U.S. bishops clarify Catholic approach to Jewish faith [CNA]

[CNA_News]

San Antonio, Texas, Jun 21, 2009 / 06:03 pm (CNA).- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement on Thursday to clarify the Church’s stance on how it relates to the Jewish community.

“The USCCB reaffirms what the Holy See has stated repeatedly: that while the Catholic Church does not proselytize the Jewish people, neither does she fail to witness to them her faith in Christ, nor to welcome them to share in that same faith whenever appropriate,” said Bishop Lori, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and Pastoral Practice.

Bishop Lori went on to state the importance of current debates over Catholic understanding of the covenant with Moses in relation to Jesus.

“As followers of Jesus, we see his covenant as fulfilling God’s plan for the salvation of all peoples, both now and at the end of time,” he said. Jews today still adhere to the covenant with Moses, which Christians believe to be fulfilled in Christ.

Archbishop Gregory called to mind Pope John Paul II’s reference to Jews as “our elder brothers and sisters in faith.” Applauding the efforts at furthering dialogue between Catholics and Jews, he added, “By continuing our study together, we hope to deepen our understanding of Jesus and our relationship with each other in God’s redemption of the world.”

Full article…

 

[Neil_Anthony]

Finally we get this much-needed clarification. Their previous statement on this topic sounded like heresy and was very confusing.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

Um, but aren’t we SUPPOSED to proselytize?

 

[JReducation]

Um, but aren’t we SUPPOSED to proselytize?

The popes want us not to proselytize Jews or Muslims. We are to bear witness of our Christian faith by our action, our fidelity to Christ, our charity to them, and our availability to answer their questions.

We are to welcome them to the Catholic faith is they ask to be received into the Church.

Our witness of the Gospel has to be by example of our own holiness.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[manualman]

Is there a difference in definition betwen proselytize and evangelize?

I don’t think any pope can rescind Jesus’ own command to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” But we can sure be sure to do so in respectful ways rather than obnoxious ones.

To me, proselytize is to explicitly make contact with those of other (or no) faith and directly invite them to convert to ours. To evangelize is to live our own lives as fully conformed to Christ as possible and be free with the explanation (when asked) about what is different about us.

 

[rlg94086]

Is there a difference in definition betwen proselytize and evangelize?

I don’t think any pope can rescind Jesus’ own command to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” But we can sure be sure to do so in respectful ways rather than obnoxious ones.

To me, proselytize is to explicitly make contact with those of other (or no) faith and directly invite them to convert to ours. To evangelize is to live our own lives as fully conformed to Christ as possible and be free with the explanation (when asked) about what is different about us.

I believe that is correct. From the OP:

that while the Catholic Church does not proselytize the Jewish people, neither does she fail to witness to them her faith in Christ, nor to welcome them to share in that same faith whenever appropriate,”

It seems to me that what the Church is saying is that we shouldn’t specifically target Jews for conversion, but we should continue to “witness to them” and “welcome them to share” in our faith…as we should all non-Catholics.

 

[leopolis1]

We have to evangelize Jews, preach Jesus to them and pray for their conversion. If we don’t - we are cowards and traitors and we will have to pay for it on the judgement day. Salvation is only in the Name of Jesus and that’s why Jews need our help and prayer. We cannot be politically correct or refrain from preaching the truth to Jews. We have to preach the Good News to every creation - this is our duty!!!

 

[JReducation]

Is there a difference in definition betwen proselytize and evangelize?

I don’t think any pope can rescind Jesus’ own command to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” But we can sure be sure to do so in respectful ways rather than obnoxious ones.

To me, proselytize is to explicitly make contact with those of other (or no) faith and directly invite them to convert to ours. To evangelize is to live our own lives as fully conformed to Christ as possible and be free with the explanation (when asked) about what is different about us.

This is exactly correct. The Church does not want us pushing the Christian faith into the faces of the Jews or the Muslims. Pardon the adolescent expression.

But this does not preclude evangelization through witness. Christ did call us to make disciples of all men. He did not make it a practice in his own ministry to force feed the faith. He presented the faith, he answered questions, he shared with those who believed and those who did not believe, he served both the believer and the non believer.

This is the model that the Church wants us to follow.

I’m going to guess that the reason the Church is not saying this is because in the past, Christian missionaries often bullied their audience into conversions or frightened them with threats of hell and fire, etc.

This style would be very unproductive among Jews and Muslims, because both groups have been abused by many people. They would not see this as an attempt to save their souls, but as another attempt to control them. The faith is not about control, but about the union of the soul with God. As I always say, you lead a bride down the altar, you do not drag her.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Deacon_Augustin]

Is there a difference in definition betwen proselytize and evangelize?

I don’t think any pope can rescind Jesus’ own command to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” But we can sure be sure to do so in respectful ways rather than obnoxious ones.

To me, proselytize is to explicitly make contact with those of other (or no) faith and directly invite them to convert to ours. To evangelize is to live our own lives as fully conformed to Christ as possible and be free with the explanation (when asked) about what is different about us.

So was St. Paul “proselytizing” when he visited all those synagogues to bring the Gospel to Jews or was he evangelizing? (Hint: Latin for “gospel” is “evangelium” and “evangelizing” means "bringing/preaching the Gospel to the unbelievers.)

Traditionally the term “proselytizing” has had negative overtones because it implied the use of material inducements to conversion i.e. “Leave their church and join ours and we will give your family a month’s supply of rice.” However, the word has been abused in recent decades and it is now generally used in a very subjective fashion to describe any missionary activity which the user of the word dislikes.

Evangelization must, of necessity, involve the direct invitation to others to hear the Gospel and be converted to the Faith. Jesus didn’t just run around being nice to people - the first public action we see him make is to proclaim: “Repent and believe…” The word “gospel” means “good news” and the point about “news” is that one is meant to tell people about it. They don’t usually get the good news that Jesus has opened the gates of heaven, provided the means to have all their sins wiped out, and offered them the chance to share in eternal life now and in the hereafter, by watching somebody help a granny across a busy road.

Witness by the way we live is obviously important as well, but these days there is not the context of a vibrant Christendom which enables people to associate a virtuous life with a living faith in Christ as there was in St. Francis’ day, for example.

We have just as much obligation to tell Jews and Muslims the good news as we do for anybody else because God wants all men (not just Jews and not just gentiles) to be saved and come to full knowledge of the Truth - the Truth who is Jesus Christ. I am sure it must be insulting to God, not to mention a denial of the omnipotence of His love, to claim that there is a particular part of the human race that He does not want to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth just because they are Jews. Surely it must also be antisemitic (in the true sense of the word) to want to exclude Jews from the love and knowledge of Christ?

God established Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and man and His Catholic Church as the pillar and foundation of the truth - the ark outside of which there is no forgiveness of sins, no eternal life and no salvation. Perhaps our reluctance to evangelise is due to the fact that we don’t fully understand the height and depth and breadth of the love of Christ that has brought such great a gift to us at such great cost and sacrifice. Or maybe its just that we fear the disapproval of men (especially highly vocal Jewish men) more than we fear offending God.

 

[Deacon_Augustin]

I’m going to guess that the reason the Church is not saying this is because in the past, Christian missionaries often bullied their audience into conversions or frightened them with threats of hell and fire, etc.

That’s interesting. Can you provide any evidence or examples to substantiate your allegations?

 

[Eucharisted]

Guys, don’t put your personal opinions above the teachings of the Catholic Church.

 

[JReducation]

That’s interesting. Can you provide any evidence or examples to substantiate your allegations?

In the Franciscan chronicles, many of our friars who came to the Americas wote about their experience.

They misunderstood the natives in the Americas. Gradually, they came to realize that these were human beings with a soul. It was Junipero Serra, OFM and Bartoleme de las Casas, OP who began to write to the crown in Spain to rule against the physical abuse of the indigenous people.

If you go through the chronicles of the Dominicans and the Franciscans you find many letters and entries like these, not only from those who came to America, but those who went to China too.

The issue is not that they were malevolent, but truly did not understand the local people. It is my belief that the laity that came with them, all of whom were Catholic, were interested in riches and they hurt many communities where they landed. The combination of the early friars who came with them, not knowing any batter about the local culture and the local people not knowing anything about the European, led to a catostrophic encounter where force was often tolerated by the friars in the name of God and King. It was not long before the friars realized that this was horribly wrong and began to react in defense of the local people.

This is an entry that is found in one of the Franciscan and Dominican archives. It is a letter sent to Spain by a group of outraged Dominican and Franciscan friars pointing out the horror of the missionary efforts:

"[Christians] go through the land like rabid wolves in the midst of gentle lambs . . … Greedy and rabid for money and full of other filthy passions, they [have begun] to break and destroy the land . . . [leaving the few thousand surviving Indians] having more of a likeness to painted corpses than living persons. (qtd in Gutiérrez 44) "

It is my opinion, that many Jews and Muslims are as afraid of Christians as many Christians are afraid of them. The best way to spread the Gospel is to lift the cloud of fear through a gentle presence.

The Franciscan Commisereate of the Holy Land and the Middle East is doing a wonderful job at this. The friars have been there for over 500 years. They do not go knocking on doors converting people. But their presence is very visible. The not only help the Eastern Catholics and Orthodox care for the sacred shrines, but they care for the people by providing them with education, health care, family services, schools for the disabled, bringing water to places where there are no aqueducts and doing this in teams of Friars, Muslims and Jews.

Two of the biggest operations in the Middle East are the Institute of Our Lady of Peace, a special school for the disabled in Jordan and the other is the Franciscan Family Center in Jerusalem.

Both ministries began tending to Christians and now include Jews and Muslims. There have been some converts in Israel. We do not know about Jordan, because it is illegal for Jordanians to convert. However, the Holy Father expressed a great deal of respect for Jordan, because they do have peaceful co-existence between Christians, Jews and Muslims. Many attribute it to the presence of missionaries who live their and preach by their way of life. Two wonderful groups are the Comboni Sisters and the Missionaries of Charity (of Calcutta).

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

Guys, don’t put your personal opinions above the teachings of the Catholic Church.

You’re right. It is very important always to make sure that we clarify what is our opinion and make sure that we do not place our opinion over the statements of the Church.

We can state our opinion to explain something or to try to understand something. But it must be clear to the reader when it’s our opinion and when it comes from a higher authority.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[rlg94086]

Guys, don’t put your personal opinions above the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Can you clarify? Which guys and which “personal opinions?” I know in my case, I quoted the article to show that the Church is teaching that we should still evangelize (i.e. witness) but not proselytize. It seems pretty clear to me…

 

[Rascalking]

Let us never forget that the Jewish people were here first. God made them His chosen people.

I’m a Catholic, proud Catholic, but we should never forget that the Jewish people are all our brothers and sisters in God.

 

[manualman]

…
The Franciscan Commisereate of the Holy Land and the Middle East is doing a wonderful job at this. The friars have been there for over 500 years. They do not go knocking on doors converting people. But their presence is very visible. The not only help the Eastern Catholics and Orthodox care for the sacred shrines, but they care for the people by providing them with education, health care, family services, schools for the disabled, bringing water to places where there are no aqueducts and doing this in teams of Friars, Muslims and Jews.

I’m guessing that these guys AREN’T the Franciscans who routinely get into fistfights with the Orthdox at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre??
Just funnin’ ya. We’re all fallen, no?

To the other poster, there is a rather difference between the Jews St. Paul preached to and those we live amongst today. He didn’t have the baggage of 2,000 years of mistreatment, often in the name of Christ to overcome first. We do. Thus, the different approach required.

I’m not so convinced the muslims are in the same category as the Jews. IMO, on the whole they’ve dished out misery at least as much as they received back. Not that that justifies anything, but it sure makes it more understandable on a flawed, fallen human level.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

I’m not so convinced the muslims are in the same category as the Jews. IMO, on the whole they’ve dished out misery at least as much as they received back. Not that that justifies anything, but it sure makes it more understandable on a flawed, fallen human level.

I understand this (and I greatly respect the Jews, I’m grateful to them for the Holy One’s Incarnation and for the young Lady who said,“Yes,” when God asked Her to bear Him). To say, however, that there is a group of people that we will NOT proselytize or actively seek to convert seems to be a refusal of the Great Commission (I’m not even sure that’s a Catholic term, I’ll call it a left-over from my Southern Baptist days!).

 

[manualman]

I don’t really think it is what you fear it is. I think they are being exceedingly diplomatic. The problem you face today is that when you FIRST tell them you are a christian, they (inside) think “oh, one of THOSE people.” When you SHOW them what Christ has done in your life and make them wonder why they like you so much, then you can surprise the daylights out of them when you tell them why.

See the difference? St. Paul just didn’t have to deal with that baggage. We do.

 

[JKirkLVNV]

I don’t really think it is what you fear it is. I think they are being exceedingly diplomatic. The problem you face today is that when you FIRST tell them you are a christian, they (inside) think “oh, one of THOSE people.” When you SHOW them what Christ has done in your life and make them wonder why they like you so much, then you can surprise the daylights out of them when you tell them why.

See the difference? St. Paul just didn’t have to deal with that baggage. We do.

Hmmm…I’ll have to think on that.

 

[JReducation]

I don’t really think it is what you fear it is. I think they are being exceedingly diplomatic. The problem you face today is that when you FIRST tell them you are a christian, they (inside) think “oh, one of THOSE people.” When you SHOW them what Christ has done in your life and make them wonder why they like you so much, then you can surprise the daylights out of them when you tell them why.

See the difference? St. Paul just didn’t have to deal with that baggage. We do.

This is the issue. We have hundreds of years of animosity, wars, misunderstandings, finger pointing and violence between Christians, Jews and Muslims. When you have that much negative history and on top of that we throw in the current political situation in the Middle East, the trust goes right down the tubes.

This is a lot of baggage to overcome at the snap of a finger. We have to recall, the three sides are guilty. None of them has the right to point the finger to the other. The politics in the past over shadowed religion. The conflicts were more about power, than they were about faith. None of these people ever spoke to each other about faith. This is a new era.

Jews, Catholics and Muslims have much work to do.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF