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Bishop Kevin Rhoades of @diocesefwsb recently published an important condemnation of anti-Semitism: https://todayscatholic.org/friendship-with-our-jewish-brothers-and-sisters/. Although he doesn't name names, some of it is clearly intended to counter the hateful words being spread by E. Michael Jones, a Catholic in his diocese ...
What follows are some key quotations from Bishop Rhoades's "Friendship with Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters." I invite you to share them with friends and social-media contacts who follow accounts such as Jones's, to show them that hatred and suspicion of Jews is anti-Catholic ...
Bishop Rhoades writes that Catholic and Jews are " brothers and sisters, drawn together by a common spiritual patrimony. ...
"We recognize that the anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism of past centuries contributed to the rise of the Nazi project to exterminate Jews. ..."
"We recognize that the anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism of past centuries contributed to the rise of the Nazi project to exterminate Jews. ..."
"Learning from the tragedy of the Holocaust, the Church deplored in her 1965 landmark document, Nostra Aetate (In Our Time), 'all hatreds, persecutions, displays of antisemitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews.' ..."
Bishop Rhoades further quotes from Nostra Aetate that "the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture. ..."
"Consequently, all must take care, lest in catechizing or in preaching the Word of God, they teach anything which is not in accord with the truth of the Gospel message or the spirit of Christ” (NA 4) ...
"Unfortunately," Bp. Rhoades notes, "there has been a rise in recent years of anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic rhetoric in our society. Further, there have been incidents of violence incited by hateful speech about Jews. The Church has firmly condemned such rhetoric and violence ..."
"Those who speak of Jews as our enemies are mistaken. Pope St. Paul VI, Pope St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis have consistently referred to our Jewish brothers and sisters as 'friends' whom we love and esteem, not as enemies or adversaries whom we reject ..."
(I would add that Pius XI and Pius XII spoke likewise. The latter told a Jewish visitor in 1941, "Believe me, you are at least as worthy as every other human being that lives on our earth! ... Never forget, you must always be proud to be a Jew!" See https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/03/03/history-redeemed-justice-for-pope-pius-xii/.) ...
Bishop Rhoades continues:
"Language matters. Language that incites animosity is harmful. This is not to say that there are not disagreements between Christians and Jews about matters of faith, but such disagreements need not imply hostility. ..."
"Language matters. Language that incites animosity is harmful. This is not to say that there are not disagreements between Christians and Jews about matters of faith, but such disagreements need not imply hostility. ..."
"The only truly Christian attitude towards the Jewish people is an attitude of respect, esteem, and love. As members of God’s family, we are bound to one another in His plan of salvation. ..."
Bp. Rhoades, after quoting further from Nostra Aetate & from the Catechism, adds: ...
Bp. Rhoades, after quoting further from Nostra Aetate & from the Catechism, adds: ...
"These teachings are not optional for Catholics but require our consent as true expressions of our faith. Negative language towards Jews as a people, a culture or a religion, is not acceptable. ..."
Here Bishop Rhoades gets more specific: "For example, some authors partially quote a few Biblical texts to justify anti-Jewish sentiments—texts that either refer only to certain categories of Jews, or that defend the Christian mission against Jews who originally opposed it. ..."
"While some of these passages are polemical in tone, they nevertheless do not reflect contempt or hostility for Jews themselves, as the Pontifical Biblical Commission explained in its 2002 statement, 'The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible.' ..."
"There, then-Cdl Joseph Ratzinger emphasized that such texts should not be used as a pretext for anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish contempt. Instead, they need to be interpreted 1st, in relation to the whole message of the Bible & 2nd, according to their concrete historical context..."
"No matter their differences, the parting of ways between Christians and Jews never canceled out the spiritual bond between these two parts of the same family.
"Some writers today do not present Jews or Judaism in a respectful or theologically correct manner. ..."
"Some writers today do not present Jews or Judaism in a respectful or theologically correct manner. ..."
"The Catholic Church offers no shelter to anti-Jewish bias, regardless of its content or expression. This applies to racist statements against Jews, to anti-Semitism, or to any religious opinion that denigrates Jews or Judaism. ..."
Here is where Bishop Rhoades especially seems to be addressing E. Michael Jones, who claims he loves the Jews out of the divine command to love our enemy:
"The Jews are not our enemies. We are bound together with them in friendship as brothers & sisters in the family of God..."
"The Jews are not our enemies. We are bound together with them in friendship as brothers & sisters in the family of God..."
"In this age of social media, people read or listen to all kinds of opinions expressed about Judaism and the Jewish people on internet blogs, websites, and the like. Some are filled with false and hateful rhetoric, opposed to the very spirit of Christianity. ..."
"As Catholics, we must reject any that express, or can lead to, contempt for Jews. It is important that Catholics embrace and follow the message of Nostra Aetate, the authoritative, Conciliar teaching of the Church."
Read the rest:
https://todayscatholic.org/friendship-with-our-jewish-brothers-and-sisters/ ...
Read the rest:
https://todayscatholic.org/friendship-with-our-jewish-brothers-and-sisters/ ...
Kudos to Bishop Rhoades for being clear about Catholic teaching as it relates to our public witness.
Please join me in praying for the repentance and conversion of all who spread anti-Semitism or any other form of hatred.
Please join me in praying for the repentance and conversion of all who spread anti-Semitism or any other form of hatred.
Some of you may have seen this response to the above thread. Father Schmidt deleted it but has not acknowledged any wrong in his attempting to correct Bishop Rhoades in this way. ...
As I and many others have tried to explain to Father Schmidt, his words and tone are at odds with the voice of the Church as she seeks to undo the damage caused by anti-Semitism within her membership. https://mobile.twitter.com/DawnofMercy/status/1235602545940316160
What Father Schmidt is saying, by countering Vatican II, two popes, and Bishop Rhoades, is that the teachings of the Council on our brotherhood with the Jews is fundamentally at odds with Catholic teachings on the necessity of baptism and the call to evangelize. They are not. ...
... A priest who, seeing a bishop quoting the Council and quoting popes about Catholics' brotherhood with Jews, thinks that it is his duty to jump in to defend Catholic teaching on baptism, is pitting himself against the Church's own understanding of her tradition. ..
I just contacted the chancellor of the Diocese of Sioux Falls to explain this. As a Jew who entered the Catholic Church to gain the help of the sacraments and the sure hope of salvation, I know what is Catholic teaching on the necessity of baptism ...
And I know what anti-Semitism is. Bishop Rhoades's condemnation of it was necessary because of the ongoing online hatred spewed by E. Michael Jones, who lives in his diocese, and by numberless others. ...
In speaking with the Sioux Falls chancellor, I tried to explain the extraordinary insensitivity of Father Schmidt on this matter. Father Schmidt has not apologized for his now-deleted tweet. Instead, he has been tweeting proof texts in his own defense. ...
... As Bishop Rhoades noted, citing Ratzinger, using such texts to deny our brotherhood with Jews is unacceptable. "The parting of ways between Christians and Jews never canceled out the spiritual bond between these two parts of the same family." https://todayscatholic.org/friendship-with-our-jewish-brothers-and-sisters/
I intend to follow up by emailing the chancellor material to give context regarding Father Schmidt's online anti-witness. If you share my concern, I invite you to do the same. His name & email address are here: http://www.sfcatholic.org/diocesan-ministries-directory/ @kevin_ahern @arturoviaggia @MassimoFaggioli
Here is the conclusion of the email I sent the chancellor. @kevin_ahern @arturoviaggia @MassimoFaggioli
