Editorial

A true Christian cannot be anti-Semitic

Let us pray also for the Jewish people, to whom the Lord our God spoke first, that he may grant them to advance in love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant. (Good Friday Prayer)

There has been a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism in the United States and in Europe in recent years. Racist, anti-Semitic attitudes and actions have caused the Jewish community to once again fear that their safety and welfare are threatened by those who believe that Jews are either inferior or that they are somehow conspiring against the rest of humanity.

Such attitudes and actions are profoundly anti-Christian as well as anti-Semitic. They have no place in the lives of Catholics or members of other Christian denominations, and they should be condemned by all people of good will.

According to a November 2022 statement by the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs:

The rising trend of anti-Semitic incidents has become even more painful in light of the Church’s relationship to the Jewish tradition and our connections to the Jewish people in dialogue and friendship.

The Catholic Church’s relationship with the Jewish people has a troubled history during the past 2,000 years. As recently as the Second World War, some historians have said, Pope Pius XII, who was pope from 1939 to 1958, stayed silent during the Holocaust and didn’t do enough to save lives. His defenders say he used quiet diplomacy and encouraged convents and other religious institutes to hide Jews. Regardless of how the Church’s role is perceived in this most shameful period of human history, there is no question that the former understanding of how Jews and Christians are related to one another needed to change radically.

Today, the Church unequivocally condemns the unspeakable evil perpetrated by the Nazis and all who were complicit in their crimes against humanity. All recent popes—from Pope St. John XXIII to Pope Francis—have worked tirelessly to change the way we Catholics relate to our Jewish sisters and brothers.

As noted in the USCCB statement referenced above, which quotes from the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on the relationship between Christians and Jews in the declaration, “Nostra Aetate”:

Beginning with the leadership of St. Paul VI, who guided the drafting and approval of Nostra Aetate through the Second Vatican Council and continuing without interruption to the present day with Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has continually fostered and recommended “that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues” (“Nostra Aetate,”#4)

Early in his papacy, Pope Francis addressed members of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, calling them “dear elder brothers and sisters” and saluting them with the Hebrew greeting, “Shalom,” which means “peace.” In his address, the Holy Father referred to the “Nostra Aetate” declaration saying:

In that Council text, the Church recognizes that “the beginnings of its faith and election are to be found in the patriarchs, Moses and prophets.” And, with regard to the Jews, the Council recalls the teaching of St. Paul, who wrote “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” and who also firmly condemned hatred, persecution and all forms of anti-Semitism. Due to our common roots, a Christian cannot be anti-Semitic! 

The fundamental principles expressed by the declaration have marked the path of greater awareness and mutual understanding trodden these last decades by Jews and Catholics, a path which my predecessors have strongly encouraged, both by very significant gestures and by the publication of a series of documents to deepen the thinking about theological bases of the relations between Jews and Christians. It is a journey for which we must surely give thanks to God.

Due to our “common roots,” Pope Francis declared, “a Christian cannot be anti-Semitic!” Anti-Semitism is profoundly un-Christian. It destroys the fundamental principles underlying our mutual dignity as people made in the image and likeness of God and called to love God and our neighbor wholeheartedly and without exception.

We are right to pray for our Jewish sisters and brothers each year on Good Friday. This prayer, which has its own complicated history, acknowledges that God spoke first to the Jewish people, and it asks that the Lord will “grant them to advance in love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant.”

May our Church’s prayer be heard and answered in the reverent and respectful attitudes and actions of Christians everywhere.

—Daniel Conway