Holy See Statement on Prayer for the Jews in 1962 Missal
(04 Apr 08 - RV)
The Holy See's Secretariat of State has issued a statement
on the prayer for the Jews in the Good Friday liturgy of the 1962 Missal. Here is
the statement in its entirety...
Following the publication of the new Prayer
for the Jews for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, some groups within the Jewish
community have expressed disappointment that it is not in harmony with the official
declarations and statements of the Holy See regarding the Jewish people and their
faith which have marked the progress of friendly relations between the Jews and the
Catholic Church over the last forty years.
The Holy See wishes to reassure
that the new formulation of the Prayer, which modifies certain expressions of the
1962 Missal, in no way intends to indicate a change in the Catholic Churchs regard
for the Jews which has evolved from the basis of the Second Vatican Council, particularly
the Declaration Nostra Aetate. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI, in an audience with the Chief
Rabbis of Israel on 15 September 2005, remarked that this document has proven to be a
milestone on the road towards the reconciliation of Christians with the Jewish people.
The continuation of the position found in Nostra Aetate is clearly shown by the
fact that the prayer contained in the 1970 Missal continues to be in full use,
and is the ordinary form of the prayer of Catholics.
In the context of other
affirmations of the Council - on Sacred Scripture (Dei Verbum, 14) and on the Church
(Lumen Gentium, 16) - Nostra Aetate presents the fundamental principles which have
sustained and today continue to sustain the bonds of esteem, dialogue, love, solidarity
and collaboration between Catholics and Jews. It is precisely while examining the mystery
of the Church that Nostra Aetate recalls the unique bond with which the people of
the New Testament is spiritually linked with the stock of Abraham and rejects every
attitude of contempt or discrimination against Jews, firmly repudiating any kind
of anti-Semitism. The Holy See hopes that the explanations made in this statement
will help to clarify any misunderstanding. It reiterates the unwavering desire
that the concrete progress made in mutual understanding and the growth in esteem
between Jews and Christians will continue to develop.