What Bible is the Vatican reading? Senior Church
What Bible is the Vatican reading? Senior Church Official Rejects God's Covenantal Relationship With The Jewish People
This past Saturday, a synod of bishops inRome
In a press conference at theVatican , Monsignor Cyril Salim Bustros, a Greek Melkite archbishop from Boston
“The Holy Scriptures,” Bustros declared, “cannot be used to justify the return of Jews toIsrael
Not stopping there, he went on to state that “we Christians cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people... There is no longer a chosen people.”
And so, in one fell swoop, a senior Church official sought to deny the unique, covenantal relationship between God and the Jews, rejecting the divine promise to restore the people ofIsrael Vatican reading? Whichever one it is, it must be missing a few pages, as even a cursory glance at the Scriptures makes clear that the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel
Take, for example, Isaiah 14:1-2: “The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will chooseIsrael
You get the point. But it doesn’t seem that the Catholic Church does.
After the Lebanese-born Bustros’s remarks caused a furor, theVatican spokesman waited two days before issuing a mealy-mouthed statement which did little to calm the storm.
“If one wants a summary of the synod’s position, attention must currently be paid to the ‘Message,’ which is the only written text approved by the synod in the last few days,” theVatican
Lombardi’s efforts to contain the fallout won’t fool anyone. There is no getting around the fact that this convocation of bishops was called by the pope himself. Moreover, the perception around the world was that theVatican had officially delegitimized Israel Israel
Indeed, this entire episode is little more than a cheap bit of politics wrapping itself in the robes of religion. Bustros and his colleagues clearly have a political ax to grind with the Jewish state, and they shamefully do not hesitate to invoke the sacred for this most profane of goals.
My Christian friends tell me that the words “Palestine Palestine
Furthermore, by Bustros’s own definition, the founder of Christianity would also have to be considered an “occupier” and a “settler,” for according to Christian belief, Jesus the Jew was born and raised inBethlehem
That is the very sameBethlehem
No matter how one looks at it, the synod’s unbridled insult toIsrael Israel
In A letter to Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch, the newly-appointed head of theVatican
It called on Koch to “swiftly and publicly correct Archbishop Bustros’s shocking and damaging statements,” and to clarify whether his “interpretation of the synod’s final report reflects the intention of the synod on these profound theological matters.”
I would take it one step further. Given the Catholic Church’s long and dark history of anti-Jewish persecution, it is only fitting that the pope himself speak out loudly and clearly on this issue. It is incumbent upon Pope Benedict to transform this turn of events into a profound opportunity to atone for what the Church has done to the Jewish people through the centuries.
Ironically, it was 45 years ago today, on October 28, 1965, that the Second Vatican Council approved a document known as Nostra Aetate, which heralded a sea change in the Church’s position toward Jews. In its wake, much has been accomplished in enhancing relations.
But Bustros and his hate-filled rhetoric now threaten to undermine nearly half a century of dialogue and progress. What a terrible shame that would be.
For while the Church may pride itself on preaching love and tolerance, when it comes to its attitude toward the Jews, it still has a long way to go.
This past Saturday, a synod of bishops in
In a press conference at the
“The Holy Scriptures,” Bustros declared, “cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to
Not stopping there, he went on to state that “we Christians cannot speak of the ‘promised land’ as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people... There is no longer a chosen people.”
And so, in one fell swoop, a senior Church official sought to deny the unique, covenantal relationship between God and the Jews, rejecting the divine promise to restore the people of
Take, for example, Isaiah 14:1-2: “The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose
You get the point. But it doesn’t seem that the Catholic Church does.
After the Lebanese-born Bustros’s remarks caused a furor, the
“If one wants a summary of the synod’s position, attention must currently be paid to the ‘Message,’ which is the only written text approved by the synod in the last few days,” the
Lombardi’s efforts to contain the fallout won’t fool anyone. There is no getting around the fact that this convocation of bishops was called by the pope himself. Moreover, the perception around the world was that the
Indeed, this entire episode is little more than a cheap bit of politics wrapping itself in the robes of religion. Bustros and his colleagues clearly have a political ax to grind with the Jewish state, and they shamefully do not hesitate to invoke the sacred for this most profane of goals.
My Christian friends tell me that the words “
Furthermore, by Bustros’s own definition, the founder of Christianity would also have to be considered an “occupier” and a “settler,” for according to Christian belief, Jesus the Jew was born and raised in
That is the very same
No matter how one looks at it, the synod’s unbridled insult to
In A letter to Cardinal-elect Kurt Koch, the newly-appointed head of the
It called on Koch to “swiftly and publicly correct Archbishop Bustros’s shocking and damaging statements,” and to clarify whether his “interpretation of the synod’s final report reflects the intention of the synod on these profound theological matters.”
I would take it one step further. Given the Catholic Church’s long and dark history of anti-Jewish persecution, it is only fitting that the pope himself speak out loudly and clearly on this issue. It is incumbent upon Pope Benedict to transform this turn of events into a profound opportunity to atone for what the Church has done to the Jewish people through the centuries.
Ironically, it was 45 years ago today, on October 28, 1965, that the Second Vatican Council approved a document known as Nostra Aetate, which heralded a sea change in the Church’s position toward Jews. In its wake, much has been accomplished in enhancing relations.
But Bustros and his hate-filled rhetoric now threaten to undermine nearly half a century of dialogue and progress. What a terrible shame that would be.
For while the Church may pride itself on preaching love and tolerance, when it comes to its attitude toward the Jews, it still has a long way to go.
