Questa sezione presenta gli insegnamenti ufficiali della Chiesa cattolica riguardanti l’ebraismo e il popolo ebraico a partire da Nostra Aetate (1965). Questi testi offrono orientamenti autorevoli sulla comprensione ecclesiale di Israele, dell’alleanza e della relazione continua tra ebrei e cristiani. Insieme costituiscono una base solida per lo studio, il dialogo e un impegno fedele nella visione magisteriale della Chiesa.
"The fact of divine election is at the origin of this small people situated between the great pagan empires whose brilliant culture overshadowed them. This people was gathered together and led by God, the Creator of heaven and earth. Thus its existence is not a mere fact of nature or culture, in the sense that through culture man displays the resources of his own nature. It is a supernatural fact."
Leggi tutto: Address of Pope John Paul II to a Symposium on the Roots of Anti-Judaism (1997)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, initially promulgated in 1992, represents the most authoritative modern synthesis of Catholic doctrine. Among its teachings are a set of passages that address the Church’s relationship with the Jewish people and Judaism — a relationship the Catechism insists is unique, living, and theologically constitutive of Christian identity itself.
Leggi tutto: The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Israel and Judaism (1994)
The 1985 Notes deepen the Church’s postconciliar teaching by clarifying how Judaism should be presented in Catholic preaching, catechesis, and scholarship. They stress respect for Jewish self-understanding, highlight the ongoing vitality of Jewish covenantal life, and warn against theological distortions—especially supersessionism and misuse of Scripture. The document also urges Catholics to recognize the Jewish roots of Christian faith and to approach dialogue with historical honesty and genuine reciprocity.
"Whoever meets Jesus Christ, meets Judaism." I would like to make these words mine, too. The faith of the Jesus Christ, the son of David and the son of Abraham contains "the total heritage of Israel for the Church"...
Leggi tutto: Address to Representatives of the West German Jewish Community (1980)
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.
Nostra Aetate §4 segna la svolta decisiva della Chiesa verso una relazione rinnovata con il popolo ebraico. Afferma il legame spirituale duraturo che unisce la Chiesa a Israele, respinge l’idea di una colpa collettiva degli ebrei nella morte di Cristo e condanna ogni forma di antisemitismo. Pone le basi teologiche per il dialogo, il rispetto reciproco e il riconoscimento del carattere sempre vivo dell’alleanza di Dio con il popolo ebraico.
