We are all aware of the recent troubling pubic exchange between the international Jewish Community and the Vatican. This was triggered by a Bishop Richard Williamson’s public denial of the Holocaust or Shoah —the murder of over 6 million Jewish people by the Nazi machine during 1936- 1945. Bishop Williamson is a member of the Society of Pius X, many of whose members reject the basic teaching of Vatican II and in particular its fundamental rejection of all forms and roots of anti Semitism.

The Pius X Society is not in full communion with the Catholic
Church but Bishop Williamson and three other bishops of that society, who were illicitly ordained, have been reconciled with the church. The fact that a bishop holding these views was accepted as a bishop in our church has added yet another bump in the road of Catholic —Jewish relations during the time of Pope Benedict.

Now the Vatican has publicly decried Bishop Williamson’s
statement and the Pius X Society has silenced him on that issue. Yet the fad that his position on this was not dealt with before his reconciliation to the church is troubling. The Second Vatican Council made clear that the Jews as a people cannot be held liable for the death of Jesus! that our roots as Christians are planted in Jewish soil e.g. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, & the Prophets. We share over ‘h of our bible with the Jews and received it from the Jews and finally the council made it clear that the death of Jesus and the birth of Christianity does not translate into Gods rejection of the Jews. The Jews as a race are still God’s chosen people. The rejection of these teachings puts one outside the pole of tradition of the church as clarified by the 2nd Vatican Council.

There are some thorny theological issues raised by these teachings that need more study. The issues revolve around the teaching that the Jews are saved or made righteous before God through the covenants God made with Abraham! Isaac, Jacob and Moses That the Jews are not rejected by God is clear if we look at Paul’s letter to the Romans 11: 1! 25-29. On the other hand we have this passage in Johns Gospel Chapter 14: 6 where Jesus says, 1 am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’

On the logical black and white level, one cannot reconcile these two positions. How can Jews be right before God through an arrangement God has with them exclusively and Jesus the only way to the Father?

As Catholic Christians we have no choice except to bold both
teachings and to expect that the Holy Spirit working through Bishops, theologians! and the faithful will in time, reveal to us the way to understand all this. In the meantime, as we work this all out, expect more dust ups between Catholics and Jews. In Italy, German and France Jews have walked away from the dialogue with us. This is not true in the United States yet, and I do not really expect that to happen. As one involved in Jewish Catholic dialogue for over 45 years. I sense that levels of friendship, affection, and trust between Jews and Catholics here are too deep to be disrupted by events like these despite our unhappiness with all of it. Let us pray about that.