Cardinal Kasper’s statement on the Good Friday prayer

Cathcon translation of Kasper "Keine Judenmission" - no mission to Jews

The prayer for the conversion of the Jews is a " hope for the end of time," and the Catholic Church will not engage in mission to Jews. This was stressed on Thursday by the German Curial Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, within whose jurisdiction rests the dialogue with the Jewish people. Kasper acted in response to anger among rabbis following the publication of the new Good Friday collect for the celebration of the liturgy according to the Roman Missal of 1962.

We provide here Kasper's statement to Vatican Radio:

"The Holy Father, the Holy See, is aware that the history between Jews and Christians is a difficult and complicated history. We must take this into account, there are many sensitivities. Therefore, the prayer for the Good Friday has been corrected in the so-called old liturgy which is now the"extraordinary" liturgy. The blindness of the Jews was cited. This was perceived as insulting and the sentence has been deleted.

But on the other hand, the Pope did not remove what is specific to our faith, namely the belief in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of all people, whichincludes according to our belief also the Jews. The Pope wanted to express this Faith. This is not an obstacle for dialogue, because the dialogue presupposes that the identity of the Jewish faith and identity of the Christian faith can be mutually recognised and naturally, this leads to dialogue.

We have much in common with Jewish people, but this is a difference which you cannot ignore.

When the Pope presently speaks on the conversion of Jews, then you have to understand correctly. He cited literally the Eleventh Chapter of the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Romans. The apostle, says that we, as Christians, hope, when the fullness of pagans enters the church, then that Israel will completely convert. This is an eschatological hope for the end of the ages, which does not mean that we have the intention now to be missionaries to Jews as one sends missions to the heathens.

We have in the meantime now shoulder to shoulder to recognise our mutual diversity. We Christians must of course give testimony of our faith in Jesus the Christ. This is also a freedom of religion, which we have to be given to say and confess what we believe, as the Jews themselves have the opportunity to express their Faith. One could also say that in the place of the old language of contempt is now respect and mutual recognition in our diversity. With this difference, in faith in Jesus Christ, we must live and we must recognize, which does not exclude in any way that there are the many things on which we agree, the possibility of working together for peace and justice in the world."