400 membri
dell'Assemblea rabbinica, che rappresentano il movimento conservatore
del Giudaismo, si sono riuniti a Washington per il loro meeting annuale
USA, 2008/02/14
Whereas the past 43 years since the conclusion of
Vatican Council II and the issuance of
Nostra Aetate have been marked by
fruitful dialogue, a history of progress and amicable relations between
Catholics and Jews;
Whereas remarkable progress has been made in implementing the new
theological stance of the Catholic Church towards the Jewish people;
Whereas Vatican II has been conventionally understood by Jews and many
Catholic scholars as affirming that God's covenant with the Jewish
people has never been revoked;
Whereas our teacher, Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel, met in the
Vatican with Cardinal Bea and Pope Paul VI and convinced the Council to
remove a proposed passage in Nostra Aetate calling for the conversion of
the Jews;
Whereas Pope Paul VI revised the Good Friday Prayer for the Conversion
of the Jews in 1970 to read: "Let us pray for the Jewish people, the
first to hear the Word of God, that they may continue to grow in love of
His name and in faithfulness to His covenant. Almighty and eternal God,
long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to
your church as we pray that the people you first made your own may
arrive at the fullness of redemption;"
Whereas the late Pope John Paul II spent much of his pontificate
teaching that Jews are "the elder brothers" of Christians, and that both
faiths should be "a blessing to each other so that they might be a
blessing to the world;"
Whereas Walter Cardinal Kasper, head of the Vatican Commission on
Religious Relations with the Jews, announced publicly on several
occasions that the Catholic Church no longer maintains an office for the
conversion of the Jewish people in the spirit of Nostra Aetate and
subsequent documents that comprise the Magisterium (official teachings)
of the Roman Catholic Church; and
Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly is dismayed and deeply disturbed to
learn of reports that Pope Benedict XVI has revised the 1962 text of the
Latin liturgy, retaining the rubric, "For the Conversion of The Jews",
containing the words "Let us pray also for the Jews that Our Lord and
God may enlighten their hearts, that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ
as the savior of all men . . ."
Therefore be it resolved that the Rabbinical Assembly seek clarification
from the Vatican of the meaning and status of the new text for the Latin
liturgy which will be heard in Catholic churches on Good Friday.
v. anche:
Note sulla preghiera per gli ebrei
