Catholic-jewish reconciliation: From theology to diplomacy

Abstract

Catholic-Jewish relations have come a long way in the last hundred years though they still have a long way to go. When we take up the story before the First World War we find the two faith communities alienated by the theological divisions and prejudices that had marked their relationship since earliest times. Traditional anti-semitic attitudes and even charges of ritual murder remained rife in the Church of Rome.1 A century later we find a Church that has officially repudiated the charge of eternal Jewish guilt for the death of Christ, roundly condemns antisemitism, and maintains diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. After Pope John XXIII informally greeted Jewish worshippers outside Rome’s Great Synagogue in 1959 and Pope Paul VI unofficially met Israeli leaders at Megiddo in 1964, popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI officially visited synagogues (in 1986 and 2006) and were received by the president of Israel in his Jerusalem residence (in 2000 and 2009). Important differences remain, and it would be naïve to think that all prejudice-on both sides-has vanished. Nevertheless, the relationship has been normalized to a significant extent.