Mel, Mel, Mel....

Well, I have to admit that I think Mel Gibson is as crazy as Tom Cruise when it comes to spirituality, even though he is a "Catholic" of sorts. Still, I was shocked to hear what he had said about Judaism last week (for those of you who hadn't heard about this mess, he basically blamed the Jews for all the wars in the world. That is a pretty grave thing to say and it has hurt the Jewish community immensely.

While we're on the topic, I would like to point out that the Catholic Church views the Jewish people in a way far removed from the way Mel Gibson portrayed them in his drunken rant.

So what does the Church really think about the Jewish people? I think there is often a lot of confusion in the "public knowledge" about the way the Church views the Jewish people and their role in history. I'll do my best to tell it how I see it.

One of the first places to look in order to find out more about the relationship between Catholics and the Jewish people is the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In the Catechism, the text says this: "The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, 'the first to hear the Word of God'. The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews 'belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ', 'for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.' (CCC 839)

So here it says that the history of the Catholic Church and of the Christians is intimately linked to the history of the Jewish people because they were the first to hear God's call.

Now, the text continues, "And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time..."

Now, the current pope, Pope Benedict XVI, when he was still a cardinal, wrote this: "Even if Israel cannot join Christians in seeing Jesus as the son of God, it is not altogether impossible for Israel to recognize him as the servant of God, who brings the light of his God to the nations. The converse is also true. Even if Christians wish that one day Israel might recognize Christ as the son of God, and that the fissure that still divides them might thereby be closed, they aught to acknowledge the decree of God who has obviously entrusted Israel with a distinctive mission in the time of the Gentiles."

So, here Cardinal Ratzinger talks about a distinctive mission of the Jewish people in this age; in this period of time and we have converging views. We're both looking towards this future where we wait for the return or the difinitive coming of the Messiah. So, there is definitely a light at the horizon and we are traveling in the same direction, even if we are still walking on different paths.

Cardinal Ratizinger (who, again, is now Pope Benedict XVI) wrote some more beautiful words about the realtionship between the Jewish people and the Catholic Church in 2000. He also acknowledges the difficulty and the pain that was inflicted in the past by the strained relationship between those two religions.
"Certainly from the very beginning relations between the infant church and Israel were often marked by conflict. The Church was considered by her own mother to be a degenerate daughter, while Christians considered their mother to be blind and obstinant. Down through the history of Christianity, already strained relations deteriorated further, even giving birth in many cases to anti-jewish attitudes. Such attitudes throughout history have led to deplorable acts of violence. Even if the most recent loathsome experience of the Sho'ah was perpitrated in the name an anti-christian ideology, striking Christianity at its Abrahamic roots in the people of Israel, it cannot be denied that the certain insufficient resistance to this attrocity by Christians can be partly attributed to an anti-judiasm attitude in the heart of more than a few Christians. "

So, here Ratzinger is very clear about the fact that there have been a lot of problems in the relationship between Christians and the people of Israel. A lot of misery could have been prevented or at least strongly opposed if Christians had had a better relationship with the Jews and a better understanding of the role of the Jewish people in history.

Ratzinger continues: "Perhaps is because of this most recent tragedy that a new vision of the relationship between the Church and Israel has been born; a sincere willingness to overcome every kind of anti-judaism to initiate a constructive dialogue based on knowledge of each other and on reconciliation. For such a dialogue to be fruitful, it must begin with a prayer to our common God. First, that He might grant to us Christians a greater love and appreciation for the people of Israel to whom belong the old covanent and the title of God's chosen people; that the gifts that they possess are irrevocable. In the same way, let us pray that God may grant the children of Israel a deeper knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth, who is their son and the gift they have given to us. Since we are both awaiting the final redemption, let us pray that our paths may converge."

So the official position of the Catholic Church of the Jewish people and its role in history is a positive one. We are walking on different paths, but we are walking towards the same horizon. The people of Israel was the first to receive the promise of God, and that promise is still valid. God has not abandoned His People. And there will be a future where we will be able to reconcile with each other and be able to form one body of the same God; one community of people.

So, there it is. And there is certianly no place in the Catholic Church for anti-semetic sentiments. Let's pray that we will all learn from what has happened and we will all work together to fight this anti-judaism and will fight for mutual respect for others' beliefs. For God will guide us all to one truth. His Truth.

God bless!