In his book "The Vatican against Israel - J'accuse," Giulio Meotti does a major injustice to the Catholic Church regarding its relationships with the Jewish people and Israel, approaching the topic from a position of bias against the Church.
I would like to present three images, one taken from the Old, and the other two from the New Testament, images which express the unique divine plan which embraces Jews as well as Christians: the mountain upon which all the peoples of the world come as pilgrims; the wall which at one time divided humanity, definitely torn down by Jesus Christ; and the tree, nourished by a single root, which should shine in the abundance of its leaves.
On September 2, 2009, Catholic apologist Robert Sungenis published a document entitled "The Erroneous Teachings of Catholics for Israel” in which he directly attacks the legitimacy of our apostolate. This document states that on the Catholics for Israel website “various and sundry claims about the Jews and Israel are being disseminated as Catholic Teaching” but these, according to Sungenis, are “not Catholic teachings.” The following is our response to Sungenis' attacks.
We are a Catholic apostolate, faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, of Jewish and Gentile Catholics from Israel and from the nations. In accordance with the teachings of the Church, we believe that God’s plan of salvation awaits the “Final Marriage” of Israel and the Church.
Catholics for Israelare highly aware of the precarious and difficult situation you find yourselves in. We are not against you by calling ourselves Catholics for Israel. It is precisely the concern for the situation you are in and the complexity of your situation that is motivating us to address and speak out those things that today most Catholics are afraid to even think about.
From Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger's Book 'The Promise':"The Church appears in Jerusalem, after Pentecost, as an "assembly" kahal in Hebrew, ecclesia in Greek. it is unthinkable that she would claim to replace Israel. She is not another Israel, but the very, fulfillment, in Israel, of God's plan..."
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compilation of authoritative Church documents pertaining to Jews and Judaism, from the 1965 Declaration Nostra Aetate to the 2015 The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable.
apostolic succession
May we come together to the fullness of that unity in the “one new man” where Messianic Jewish Catholics continue to testify to the faithfulness of the God of Israel in the covenant of circumcision and their commemoration of the Sabbath, and where both Jewish and Gentile Catholics celebrate together the breaking forth of the new creation accomplished in the Lord’s resurrection on the eighth day.
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We know that God gave Israel the land but there is no mention of his taking it back again forever. Can we Christians exclude that what is happening in our day, that is, the return of Israel to the land of its fathers, is not connected in some way, still a mystery to us, to this providential order which concerns the chosen people and which is carried out even through human error and excess as happens in the Church itself?"
Nostra Aetate §4 marks the Church’s decisive turn toward a renewed relationship with the Jewish people. It affirms the enduring spiritual bond between the Church and Israel, rejects the idea that Jews are collectively guilty of Christ’s death, and condemns all forms of antisemitism. It lays the theological foundation for dialogue, mutual respect, and the recognition that God’s covenant with the Jewish people remains a living reality.
On the one hand, as Catholics we wish to remain faithful to the Church's mission of evangelization. On the other hand, we also wish to be mindful of the difficult history of Jewish-Christian relations, and be respectful and appreciative of the Jewish faith, customs, and traditions as a God-given heritage that should be preserved and cherished.
Ariel Ben Ami's and Mark Kinzer's reactions to my study regarding the different ways of understanding Israel have been important and I have appreciated the richness of their contents, albeit correcting some opinions I had expressed.
Paragraph 43 of Verbum Domini (2010) addresses the special bond between Christians and Jews arising from their shared scriptural heritage. Calling Jews "beloved brothers" in the faith of Abraham, Benedict XVI draws on St. Paul's reminder that the gifts and call of God are irrevocable, and encourages dialogue and shared study of the sacred Scriptures.
On March 9, 2009, the Central Committee of German Catholics released a heretical document entitled Nein zur Judenmission - Ja zum Dialog zwischen Juden und Christen ("No to Jewish mission - Yes to dialogue between Jews and Christians"). This document claims: "We emphasize, with the Church of the Second Vatican Council, that God's covenant with the Jewish people represents a way of salvation to God - also without recognition of Jesus Christ and without the sacrament of Baptism". German philosoper Robert Spaemann responds to the document's claims (in German).
The 1974 Guidelines was the first document issued by the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. Practical rather than theological in character, it offers concrete suggestions for putting the intentions of Nostra Aetate into practice. Its central concern is that Christians strive to become acquainted with Judaism as Jews define it themselves, addressing dialogue across liturgy, education, and common social action.
Catholics for Israel is an apostolate faithful to the Magisterium—the living teaching office of the Church, to whom Christ entrusted the authentic interpretation of the word of God. Accordingly, the official teachings of the Catholic Church—especially Nostra Aetate §4 and the Catechism of the Catholic Church—form the foundation of our convictions regarding Israel and the Jewish people.
On the heels of the Gaza disengagement, which was intended to empower the Palestinian Authority to improve the lives of its people, few journalists have reported on the acutely trying times facing the Christians residing in areas "governed" by the Palestinian Authority. Professor Justus Reid Weiner, Scholar in Residence at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, provides an in-depth look into the nearly uninterrupted persecution of Christians throughout the decade since the Oslo peace process began. Read Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society.
Hamas denies Israel's right to exist. But for pontifical diplomacy, the Jewish state is wrong to defend itself with force. The custodian of the Holy Land reveals the thinking behind the Church's policy in the Middle East.
AHC President David Moss interviewed Archbishop Raymond L. Burke in La Crosse, Wisconsin on Aug 5, 2010, on the topic of the election and vocation of the Jewish people within the Catholic Church.
An interview with Petra Heldt, head of the Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel and proud friend of Israel, on Christians in Israel, dhimmitude and Sharia law, and Jewish-Christian relations.
