71 rabbis attack the Pope

Six weeks before the pope trip to the Holy Land, a group of 71 rabbis has attacked the Vatican. In a letter they called on the Israeli government under no circumstances to meet halfway the Holy See in matters of taxation of church properties. The news agency reports the Apic on this Thursday. All the churches that exist today in Israel, says the letter from the rabbi, were the result of the crushing of the Jews 1900 years ago. The Vatican is "the heir of the Roman Empire" that conquered Jerusalem, expelled the Jews and had destroyed their land .

Cathcon: A peculiar accusation, given that the Rabbis would emphatically not want to be blamed for the actions of their spiritual heirs.

Comments

Very shrewd observation. But, you forget the old double standard must be maintained!
In any case, I don't want to call the rabbis liars, but the truth is that 1900 years ago Christians were being turned over to the Roman government by our "elder brothers." Judaism was a religio licita, Christianity was not.
Anonymous said…
I wish certain Jews would get it through their heads that Christians are the only friends they have in the world.
I still don't get it. Jewish community leaders of major standing wrote directly to the Vatican two years ago detailing the problems of antisemitism within SSPX, including Bishop Williamson's writings, and the correspondence didn't make a dent. Yet, a controversial, largely unrecognized body of rabbis write, not to the Vatican, but to Israeli leadership, and the news of it makes it to Vatican Radio!
Terry Nelson said…
"A peculiar accusation, given that the Rabbis would emphatically not want to be blamed for the actions of their spiritual heirs."

Excellent point.
Let me say first that I in no way condone any form of violence or antijudaism (the term anitsemitism is impercise as the Jews are not the only Semites despite the definition of the term). As a Christian and a Catholic I find such action reprehensible and highly offensive coming from people of their ilk. They are showing themselves to be whining, mewling troublemakers with no sense of truth or justice. I am reminded of two aphorisms learned early in life that experience has shown are true. Go looking for trouble and you will find it, and Prejudice is founded in fact.

It seems to me that the modern Jewish leadership is both proving the truth of modern prejudiced perceptions and fomenting modern antijudaism by their ignorance and hatred.

While no one can deny the historical facts of how the Jews were treated by Christians and others, there is also the much denied truth that in at least some cases they brought the treatment on themselves. The historical fact is that they were among, if not the first, persecutors of Christians. Additionally, modern historical accounts have most certainly been sanatized in the interest of being politically correct so that the true role of the Jews in history has been obscured by the revisionists.

I respect all men as being created in the image and likeness of God and accord them the dignity that comes with being a human being. As a follower of Jesus Christ I must do no less than love my neighbor. That does not mean I have any obligation to respect their choices or behavior. And I cannot condone or respect the behavior and choices of these rabbis or many other Jewish leaders who do not even live the basic righteousness demanded of the Children of Abraham.

An afterthought: perhaps we would be correct to pray for the perfideous Jews... not because they did not accept Christ their Messiah, but because today's Jews are not faithful to their covenant with God and so are condemned.
Adulio said…
An afterthought: perhaps we would be correct to pray for the perfideous Jews... not because they did not accept Christ their Messiah, but because today's Jews are not faithful to their covenant with God and so are condemned.

Modern Judaism is not biblical Judaism - it is direct descendant from rabbinical and Pharisaical Judaism, which Our Lord condemned numerous times.

Was it worth changing the Good Friday prayer in order to appease these people? I think I have answered the question myself...
pclaudel said…
Fr. Bailey's comments are most just, though it is sad that he feels compelled to bend over backwards in disclaiming any intrinsic hostility towards Jews qua Jews. Of course, in secular terms no such gymnastic feat is ever sufficient to protect one from the nastiest of abuse in return. To put the matter plainly, the secular arm simply deems it illicit, morally and practically speaking, ever to ascribe guilt for any action whatsoever to History's Perpetual Victims. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, the influence of the secular arm has become so all-pervasive within the postconciliar church that all over the Internet one may find soi-disant Traditional Catholics denouncing Saint John Chrysostom and other heroes of Catholic orthodoxy as hate-filled anti-Semites.

Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and Daniel never used the words mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa to beg God's pardon for their denunciations of the crimes and faithlessness of their fellow Hebrews. The True Faith will only recapture its rightful place at the head of mankind when its sons and daughters realize that they are betraying their heritage when they reflexively use those words—or tolerate their use by others—as an appropriate response to the false charges daily hurled at them by the rulers of this depraved society.