Pope's Visit to Israel
March 25, 2000

Pope John Paul II's remarkable pilgrimage to Israel is not just about a devout Christian fulfilling his dream to trod upon the paths and the soil where the founder of his religion once walked. It is about taking a further historic step on the journey toward a new relationship with the Jewish people begun 40 years ago by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

Yes, there are rabbis and Jewish leader who are criticizing the Pope because he didn't mention the Holocaust when they thought he should have and because he apologized for individuals who sinned; but not for the Church itself, and because he made some statements favorable to the Palestinians and their aspirations for a homeland. But one has to be willfully myopic not to notice the revolutionary transformation in the Church's attitude toward Jews and Judaism during the last 40 years and that now has reached a new peak with Pope John Paul II's visit to Israel.

Let us look at the past four decades. During that time, the Catholic Church has not only forcefully repudiated those of its teachings that spawned contempt for Judaism and Jews, but it has produced documents and developed materials to promote respect and appreciation of the Jewish people. It has encouraged Christians to deepen their knowledge of the Jewish roots of Christianity. It has eschewed proselytization among the Jews and has gone as far as to condemn deceptive religious syncretism, which is exemplified by Jews for Jesus. This is in contrast to many Protestant denominations that still have our conversion on their agenda and financially support Jews for Jesus. To understand how revolutionary this approach is, let us not forget that until only recently, the Catholic catechism taught that Jews, like all those not baptized, were destined for eternal damnation.

Just a few weeks ago, Pope John Paul, in one of the most significant acts of his papacy, sought forgiveness for the many past sins of his Church, including its treatment of other religions. Wearing the purple vestments of Lenten mourning as he conducted the mass, the Pope said, "We ask forgiveness for the behavior of diffidence and hostility sometimes used towards followers of other religions." He apologized for the Inquisition and the Crusades and said, "we have sinned." The prayer for forgiveness recited at the service, implored: "Let us pray that, in recalling the sufferings endured by the people of Israel throughout history, Christians will acknowledge the sins committed by not a few of their number against the people of the covenant..." This was not a conciliatory statement read at a B'nai B'rith brotherhood dinner in East Podunk. These words were said at the Vatican's Saint Peter's Basilica. They were offered on Ash Wednesday that marks the beginning of the Lenten season, the equivalent of our High Holidays. And they were recited in the course of the liturgy itself, bringing the apology to the very heart of the worship.

Looking back on his career, we could say that Pope John Paul II's journey toward reconciliation and his enormous contribution to the improvement of Catholic-Jewish relations began with his visit to a Rome synagogue in 1986. It was the first time that a pope had ever entered a Jewish house of prayer. Soon after, he put the weight of his authority toward establishing full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican. To appreciate the road traveled by Pope John Paul on this issue, you should know that in 1919, the Vatican, opposing the idea of Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land, cited the danger of holy sites falling into the hands of "the enemies of Christian civilization."

The profound change in Catholic-Jewish relations has been promoted not only by Pope John Paul but also by Cardinals and Bishops. Cardinal John O'Connor sent out a letter for this year's High Holy Days in which he announced that "March 8th has been especially set aside as a day for Catholics to reflect upon the pain inflicted on the Jewish people by many of our members over the last millennia."

The Catholic Archbishop of Milwaukee recently composed an "affirmation and request for forgiveness" that was read from the pulpits of all Catholic churches in the Milwaukee Diocese at the start of Lent. It stated: "I acknowledge that, as Christians, we have through centuries acted toward our Jewish brothers and sisters in a fashion contrary to God's law. "I acknowledge that such actions harmed the Jewish community throughout the ages both physically and psychologically. "I acknowledge that we Christians, by preaching a doctrine that the Jewish people were unfaithful, hypocritical and God-killers, reduced the human dignity of our Jewish brothers and sisters and created attitudes that made reprisals against them seem like acts of conformity to God's will. This contributed to the attitudes that made the Holocaust possible. The statement then called for a moment of silence after which came these powerful words: "I ask for forgiveness for all the hurtful and harmful statements by Christians against the Jewish people throughout the centuries. "I ask for forgiveness for all the statements that implied that the Jewish people were no longer loved by God, that God had abandoned them, that they were guilty of deicide, that they were, as a people, being punished by God. "I ask for forgiveness for all the statements that reduced the Jewish people to "non-people," that created contempt for them, that reduced their human dignity. "I ask for forgiveness for all the teaching and preaching in Christian churches that may have led up to the Holocaust and that may have contributed to the horrors of that attempt at genocide.

I find that a remarkable confession and apology - one that could only have been written with the blessing and the support of the Papacy in Rome.

It is human nature that we don't admit errors easily. There is probably nothing more difficult for us to say than "I'm sorry." How much more difficult is it for the leaders of one of the world's most powerful religions. The journey of the Catholic Church in admitting its sins and seeking reconciliation is an act of great courage and humanity that has put an end to the Church's defamation of our heritage for all times. The Catholic Church's desire to forge a new relationship with the Jewish people based on respect and appreciation for our ancient faith ushers in a new era that will surely bring blessing to both of us. It gives us the courage to pray for that day when all hatred - religious, national and racial - will be erased from the face of God's good earth and all people will live in harmony and peace.