The Catholic-Jewish Partnership That Changed History

At a time when antisemitism is being normalized around the world in a way that we haven’t seen for decades, it is a blessing to commemorate this week a historic event 60 years ago that played an important role in the diminution of antisemitism for many decades thereafter. That event took place at the conclave of Catholic Cardinals known as Vatican II, and it was the declaration known as Nostra Aetate, which among other things repealed the historic Catholic tenet that held the Jews collectively responsible for the death of Jesus. 

As Catholicism over the centuries became a worldwide religion this idea of Jewish responsibility for the death of Christ became a central theme of Christian theology and played a major role in the spreading of antisemitic stereotypes about the Jews. The accusation that Jews were Christ killers was not only a fundamental element of the religious theology of the Church; it also played a catalytic role in the transformation of Christian attitudes toward Jews. While it was a religion full of anti-Jewish ideas, it became one in which antisemitism was ingrained in average Christians and one would have had to be unique not to walk around with anti-Jewish attitudes that excused anti-Jewish conduct. 

And then came the Holocaust and the destruction of European Jewry. Catholic leaders as a result came to a reckoning with their own history, recognizing how centuries of portraying the Jewish people as responsible for the deicide had played a significant role in the acceptability of Germany’s portrayal of alleged Jewish evil and the justification of the Final Solution. 

Much work had been done both by Catholics and Jews leading up to Vatican II preparing the way for this historic resolution. When it passed there was widespread recognition history had been made but uncertainty about how far things would change. 

We can happily say on the occasion of this sixtieth anniversary that Nostra Aetate opened the way to a fundamental transformation of Catholic-Jewish relations. This is not to say that problems don’t remain, including a reckoning of the role Pope Pius XII played during the Holocaust. 

Still, what is so dramatic is the way Jews are portrayed by Catholics in today’s world and the comfort level that now exists both between religious leaders of each religion and among the congregants of both. 

Jewish organizations which had hailed Nostra Aetate when it passed recognized that as important as it was, it wouldn’t translate into true progress in relations without hard work. ADL was one of those.

In cooperation with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, ADL launched a program called “Bearing Witness” in which every summer we brought together about 50 Catholic school teachers from across the country to spend a week with ADL staff to examine and learn about Jewish history, religious ideas, and Catholic-Jewish relations. The idea behind this program, supported both by ADL and the Bishops Conference, was that critical follow-up to the Vatican’s historic movement required it to filter down to young Catholics. And the best way to achieve that goal was to educate the teachers in Catholic schools.  

Indeed, for more than 20 years I would give the opening three-hour talk on the history of antisemitism. Each year, I would introduce the talk by saying to the group of teachers that you will be hearing some difficult matters related to the Church’s role in the history of antisemitism. Understand that the reason we can even have this conversation is because of the amazing transformation of Catholic religious leadership and theology at Vatican II in its attitude toward Judaism and the Jewish people. And for more than 20 years I was simply amazed to see, consistently, a willingness to be open to challenging historical events. A new openness between Jews and Catholics had emerged. 

Bearing Witness was just one of many programs that developed between the two communities. They were the best example of how to be fair and look at one’s own mistakes, create a new credibility and demonstrate a willingness to change. 

In this regard, I wish our own community would do more to publicize and celebrate how far the relationship has come in these sixty years. At a time when the memory of the Holocaust is fading and survivors are dying, when antisemitic incidents are being normalized, when the Jewish state is being unfairly maligned on many international stages, one of the developments that most represents hope for the future is this transformation of Catholic-Jewish relations since Nostra Aetate and the contrast between today’s relations and the way history over the centuries played out. 

Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah is translated as “the hope.” Catholic-Jewish relations offer that hope and we should celebrate and encourage it.