Rabbi Notes Progress in Jewish-Church Relations

(October 14, 2010) When Catholics and Jews get to know each other, they tend to see each other as genuine friends who have many of the same values and interests in common, affirms Rabbi David Rosen. The Rabbi said this Wednesday at the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops where he was invited as a special guest. The two-week assembly seeks to address several challenges faced by the Churches in the region. "If this synod helps advance not only bilateral dialogue, but even trilateral relations, between Christians, Jews and Muslims, that could be a great source of blessing, both for the Middle East and universally," said Rosen, who is international director of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee. "The relationship today between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people is a blessed transformation in our times -- arguably without historic parallel," he said. The Rabbi further added that "this striking transformation" is not complete, as more time is needed to overcome the "contempt" toward Jews that had been spread for centuries. However, improvement in relations has taken root, and Rosen was quick to note that there are some countries where Catholic-Jewish relations have progressed more than in others. Rosen also acknowledged that in Israel, "the only polity in the world where Jews are a majority," Israelis have been "quite unaware of the profound changes in Catholic-Jewish relations." The Rabbi noted that Israel and the Holy See had established full bilateral relations six years earlier, which had positively influenced perceptions of the Church among Israelis. He credited Pope John Paul II's visit not only for changing attitudes, but also for opening up "the remarkable new avenue for dialogue, understanding and collaboration in the form of the bilateral commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with Jews. He added that if Christians wanted to further improve relations with Jews, they should also take Jewish concerns and their sensibilities into account. Opening the synod in the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Benedict called for peace, justice and harmony in the Middle Eastern birthplace of Christianity, saying that living in a dignified manner in one's own country was a fundamental human right.