue is possible, since Jews and Christians share a rich common patrimony that unites them. It is greatly to be desired that prejudice and misunderstanding be gradually eliminated on both sides, in favor of a better understanding of the patrimony they share and to strengthen the links that bind them.'" It is in this direction, he concluded, that "complete docility to the word of God urges the Church to progress."