Saturday, March 28, 1998

Religious leaders commend Vatican document

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

A document issued by the Vatican expressing repentance for Christians who failed to oppose Nazi persecution of Jews has been praised by both Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders.

"It is highly commendable," said Kenneth D. Roseman, senior rabbi at Temple Shalom in Dallas and president of the Dallas Area Rabbinical Association.

The document was greeted with equal enthusiasm by the Most Rev. Michael D. Pfeifer, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, which includes much of the Abilene area.

"It helps pave the way for more dialogue and building bridges for more respect and understanding leading to the new millennium," Pfeifer said.

The 14-page document was prepared over an 11-year period by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews at the request of Pope John Paul II.

Roseman noted that the position of the Roman Catholic Church has been evolving since the Second Vatican Council held in the 1960s.

"We realize that the Catholic church as been working very hard over the past several decades," Roseman said.

The document, addressed to all Catholics, was sent to Jewish leaders around the world. The text asked Jews to "hear us with open hearts," saying it represented not merely words, but a binding commitment.

Roseman said he was pleased that the document expressed repentance and was more than just an apology.

ÔRepentance is more than an apology because it requires specific actions," he said. "Apologies are just words."

The specific actions will require incorporating teaching about the Holocaust or the Hebrew "Shoah" into Christian sermons, liturgies and teaching materials, Roseman said.

"It is a matter of discussion and teaching within the church," he said. "That is, I hope, where the major discussion will continue."

Pfeifer said he believes that will happen and was pleased that the document says the church has a duty to raise people's consciousness and to make sure the younger generations don't forget.

The pope has made a statement about "what a terrible blot that is on humanity," Pfeifer said. "I am happy it says we have a duty to remember."

The "tormented relationship" between Jews and Christians dates back to the beginning of the church, Pfeifer noted, because some Christians labeled all Jews "Christ killers."

"The Second Vatican Council cleared that up," he said.

Pfeifer also noted that the new Vatican statement makes it clear that the persecution of Jews during World War II was anti-Christian, even though some Christians did nothing to help stop it.

"The Shoah was the work of a thoroughly modern neo-pagan regime," the document stated. "Its anti-Semitism had its roots outside of Christianity and, in pursuing its aims, it did not hesitate to oppose the church and persecute her members also," it said.

The document also said that by the 19th century, discrimination against Jews in Europe was "more sociological and political than religious."

Nevertheless, Pfeifer said, "the fact is many Christians did not step forward" and that is why the Vatican statement of repentance is so important.

Pfeifer said he was pleased that at the end of the millennium the Roman Catholic church is expressing "deep sorrow for the failures of her sons and daughters down through the ages."

Jews and Christians share a belief that we all come from one God and all have one final destination back to God, Pfeifer said. Because of that they can move together harmoniously.

In its conclusion, the Vatican document expressed the church's desire to make that happen: "The spoiled seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism must never again be allowed to take root in any human heart."