Pope Francis and the Jews Revisited

In a recent post -- December 6 -- I included a few paragraphs from Pope Francis'  apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium in which he addresses the Church's relationship with our Jewish brothers and sisters. These were not however, the Pope's first published words on the subject. Earlier, on September 11 of last year, Pope Francis wrote an article for the Italian national daily, La Repubblica. The Pope's article was in response to a series of questions asked by the publication's founder, Eugenio Scalfari, a non-believer. One of these questions focused on the Jews and whether, in light of centuries of persecution, God had kept His promise to Abraham and his descendants. Pope Francis gave the following reply:

"At the end of your first article, you also ask me what to say to our Jewish brothers about the promise God made to them:  Has this been forgotten? And this  -  believe me  -  is a question that radically involves us as Christians because, with the help of God, starting  from the Second Vatican Council, we have discovered that the Jewish people are still, for us, the holy root from which Jesus originated. I too, in the friendship I have cultivated in all of these long years with our Jewish brothers, in Argentina, many times while praying have asked God, especially when I remember the terrible experience of the Shoah. What I can say, with the Apostle Paul, is that God has never stopped believing in the alliance made with Israel and that, through the terribile trials of these past centuries, the Jews have kept their faith in God. And for this, we will never be grateful enough to them, as the Church, but also as humanity at large. Persevering in their faith in God and in the alliance, they remind everyone, even us as Christians that we are always awaiting, the return of the Lord and that therefore we must remain open to Him and never take refuge in what we have already achieved."

Pope Francis & Rabbi Di Segni

As a result of the Pope's comments -- You can read his entire article here -- Rome's Chief Rabbi, Dr. Riccardo Di Segni, praised Francis in a letter published the following day, September 12. In his letter Dr. Di Segni stated, "This Pontiff does not cease to surprise." He went on to say that, although the Pope's thoughts were not new, and were certainly confirmed by Vatican II, “it is the force with which he expresses them and his capacity of communicating them that is astounding. The fact that Judaism is the holy root of Christianity is fundamental, but many theological currents, especially in Protestantism, have tried to belittle them. In opposing these currents, Francis is coherent to the teaching of Benedict. Especially noteworthy is his expression of gratitude to Jews for their devotion in faith.”

We have been blessed by God with a series of remarkable popes who have led the Church wisely through some very challenging times, and Pope Francis appears to be no exception. Pray for him.

Pope Francis on Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters

In response to the recent (October 2013) meeting of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis wrote and released an apostolic exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium" (The Joy of the Gospel). The document presents the pope's thoughts on the New Evangelization and encourages the faithful to experience again the joy of proclaiming the gospel to the world. It's a wonderful document which you can read in its entirety here: Evangelii Gaudium.

I was especially struck and pleased by the Holy Father's comments regarding the Church's relationship with our Jewish brothers and sisters. I have included the applicable sections below:
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247. We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked, for “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). The Church, which shares with Jews an important part of the sacred Scriptures, looks upon the people of the covenant and their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity (cf. Rom 11:16-18). As Christians, we cannot consider Judaism as a foreign religion; nor do we include the Jews among those called to turn from idols and to serve the true God (cf. 1 Thes 1:9). With them, we believe in the one God who acts in history, and with them we accept his revealed word.

248. Dialogue and friendship with the children of Israel are part of the life of Jesus’ disciples. The friendship which has grown between us makes us bitterly and sincerely regret the terrible persecutions which they have endured, and continue to endure, especially those that have involved Christians.

249. God continues to work among the people of the Old Covenant and to bring forth treasures of wisdom which flow from their encounter with his word. For this reason, the Church also is enriched when she receives the values of Judaism. While it is true that certain Christian beliefs are unacceptable to Judaism, and that the Church cannot refrain from proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Messiah, there exists as well a rich complementarity which allows us to read the texts of the Hebrew Scriptures together and to help one another to mine the riches of God’s word. We can also share many ethical convictions and a common concern for justice and the development of peoples.
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Catholic - Jewish Relations

My visit to the synagogue earlier today brought to mind how dedicated Pope Benedict is to continuing the improvement in Catholic-Jewish relations that we saw under his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. I recalled seeing a video of a Vatican visit by several Israeli rabbis that took place earlier this year, before the pope made his visit to the Holy Land. And so I did a little Google search and was amazed that I actually found it on YouTube. I have included it below: