Catholic-Jewish Panel Inspires Youth Dialogue

Looks to Hopeful Future of Interfaith Relations

BUDAPEST, Hungary, NOV. 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Catholic and Jewish youth delegates gathered in a special meeting before participating in the liaison committee meeting to strengthen relations between the two religions.

This was reported by the joint declaration of the 20th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, which took place Sunday through Wednesday in Budapest.

The location was chosen to emphasize the theme of the meeting: the role of religion in civil society today and the current state of Jewish-Catholic relations in Eastern Europe.

The committee recognized the “growing friendship and mutual understanding” between the two creeds, which can become “a sign of hope and inspiration for our troubled world. The new spirit of friendship and caring for one another may be the most important symbol that we have to offer to our societies.”

To illustrate this hope, the committee noted the “first ever gathering of a group of young leaders” from both religions.

Religion in society

The theme of religion in civil society was addressed by Jozsef Schweitzer, retired chief rabbi and former Rector of the Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, D.C..

The rabbi spoke of the historical struggle both creeds have experienced to maintain traditions in moments when the civil society outlawed the religion’s public expression.

The cardinal reflected on the “benefits of religious institutions for civil societies, including transcendent moral values, charitable works, and cultural treasures through various media.”

Although society rejects these religious values, “they remain crucial for the well-being of the individual and society,” the panel pointed out. “Every society must respect and defend human dignity and human rights.”

They called on state leaders to protect society against extreme forms of religious prejudice. As religious leaders, they committed themselves to the responsibility of promoting respect and dialogue among members of their traditions, especially among the youth.

“The present economic crisis makes us aware of the unity and interconnectness of the whole human family,” they stated. “Blame for the current crisis should not be assigned to any particular religious, economic, social, ethnic or national group. […] We seek to deliver a message of hope that invites everyone to be recommitted to the goal of economic justice and human solidarity.”

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Movements Called Church's "New Wine"

Professor Looks at Magisterial Teaching

ROME, NOV. 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Young ecclesial movements are "new wine" for the Church, and there is still time to put them into "new wineskins," affirmed a professor at an Opus Dei university in Rome.

Luis Navarro spoke of the ecclesial movements and the recent magisterium in an address last week during the inauguration of the academic year at the Pontifical University Holy Cross.

Bishop Javier Echavarría, chancellor of the university and prelate of Opus Dei, attended the event.

Navarro noted that already in 1985, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger referred to movements as a "new generation in the Church. He said a renewal was "tranquil, but effectively on the way."

"This was profound and prophetic ," Navarro said, "in a moment in which few could think, to use an expression coined by John Paul II, of the new Pentecost at the end of the 20th century," given that then a "winter in the Church" was spoken of.

In the following decades, he added, Cardinal Ratzinger "stayed close, accompanying these groups, and he sought, through theological reflection, to make them understood and loved."

The professor presented the magisterium of Benedict XVI regarding the ecclesial movements, dividing his address into four parts: general characteristics of the papal magisterium, the role of the Holy Spirit in movements, the ecclesial value of movements, and the relationship between pastors and ecclesial movements.

Never easy

Regarding the first point, he stressed that current pontifical teaching is in continuation with that of Pope John Paul II. Navarro also looked at Benedict XVI's awareness "of the positive and negative reactions brought about by the movements, and in particular, their difficult insertion into the particular Churches and parishes."

The Holy Father, in fact, "does not hide that the new forms of Christian life have always been uncomfortable in their beginnings, and are not easily understood," Navarro added.

Regarding the Holy Spirit and his role in movements, the link "is particularly intimate," Navarro contended. On various occasions, he noted, the Pontiff has indicated that movements are gifts of the Spirit and, thus, neither an initiative of the hierarchy nor of the faithful, but of God.

This charismatic origin implies the need of being at the service of the Body of Christ, such that "each movement has its reason for being in the building up of the Church, inasmuch as the very movement forms part of it," he continued. "If the movements do not adequately insert themselves in the universal Church and the particular Churches, they do not serve, they do not build up. The movements live for and in unity."

Effective evangelizing

Speaking of the ecclesial value of the movements, the professor said it is already substantial. He cited numerous vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life fostered within these ecclesial realities. In the "highly secularized and relativistic world in which we live," they constitute "a privileged instrument of evangelization in every sector of society."

In this context, Navarro added, the relationship between pastors and movements is an "indispensable" goal, especially since "there is no conflict between the institutional and charismatic aspects of the Church."

The Pope, he said, asks pastors to have a "deeply paternal attitude" and the movements to have a "readiness for discernment."

Regarding the canonical aspects of these movements, Navarro affirmed that in the first place, it is necessary to recognize "the right to life for these new realities in the Church," according to their particular charisms.

"The whole Church, pastors and the rest of the faithful, should respect this right," he said. "The directors and members of the movements have the right and the duty to be faithful to their own charism."

Navarro said movements have "the grave obligation to let themselves be known as they are in daily life. To offer a partial vision implies to falsify their identity and impede the ecclesiastical authorities from being able to make a declaration according to the truth of the ecclesiality of the reality."

Ecclesial recognition of the movements, therefore, "is not just a simple formal process, which requires an examination of the statutes or norms, but rather an ecclesial event, by which a declaration is made to the entire Christian community that such and such a group is truly in the Church and for the Church," he explained. "The reality is recognized, not a piece of paper."

Recalling the words of Jesus, "People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved," the professor concluded that "in the case of the movements and the related magisterium of the Pope, we are still in time to put the new wine in new wineskins."

"This," he affirmed, "will be possible if all of us have our minds and hearts open to these gifts of the Spirit to his Church."

On Glory, Glorify

The Exclusive Task Of My Life

† O my Jesus, each of Your saints reflects one of Your virtues; I desire to reflect Your compassionate Heart, full of mercy; I want to glorify it. Let Your mercy, O Jesus, be impressed upon my heart and soul like a seal, and this will be my badge in this and the future life. Glorifying Your mercy is the exclusive task of my life (Diary, 1242).

† God's greatness does not frighten me, but makes me happy. By giving Him glory, I myself am lifted up. On seeing His happiness, I myself am made happy, because all that is in Him flows back upon me (Diary, 1246).

Joint Declaration of Jewish-Catholic Meeting

"Every Society Must Respect and Defend Human Dignity"

BUDAPEST, Hungary, NOV. 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).-Here is the joint declaration published Wednesday at the conclusion of the 20th International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, which took place since Sunday in Budapest.

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The 20th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee (ILC) of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) was held in Budapest Hungary, November 9-12, 2008. Hosted by the Hungarian Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Hungary, this was the second time that the ILC Meeting had taken place in Central/Eastern Europe. That previous meeting was in 1990 at Prague, at which the participants articulated the statement that anti-Semitism is a sin against God and humanity. Themes of the current meeting focused on the role of Religion in Civil Society today and the current state of Jewish-Catholic relations in Eastern Europe.

In recent decades Catholic-Jewish dialogue has been marked by a growing friendship and mutual understanding which have enabled us to build an atmosphere of trust and confidence. Catholic-Jewish dialogue can therefore become a sign of hope and inspiration for our troubled world. The new spirit of friendship and caring for one another may be the most important symbol that we have to offer to our societies. Indicative of this was the first ever gathering of a group of young leaders, Catholic and Jewish, who met for several days prior to the ILC meeting at which they participated as full delegates.

The choice of the location in Hungary reflected the desire of the ILC to strengthen Catholic-Jewish relations in Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover the fact that Hungary, and Budapest in particular, boast vibrant Catholic and Jewish communities that have experienced a revitalization in the post-Communist era, made it the natural choice of location for this meeting.

As November 9th was the seventieth anniversary of Kristallnacht, that culminated in the Shoah, it was fitting that the ILC meeting commenced with a commemoration of that event, addressed by Dr. Péter Feldmájer, the President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities and Cardinal Dr. Péter Erdő, the Primate of Hungary. Pope Benedict XVI’s moving comments on this occasion were noted and welcomed.

The official opening ceremony took place at the Buda Royal Palace (Budavari Palota), and included presentations by Cardinal Walter Kasper, Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, Rabbi David Rosen, Chairman of IJCIC, Cardinal Dr. Péter Erdő and Dr. Péter Feldmájer.

The first session of the ILC, devoted to Religion in Civil Society, was addressed by Professor József Schweitzer, retired chief rabbi, former Rector of the Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, DC. Focusing on the Hungarian jewish community in the last fifty years, Rabbi Schweitzer portrayed the struggle that often faced both of our communities - to maintain a religious community in a time when civil society made the public expression of religion at times illegal and always a challenge. Cardinal McCarrick, using the example of contemporary society in the United States, reflected on the benefits of religious institutions for civil societies, including transcendent moral values, charitable works, and cultural treasures through various media. Discussion and deliberation ensued.

Jews and Catholics face the challenges regarding religious life in societies that are secular. Religious values are no longer accepted by everybody although they remain crucial for the wellbeing of the individual and society. Every society must respect and defend human dignity and human rights. Recognizing the positive value of participatory democracy, at the same time, we affirm the responsibility of the state to protect society against extremism, including insensitivity to the cultural and moral values of religious traditions. We as religious leaders call on the members of our two traditions to accept their role in promoting respect and mutual understanding. Freedom of religion must be guaranteed to both individuals and communities by the respective religious and civil authorities. Catholics and Jews have an ethical obligation to demonstrate religious responsibility for society and to educate future generation regarding religious values. This is especially important in the current time given the emergent expression of xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism in parts of Central and Eastern Europe. We continue to deplore religiously motivated violence and take particular note of outbursts against Christians in India and Iraq and anti-Semitic episodes in Europe and the Middle East.

The second day of the program focused on the current state of Jewish-Catholic relations in Eastern Europe and was addressed by Professor Stanislaw Krajewski of Poland, who spoke about the sociological context of Jews and Catholics in much of Central and Eastern Europe and Professor Balázs Schanda from Hungary, who gave an overview of the legal conditions under which they operate. The afternoon was devoted to an encounter with Hungarian jewry which was introduced by Rabbi Professor Alfréd Joel Schőner, the head of the Rabbinical Seminary and Jewish University of Hungary (former Rabbinical Seminary). ILC participants were then taken on a tour of major landmarks associated with Hungarian Jewish and Catholic history.

That evening a special celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel was hosted by the Hungarian jewish community together with the Embassy of Israel in Hungary. The event was addressed by Her Excellency Aliza Bin-Noun, the Ambassador of the State of Israel, Cardinal Walter Kasper and Rabbi Mordechai Piron, Chairman of the Israel Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consutations.

The final day of the ILC was devoted to current issues as well as working groups on joint projects, education, and the formation of a new generation of leadership in Catholic-Jewish relations. Notable from the reports of the concurrent working groups were the initiatives for trilateral dialogue involving the Orthodox Christian partner of both IJCIC and the Holy See as well as representatives of Islam through the Moroccan Mohammedian League of Muslim Scholars; the recommendation of the Education sub-committee to help disseminate the knowledge and impact of this dialogue; and the work of a core group of jewish and catholic emerging leadership, in preparation of a conference under the ILC's auspices to be held June 2009 in Castel Gandolfo.

The present economic crisis makes us aware of the unity and interconnectness of the whole human family. Blame for the current crisis should not be assigned to any particular religious, economic, social, ethnic, or national group. We express particular concern for the most vulnerable members of society, especially the poor who always suffer the most from dramatic change in economic conditions. We seek to deliver a message of hope that invites everyone to be recommitted to the goal of economic justice and human solidarity.

Catholic-Jewish Panel Inspires Youth Dialogue

Movements Called Church's "New Wine"

Dairy from St. Faustina

On Glory, Glorify

The Exclusive Task Of My Life

Joint Declaration of Jewish-Catholic Meeting