Elder Brother Or Parent?

This post is in response to an anonymous poster whose comments can be found here.  According to his/her comment: 

AnonymousJuly 18, 2018 at 12:36 PM

Diana, why does Giuseppe Gennarini, the catechist of the NCW in the U.S., call the Jews "parent" rather than "elder brother" as Pope Francis does?

His/Her comment is most likely in reference to the comments made in the jungle, which can be found here.  Mr. Gennarini was not the only one who felt that the Jews should not be called "elder brother."  Pope Benedict XVI also felt the same way.  According to an article in Culture Wars:

On the other hand, in his interview book Light of the World, Pope Benedict XVI recently explained why he thinks we should no longer call Jews "our elder brothers", stating that "the phrase 'elder brothers,' which had already been used by John XXIII, is not so welcome to Jews. The reason is that, in the Jewish tradition, the 'elder brother' – Esau – is also the brother who gets rejected." According to Pope Benedict even the Jews themselves do not find this title as complimentary as many think. 

Therefore, there was nothing strange at all.  Mr. Gennarini gave the same reason that Pope Benedict XVI gave.  The reason Mr. Gennarini used the word "parent" was because Abraham, the founder of Judaism, was called the "father of all believers" or the "father in the faith."  Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church (See CCC 2569) called the Founder of Judaism (Abraham) "our father."

Finally, there is no written law in the Catholic Church saying that the Jews should not be called "parent".  Neither is there any written law saying they should be called "elder brother."  Pope Francis and other popes who called the Jews "elder brother" meant no disrespect.  It was not their intention to offend them in any way.  Yet, for the sake of ecumenism, Mr. Gennarini and Pope Benedict XVI refrained from using the term "elder brother."  If our Jewish brothers find the term "elder brother" offensive, then perhaps the word "elder" should be dropped and simply call them "brothers".......or as Christ taught us, we can humble ourselves and call them "parent".      

Catholics Are Not Protestants

One difference between Catholics and Protestants is that many Protestants separate the Church from Jesus Christ.  The Church and Christ are one because Christ is the groom and the Church is the bride.  St. Paul said that husbands and wives are one flesh, and he compared this oneness with Christ and the Church.  Christ and His Church are also one.  He is the head and the Church is his body.  Head and body are one.  When you separate the head from the body, the body is dead. Husband and wife becomes one flesh.  Christ and the Church becomes one spirit.   

CCC 796 ..........This is the whole Christ, head and body one formed from many...whether the head or members speak, it is Christ who speaks.  He speaks in his role as the head (ex persona capitis) and in his role as body (ex persona corporis). What does this mean?  "The two will become one flesh.  This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church." And the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."  They are, in fact, two different persons, yet they are one in conjugal union....as head, he calls himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself "bride." 

Many Protestants go "church shopping" because they separate the church from Christ.  They seek the ideal church for themselves....a church that suits them better.  And they have a variety to choose from.  Catholics, on the other hand, follow the doctrines of the Catholic Church which clearly spells out that you cannot separate the Church and Christ. 

CCC 795 Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ" (Christus totus).  The Church is one with Christ.  The saints are acutely aware of this unity.  

Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself.  Do you understand and grasp, brethren.  God's grace toward us?  Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ for if he is the head, we are the members, he and we together are the whole man....the fullness of Christ then is the head and the members.  But what does "head and members" mean?  Christ and the Church. 

Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has taken to himself Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.

A reply of St. Joan of Arc to her judges sums up the faith of the holy doctors and good sense of the believer, "About Jesus Christ and the Church.  I simply know they're just one thing and we shouldn't complicate the matter." 

How wonderful and amazing that the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the "Church" as its members, which include the leaders of the Church (bishops and priests).  A Catholic's faith is in Jesus Christ AND the Church for they are inseparable.  Protestants, on the other hand, usually say that their faith should only be in Jesus Christ.  This is one of the things that differentiates us from our Protestant brothers.

The Experience of Father Maurizio

As you know, Father Maurizio Pallu was the RMS priest who was kidnapped in Nigeria.  He was later released by his kidnappers.  Below is his experience and a photograph of him doing missionary work in Nigeria and elsewhere: 
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Fr Maurizio greets all the brothers and sisters in the UK, saying: “Dear Brother and Sisters, I thank you all from the depth of my heart for your nearness in this difficult moment. I felt the strength of your prayers and your love. Christ is truly risen and with him we will evangelise Nigeria, Africa and the world! Pray for me a sinner. Maurizio” 

The experience of Fr Maurizio: his homily on 19 Oct 2017 at the Eucharist in Scandicci, Florence, on the day he arrived.

Italian recording on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDlinArl0Uc

 Firstly when I got to the Church and saw so many people I thought: “but all these brothers and sisters didn’t come here for a fool like me?” and I see this… sincerely. We all came here to celebrate our faith, and our faith is the Risen Christ so I wanted to speak about the Risen Christ through my experience. 

First of all I am touched, moved by your presence, your participations and your prayers I say it sincerely because I’m sure that these prayers, vigils, sacrifices you made saved my life.

We were in the forest for 6 days and we did not move, only in the first days we moved a little… and there, I experienced a total impotence of my being. I had no Bible or breviary, they only left me a rosary. I prayed the rosary a lot. 

I am very devoted to the Virgin of Fatima because already in Holland she (the Virgin of Fatima) saved my life allowing me to do a work of Christianization in the parish and I consecrated the parish to the Madonna of Fatima 

But last year I had an even stronger experience because on 13 Oct 2016 we were attacked by bandits in another city of Nigeria and we were kidnapped by bandits who were pointing a gun on us for an hour and a half and who stole the little money we had, but we managed to survive 

This year the attack happened on the vigil of the feast of the Madonna of Fatima - the Miracle of the Sun, 13 Oct, and the Madonna pulled us out.

Now, my first conclusion is this: If the devil unleashes such a big battle for 4 poor people, a cretin like me who goes to announce the Gospel, it means that what is behind is immense, I can’t even evaluate it because every time we go out to Evangelize, there is an attack, and then there is an intervention by the Madonna who is stronger that the devil’s attack, and it frees us - but it doesn’t just free us but it also doubles up our strength. 

In truth, this evening I am a little tired because I arrived this morning from Nigeria. I am falling asleep… I was 7, 8 days practically awake most of the time… 

One thing is certain: after this experience my faith has grown, my hope has grown and my charity has grown, and I know that I did nothing there 

We were 3 hostages, a Nigerian (female) student and a Nigerian accountant… 

I discovered the total impotence of my being, I discovered my fear. I did not want to die. I prayed so much for my persecutors and I prayed so much that the Lord will free me. 

I did my examination of conscience. I said “Am I ready to die now? “No, Lord I am not ready to die because I still have not expiated my sins, and not done sufficient contrition”. “If you, Lord, concede me a few more years of life, I promise to multiply my zeal to bring many souls to you”

 …this is what I said: “Let me live because I want to fight the devil so much with the help of the Virgin Mary” This is what I prayed constantly. I prayed for my colleagues, I tried to assist them, they were a little more worried than me. I mean I was so afraid inside… 

…and I saw a response from the Lord. The response from the Lord was as follows: that on the 13th October, the day after our kidnapping, the feast of the Miracle of the Sun, the heart of the bandits’ leader softened, became a little more tender. We started to maintain a dialogue… I told him “you are my brother I pray for you, you are not my enemies, I pray for all of you” “Pray, Pray, for me”, he said, and we started establishing a relationship… 

because one thing that I discovered in all these years of life is that the contrapositions we make are inexorably wrong. When we say: “Muslims, Christians, good, bad, adulterous, pure…” I could go on… because in any of us, at least in me, perhaps also in you, there is a little bit of everything. There may be a violent man who is capable of killing... I saw that at some point of my life I was capable of killing somebody, and you?... and at other times I was capable of sleeping with somebody else’s wife, and you?... and we could go on… 

hence this pharisaic attitude is always dangerous: to divide in good and bad, dividing in half creating a cast of pure ones

I was not pure in that situation in the forest, my intentions were not necessarily pure… what I said to the leader of the robbers… he was the only one who spoke English, the others were speaking Hausa, a language from the North of Nigeria… In this endemic corruption in Nigeria perhaps I’d be violent… I am very violent… You can ask my mother that sometimes I was throwing objects in the air… What did I throw in the air today? I was a bit annoyed… …maybe I threw the telephone in the air… so I am a violent person. How can I judge you…? 

I saw that they did not feel judged because at the end of the day either we think that Saint Francis was a fool in his approach to the Muslim robbers who took him prisoner, or we think that San Francesco was making Jesus Christ present 

I’d like to make it clear that I have nothing in common with Saint Francis, not even the name… 

but the following is certain: it is not true what the World says that if you are like the sheep you will be eaten alive. The one who is like the sheep, wins. He wins because he may lose in this world but wins in the world to come.

I said: Lord, if you want us to die, take us all to heaven, me and the others. I offer my life for their salvation even though I’d like to remain here… 

…so the leader offered me a cigarette, on 13 October, and said “smoke, smoke” “I don’t like these cigarettes, the cigarettes in Tuscany are better”, I said…. 

Then on Sunday it was a very difficult day because there was a blood-thirsty member of the gang and, I gather he was possessed by the devil, for various reasons that I noticed. He really wanted to kill. (It was obvious that) he wanted to kill because he would grab a stick and hit this other Muslim hostage brother who was with me and the student, in an inhumane way, with his stick… At night we were in chains and he was hitting him inhumanely… 

The leader realised this and said: “He is a very evil man, a very wicked man, he is bad…” I thought if this one doesn’t go away… so I prayed, I implored Carmen and the Madonna. “Father please take this blood-thirsty man away because this one will kill us all, he is not interested in money… he is interested in spilling blood…” and on Sunday the leader sent him home. This is a fact. You can interpret this fact anyway you want but this is a fact. There were 8 bandits, and then they became 5 and most importantly without the dangerous one. 

On Sunday I started thinking that perhaps we will manage to come out alive. Also because I saw that this was a Triduum. Friday, Saturday a real death, and Sunday the resurrection. I couldn’t celebrate the Eucharist but I lived it spiritually. 

In the evening they were so happy that they went out to hunt, they killed some wild rabbits, they roasted them, and they gave some to us so we had a BBQ, only the beer was missing. Basically overall we ate pretty badly, but in truth food was the least of our preoccupations. They gave us some kind of polenta and sugar and lots of water of a brown colour, we will probably get the hepatitis… … The doctors are now carrying out some analysis, I hope they’ll hurry up a little because they are a bit slow… so this is what we ate, but the hunger was not the main issue… I was never really hungry even though I normally have an appetite… then yesterday it was my birthday and at the Embassy in Abuja they offered me wine, cognac… we smoked Tuscan cigars.. but in the preceding days I wasn’t hungry because with the adrenaline, the fear of dying is really strong and you are not hungry. What affects you is thirst... so we drunk the water they had. They were drinking and eating the same drink and food that they were giving us. 

Alright, so this was my experience. Then on Monday, Tuesday I managed to pray the lauds because this protestant girl had a Bible so I said: “can you lend me the Bible”? 

What struck me was that on Sunday I was still too afraid.... I prayed the rosary a lot… but on Monday I relaxed a little… and I took the Bible. I took the Psalms at random. The 1st Psalm was number 18, is what you were singing, the psalms helped me a so much in captivity, then I skipped forward 5 psalms to Psalm 23… “the Lord is my shepherd, I don’t need anything even if walk in the dark, I do not fear because You are with me…” and then further four psalms forward: Psalm 27: “The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? even if an army besiege me… I will be confident”.

Then I opened the New Testament at random: Acts of Apostles 10, Cornelius: God regards all the men in front of Him as pure. 

Here all men in front of Him were Muslim. This wasn’t a religiously inspired kidnapping, nothing to do with religion but they were all Muslim. Every man is pure in front of Him pure because he was purified by Christ’s blood.

This helped me. This was my experience. On Tuesday we were freed and left near the road. To conclude I’ll say: my experience is that I did nothing these days. I absolutely don’t feel like a hero, absolutely not. I was very afraid. I was an obstacle to the actions of the Lord, but I saw the power of our Lord’s grace. No-one will take this away from my heart. The power of the Lord’s grace which acted in my poverty and saved me. 

I conclude with an anecdote: have you seen “The Lord of the Rings”? because when I go to Africa and ask the neocatechumens, no-one saw it. “Have you seen the Lord of the Rings?” and they answer “Noooo”. 

To finish I’ll say this, what sustained me was the Christian community, the prayers… Here we do not have great evangelizers, I’m certainly not one of them, here there are no great preachers, big stars, we are all small potatoes, but there is a body, there is a community of the poor, sinners where the sin, the weakness illuminated and sustained by the grace of God becomes a force, and creates communion, and this is what I wanted to testify with my experience. I didn’t do anything heroic, I am grateful to God, I thank Him for His actions through the Community because this is where the force is.

Without the Community you are lost because the man who is alone gets devoured in the World with so many attractions that make him even more alone… let’s leave it at that. 

“The Lord of the Rings” touches me because there is this community of Hobbits, people of short stature, similar to us who are in a sense short in stature, and these persons of short stature save the World. So much so that the great hero Aragorn, you remember this beautiful hero, the man, this great hero, says that the only thing that we have to do is to wait for this half-slave* to take the ring and throw it inside. We just have to gain some time.

This is what I felt profoundly in these days. I can only gain time by praying, awaiting that Christ, through the poor, will destroy the work of the devil and… "CHRIST HAS DESTROYED THE WORK OF THE DEVIL! CHRIST IS DESTROYING THE WORK OF THE DEVIL! Although it seemed that the devil dominates the World, this is not true. CHRIST IS RISEN!

Interview on Vatican Radio (you can listen to it in italian at: 

http://it.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/18/don_maurizio_pall%C3%B9_sto_bene,_ho_sentito_la_vicinanza_di_ mar/1343612 

18 October 2017: (English translation) 

Fr Maurizio Pallù was released last night, 63-year-old Italian diocesan priest in Rome, kidnapped last Thursday in Nigeria where he is a missionary as a catechist of the Neocatechumenal Way. Today, among other things, is his birthday. The Diocese of Rome rejoices at his liberation and expresses gratitude to the Lord. So many prayers these days for the missionary, beginning with Pope Francis. 

Fr Maurizio is well as he tells in the exclusive interview of Debora Donnini : 

A. In the three of us taken as hostages, we were a Nigerian brother, a Nigerian student, and myself. They released us around 10 in the evening. 

Q. - How are you doing? 

A. - Well, happy! The Lord has risen, accompanied me, I have had moments of fear but I must say I have felt very much the assistance of the saints, of the Virgin Mary. and of Carmen Hernandez (initiator of the Neocatechumenal Way - ndr) ... We have entrusted our mission in Nigeria to the Virgin Mary, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to Saint Daniele Comboni, and to St. John Paul II ... so it's an iron team! In fact, it's the second time in a year they have kidnapped me, not the first; this was more difficult than the first time, but I saw the miracles that the Lord did, just great miracles that the Lord did to keep us alive. It means that the Lord has a big plan in this country because the devil is attacking with great force to destroy the work of God in this nation. In a year I was kidnapped twice but I am convinced that God will destroy the work of the devil. Another important fact to point out is this: the two abductions both occurred in the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th of October. Last year we were kidnapped on October 13th and through a miracle of Our Lady we were released after an hour and a half. This year we were kidnapped on October 12th, the eve of the miracle of the sun in Fatima. In fact, I was going to Benin City where the bishops of Nigeria celebrated once again Nigeria's consecration to the Virgin Mary and I wanted to be there on October 13th for this great Eucharist and instead on October 13th I had to go into the forest where I received a sign of Mary's maternal attention. And then on Sunday I received the confirmation that Our Lady and all the saints would pull us out of this situation. We did not give up! 

Q. - Are you now returning to Abuja? 

A. Yes, we are returning to Abuja.

Q. And will you return to Rome? 

A. - They told me to come back to Italy. I would like to stay here [in Nigeria] because we defeat the devil by staying here; the devil is cowardly, he wants us to be scared but he has chosen the wrong way. We are poor men, so we are afraid, but we are supported by the grace of God. And the devil is keeping millions of people slaves here using lies, cowardice and corruption, and when they allow me to return, I will return to here very happy and offer my poor person for the evangelization of Nigeria.

Q. - You were picked up on October 12th, how did these days go? 

R. - On October 12th we were picked up on the road, they came out shooting and then they took us to the forest. There were three of us, it was a band of kidnappers, we walked quite a long way to a lonely place, and then we were there, they had little to eat, they gave us what they had, we went ahead, we drank the water of the creek, a water of brown colour ... and anyway we are alive!

Arrival in Florence on youtube https://youtu.be/rLW2bDfE46E 

Ending with his message to us and the press “with the risen Christ we will evangelize Nigeria, all over Africa and ALL THE WORLD”

Photographs of Maurizio Pallu during his missionary work in Nigeria and elsewhere

From The Catechism

It is sad to see that there are some Catholics who have expressed anti-semitic remarks against the Jewish people whom the Catholic Church have established good relations with through the Neocatechumenal Way.  There is much debate as to who is responsible for Jesus' death, and some have blamed the Jewish people for it.  This goes against what the Catholic Church teaches.  Apparently, some Catholics are unaware of the teachings of the Catholic Church.  This is the teaching of the Church and the end of the debate as to who is responsible for Jesus' death. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:  
Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus' death

597 The historical complexity of Jesus' trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles' calls to conversion after Pentecost.³⁸⁵ Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept "the ignorance" of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders.³⁸⁶Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd's cry: "His blood be on us and on our children!", a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence.³⁸⁷ As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council:

. . . [N]either all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion. . . [T]he Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture.³⁸⁸

All sinners were the authors of Christ's Passion

598 In her Magisterial teaching of the faith and in the witness of her saints, the Church has never forgotten that "sinners were the authors and the ministers of all the sufferings that the divine Redeemer endured."³⁸⁹ Taking into account the fact that our sins affect Christ himself,³⁹⁰ the Church does not hesitate to impute to Christians the gravest responsibility for the torments inflicted upon Jesus, a responsibility with which they have all too often burdened the Jews alone:

We must regard as guilty all those who continue to relapse into their sins. Since our sins made the Lord Christ suffer the torment of the cross, those who plunge themselves into disorders and crimes crucify the Son of God anew in their hearts (for he is in them) and hold him up to contempt. And it can be seen that our crime in this case is greater in us than in the Jews. As for them, according to the witness of the Apostle, "None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." We, however, profess to know him. And when we deny him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on him.³⁹¹Nor did demons crucify him; it is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.³⁹²

Clarifications

839 "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways."³²⁵

The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,³²⁶ "the first to hear the Word of God."³²⁷ The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ",³²⁸ "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."³²⁹

My last post on the relationship between Jews and Catholics never said that Jews are automatically saved simply because they are a Jew.  It simply described the RELATIONSHIP between the Jews and Catholics; hence the TITLE.  Also, the Catechism quoted above does not mean that the Jewish people are automatically saved simply because they are a Jew. In the same way, a Catholic is also not saved simply because he/she is Catholic.

The Jewish people still follow the Old Covenant, which God never revoked while Christians follow the New Covenant.  For example, it was God who established circumcision (see Genesis 17:11). Man never established circumcision. 

Although the Jewish people follow the Old Covenant, they still must follow God's will to obtain eternal salvation.  Being a Jew will not earn them salvation.  After all, Christ said, "Not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord's will enter the Kingdom of God, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven will enter the Kingdom of God. " When Jesus spoke those words, He was addressing the Jewish people.  Nevertheless, these same words also apply to us. Not every Catholic who says 'Lord, Lord's will enter God's Kingdom, but he who does the will of God the Father. The Jews are the Old Israel while Christians are the New Israel.  Both are the people of God.

Relationship Between Catholics and Jews

There has been a lot of comments under the posts of the Jewish Rabbis. However, I am going to respond to only one anonymous poster who made the following comment: 

AnonymousMay 24, 2017 at 12:21 PM

I find these conversations very interesting and curious. On one hand you have the NCW claiming that "ordinary Catholics" (you know, the ones that go to Mass) aren't really Christian, but are more pagan and that they have to be catechised and converted.

And yet, on the other hand, these same people claim that the Jews, who outright reject Jesus Christ as King, God and Savior, are somehow protected from error and are saved because of their physical genetic history! Not because of what they believe, but because of who-they-are!

This amazes me, not the least because any survey of modern people who claim Jewish ancestory, will show that the majority don't even believe in God (the Father), let alone Jesus Christ.

Yet, once again we have these NCW experts telling us how wonderful are the Jews and how we should be more like them.

Forgive me, but I think you're mad.

This is my response:  

Dear Anonymous at 12:21 pm, 

You stated "....these same people claim that the Jews, who outright reject Jesus Christ as King, God and Savior are somehow protected from error and are saved because of their physical genetic history.! Not because of what they believe, but because of who they are!"  

The Jewish people believe in God and they pray to God.  The NCW follows what the Vatican says because the NCW is Catholic, and this is what the Vatican says (the bold is mine):

Jews can secure eternal salvation without converting to Christianity, senior Catholic theologians said in a report published Thursday, in the latest refinement of their stance on a vexed theological issue. 

Addressing a question that has long blighted relations between the two faiths, the report also unequivocally stated that the Catholic Church should not actively seek to convert Jews to Christianity, and called for the church to work to eliminate anti-Semitism. 

The document, issued by the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, not only effectively affirmed that Jews can be saved independently of Jesus, but described Christianity’s relationship with Jews as a shared patrimony.

“Although Jews cannot believe in Jesus Christ as the universal redeemer, they have a part in salvation, because the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable,” the report concluded, according to a summary released to the media. 

The belief that the only way to salvation is through belief in Jesus Christ is a fundamental tenet of every strand of Christianity.

But it has also been blamed for creating an evangelical tendency responsible for some of the darkest periods in the history of religion, notably the anti-Muslim crusades of the Middle Ages and centuries of Christian anti-Semitism.  

The latest report reiterates that it is only thanks to Jesus’s death and resurrection that all people have the chance of salvation, but accepts that Jews can benefit from this without believing in him.

The authors appear to acknowledge that they are effectively squaring a theological circle. 

How Jews being saved while not believing in Christ “can be possible remains an unfathomable mystery in the salvific plan of God,” they say. 

The report noted that Christian evangelism to Jews was particularly sensitive issue because it involves the “very existence of the Jewish people.” 

“The Church is therefore obliged to view evangelization to Jews, who believe in the one God, in a different manner from that to people of other religions and world views,” it said.

You can read the rest of the article here.  

Now to address the first paragraph of your comment. Many of us need to be catechized because not all of us know what the Catholic Church teaches. Furthermore, there are many Catholics who see nothing wrong with homosexuality, same sex marriage, pre-marital sex, abortion, and other issues that are simply NOT Catholic.  So yes, even the ordinary Catholics who go to regular Sunday Mass and who see nothing wrong with homosexuality, same-sex marriage, pre-marital sex, abortion, etc. do need to be catechize.  Yes, the ordinary Catholics who shack up with their boyfriends and girlfriends and practice birth control methods need to be catechized.     

Pope Francis prays at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in Jerusalem's Old City on May 26, 2014. 

Another Rabbi Speaks

"Shema" is one of the songs I love in the Way.  We sing it in the Easter Vigil all the time.  What does it mean? Listen Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed is His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever. Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

As parents, we always tell our kids to do well in school, get good grades, and get a good job. Although these things are good, we never tell them to love God first and foremost. The Way is teaching us to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our strength. When we put God first and in the center of our lives, all things fall into place. And the things that usually hurt us is taken up by Christ.  
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By Rabbi Daniel Allen

Can we Jews accept love and admiration from others without suspicion? We are conditioned over centuries to be skeptics about gestures let alone explicit embrace from others telling us that we love you as Jews and wish only that you prosper. Last week I became less skeptical and less cynical having spent 4 days at Domus Galilaeae with 400 Catholics and Jews, Rabbis, Priests, Cardinals, Bishops and Catholic lay leaders from 27 countries.

We were brought together by the Neo-Catecumenal Way, a lay led very conservative movement within the Catholic world of more than two million souls. It is led by Kiko Arguello, a most fascinating fellow who is an artist, musician, writer and clearly the charismatic leader of his flock. It provides post-baptismal formation to adults who are already members of the church.

They love the Jews, honor and study our Torah, support the State of Israel and have incorporated the recitation of and belief in theShema as central to who they are as Catholics.

To be sure we do not agree on many issues and certainly not on doctrine. Nonetheless, we studied together, dined together and prayed – if not together but at least in each other’s presence. The more than 150 Rabbis – men and women – represented the entire spectrum of our folks including Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Modern Orthodox, and Charedim. A member of the Chief Rabbinate participated as did Blu and Rabbis Yitz Greenberg, Shlomo Riskin and Jay Rosenbaum the head of the North American Board of Rabbis under whose auspices we came from America and Canada.

As North American Rabbis we chose to issue a statement from this experience. Drafted by Rabbis Michael Zedek and Gary Bretton Granatoor, we declared it publicly for any who wished to sign.

The take away message to me is that loving relationships – even between and among those about whom we were once skeptical can bring understanding and Godliness into all of our lives. If we can do so with “others” perhaps we can do it among ourselves as well.

Rabbi Daniel R. Allen is Executive Vice Chairman Emeritus of the United Israel Appeal and past President of Association of Reform Zionist of America (ARZA) and Masorti Foundation.

Retreat In Israel

Last year, many Jewish Rabbis gathered together with many Catholic Bishops and Cardinals at the Domus Galilaeae runned by the Neocatechumenal Way in Israel. The retreat was so successful that the Jewish Rabbis asked to hold another retreat this year.  The article below was written by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg who attended the retreat. His article can be found here.
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Last night Jews and Catholics, some two hundred of us, sung together around a bonfire ‘Hinei mah tov umah na’im – How good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together’. Last night we prayed Ma’ariv, the traditional Jewish evening service, together; this morning we joined Christian singing of the Psalms and Shema Yisrael, with an excellent sermon by Cardinal Bassetti of Perugia stressing how love, love of nature, of animals, of people, of one another, is the essence of God’s word for us all.
All this has taken place in the Domus Galilaeae, home in Israel of followers of the Neocathecumenal Way. To previous generations, such an encounter, marked by generosity and respect, would have been unthinkable.

I have by no means found myself in agreement with everything I have heard during these three days of meetings. I am far more of an egalitarian, less critical of the secular world and have greater sympathy with those who struggle to find faith or understand if there is indeed a God in whom we can believe. I miss wider, more progressive spiritual voices. I have felt uncomfortable with certain judgements and assumptions I have heard, or think I have heard. There could also be further opportunities for closer reflection and study which a future gathering might explore.

But I am moved by the very generous welcome extended to us by the Catholic community here. I am conscious of the profound change this represents for so many, from a history containing shameful and painful periods of contempt and persecution, to the sincere affirmation of Christian indebtedness to Judaism and the commitment to a close future partnership between our faiths and communities. I appreciate deeply the courage, openness and invitation which an encounter such as this represents.

The statement of representatives of the orthodox rabbinate is a deeply important response, including as it does official representation of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel: that Jews and Christians must see in each other honoured partners in the sacred work of striving to fulfil God’s will for our torn and broken world. This is a significant legacy of Nostra Aetate, on which representatives from across the Jewish world worked closely with Pope Jean-Paul II and their Catholic colleagues together.

What touches me most, though, is the spirit of humility and service I have found in some of the Christian participants I have got to know, people who will return to the slums and impoverished estates of the big cities across the world to work with the poor, the homeless and those who find no place in a world of so-called progress by which they have been largely forgotten.

I shall take away from here a deeper awareness of the importance of hearing God’s Torah and teaching from all other human beings, of all faiths and none, and from the natural world also, because ‘leit attar panui minei’, – ‘There is nowhere where God is not’ – so long as our hearts are open to allow God in.

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg
Senior Rabbi to Masorti Judaism
CCJ President

anna RF - meeting Pope Francis

The Nature Of God

The comments in red are from the anonymous commenter while mine is in black.  His/Her comment can be found here.

See, this is the problem in having dialogue with someone who has had their sense systematically dissolved by the Neocatechumenal Way. Follow this closely please.

Why are you bringing the NCW into this discussion.  This is a dialogue we are having about the Jewish and Christian faith, so please stick to the topic of discussion.

"Jesus cannot be both God in flesh (second person of the Trinity) and also not God in flesh"

This does not mean that Jesus can't be both human and divine, Diana. It is a logical formulation. That is to say, if Jesus is truly God in the flesh, then he cannot be not-God-in-the flesh.

When you say "not God in the flesh" that could also imply that He is "not human."  A human is also "not God in the flesh."  The Jewish people is half correct.  They do believe that Jesus is human.  He is indeed a man; therefore, you cannot say that they are totally wrong.  I never said that Jesus is not God nor did I ever say that He is not man.  I said that Jesus has two natures - a human and divine nature. 

It is the same as saying A cannot be not-A. Because it IS A. Do you understand? 

As a Christian, I agree that Jesus is both God and man.  I also understand that the Jews believe that Jesus is a man, but not God.  The question is do you understand that the Jews believe in Jesus' human nature, but not in His divine nature?  Do you understand that a Christian CAN believe that Jesus is God and that the God of Abraham is the one true God simply because the Christian knows that there are three persons in one God?   

You say that "He is BOTH truly man in the flesh and truly God, the divine incarnated in the flesh". Yes, exactly. And if someone were to say He is not God in the flesh, they would be wrong, yes?

I agree that a person who says that Jesus is not God in the flesh is wrong.  But it is also NOT wrong when the Jewish people say that Jesus is a man.  They are only wrong when they say that He is not God.  

So, the Jews say Jesus is not God in the flesh. They are wrong. If they are wrong, then by saying we share their faith, we are saying we also are wrong. I reject that.

And you are wrong for saying that they place their faith on a different god.  The God they believe in is God the Father (the first person in the Trinity). This is the same God whom Jesus prayed to.  If we believe in a Trinitarian God, then we cannot reject the God of Abraham by calling Him a different god for there is only one God.  This one God does not go by the name Jesus ONLY.  He is also God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  

The question really is – is it possible to worship God by rejecting Jesus? I think the answer is no.

Yet, you think you can worship God by rejecting God the Father (the first person in the Trinity).  Jesus said that the way to the Father is through Him.....that is true.  But that is not all He said.  He also said, "The true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks" (See John 4:23).  In this biblical passage, Jesus is clearly speaking of His Father (the first person in the Trinity).

Therefore, whether one worships God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, or the Holy Spirit...they are still worshiping the SAME one true God.  And if Christians like you cannot recognize that the Jews worship God the Father, then you are no better than the Jews who cannot recognize Jesus Christ, who is the Lord and Messiah. 

Here’s another thought. You will surely agree that from time to time in the Old Testament, some Jews worshipped Baal, or Moloch or others. Were they not Jews at that time? Or were they worshipping the same God as we do by worshipping Baal or those others?

You are correct that SOME Jews went astray and worshipped other gods.  But that is not true for ALL Jews.  Do you honestly think that it was Baal or Moloch who gave Moses the Ten Commandments?  Who spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  Was it not God the Father or did you think these Jews were speaking to a different god? 

There is a massive difference in recognising the special election of the Jewish people in ancient times, of recognising the promises made to them, and even acknowledging that Christians share the spiritual heritage of the Jewish people – with saying that that means we worship the same God and share the same faith. Anon goes even further and says that what the Jewish rabbis teach is identical to the magisterium of the Church. These things are too far. For a Catholic, it is heresy to say this.

Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, and even Pope Benedict XVI all prayed in the synagogues with the Jews because they believe that Jews and Christians worship and believe in the same God....the God of Abraham.  The Pope is the Vicar of Christ; therefore, we listen to what the Pope says.  According to Pope Benedict XVI (the bold is mine):  

9. Christians and Jews share to a great extent a common spiritual patrimony, they pray to the same Lord, they have the same roots, and yet they often remain unknown to each other

http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2010/january/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20100117_sinagoga.html

As you can see, Pope Benedict XVI said that Jews and Christians pray to the SAME God.  How is it that you forget that Jesus was a Jew?  How is it that you ignore the Popes' encyclicals?  How is it that you are not in communion with the Pope?  So, where is your evidence showing that the Catholic Church or the Pope (the Vicar of Christ) teaches that the Jews and Christians do not worship the same God????

I am convinced that, if this is truly what the NCW teach and believe, then we have our proof that the NCW is truly not Catholic. 

Now, this is where your prejudice is showing.  In my comments and posts, I have always said that Jesus is God, that I believe in the Holy Trinity, and that Jesus has a human and divine nature.  I have shown you the encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI stating that Jews and Christians pray to the SAME God.  And based on these beliefs, which are taught by the Catholic Church, you have labeled the NCW as "not Catholic?"  The one who follows the Pope and is in communion with the Pope is Catholic.  I have shown you written evidence that Pope Benedict (the Vicar of Christ) said that Jews and Christians pray to the SAME God. Where is YOUR evidence saying otherwise? So, who is not Catholic now??? 

The fact that the NCW recognized that Jews worship God the Father shows that we are truly Catholic Christians.  You, on the other hand, are the same as the Jews because you cannot recognize God the Father just as the Jews do not recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah. 

The only difference between you and the Jewish people is that you rejected God the Father by calling him another god.  The Jewish people, on the other hand, recognize that Jews and Christians worship the same God...the God of Abraham.  The Jews know that Catholics worship the same God as they do, which is why they are able to pray with us.  They also did not reject Jesus.  They only rejected His divinity, but not His humanity.  So, they are half correct in recognizing Jesus' humanity while you are totally wrong for not even recognizing the God of Abraham.  You are not even half correct.   

 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis), prayed in a Jewish synagogue

Muslims Turning To Christianity

Many years ago, I read a book entitled The Prophet and the Messiah.  It was written by Chawkat Moucarry, an Arab Muslim who converted to Christianity.  He and many converts are reaching out to other Muslims about the truth of Christianity.  These converts are fully aware of both the Muslim and the Christian world.  Catholicism has increased in Asia and Africa.  One would even be surprise to find that thousands of Muslims are converting to Christianity, especially Catholicism. The Neocatechumenal Way and other Catholic movements are in Asia and Africa., and it appears that their missionary work is producing fruits.  The NCW is also in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon where there are more communities. According to news report: 

Over the past few years, some 200,000 Muslims have converted to Christianity.  In the year 2005, 2.5 million Muslims in Russia became Orthodox Christians.  In the past two years, 50,000 Iranian Muslims have become Christian.

While it is common for Muslim to convert to more evangelical Christianity, there are still many who are finding their way into the Catholic Church.  15,000 Muslims a year convert in France, 10,000 of which become Catholic.

http://www.tldm.org/News12/MuslimsBecomeChristianInLargeNumbers.htm


According to the website Islam Watch, in Russia, some two million ethnic Muslims converted to Christianity last year. Ten thousand French Muslims converted, as did 35,000 Turkish Muslims. In India, approximately 10,000 people abandoned Islam for Christianity.

 

In his book Epicenter, author Joel Rosenberg details amazing stories of Muslims converting to Christianity. In Algeria, the birthplace of St. Augustine, more than 80,000 Muslims have turned to Christ in recent years. This, despite the stiff opposition from Islamic clerics who have passed laws banning evangelism.

In Morocco, newspaper articles openly worry that 25,000 to 40,000 Muslims have become followers of Christ in recent years.

The stories are even more amazing in the heart of the Middle East. In 1996, the Egyptian Bible Society sold just 3,000 video copies of the JESUS film. In the year 2000, they sold an incredible 600,000 copies.

In Sudan, as many as five million Muslims have accepted Christ since the early 1990s, despite horrific persecution of Christians by the Sudanese government. What is behind the mass conversions? According to a Sudanese evangelical leader, "People have seen real Islam, and they want Jesus instead."

In Iraq, "More than 5,000 Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations," says Islam Watch. And just a few days ago, the first-ever Roman Catholic church was consecrated in Qatar, a Sunni Muslim state where the Wahhabi brand of Islam is practiced. This was the first time Christians in Qatar have been allowed to practice their faith openly. Ten thousand people attended the opening mass.

These conversions have not escaped the notice of Islamic leaders. In 2001, Sheikh Ahmad Al Qatanni, a leading Saudi cleric, delivered the disturbing news on Al-Jazeera: Every day, he said, "16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity . . . every year, that is six million Muslims becoming Christians . . . A tragedy has happened." It is possible the sheikh was inflating his numbers to incite a reaction against Christianity. But clearly, something is happening.

How thrilling to learn that so many Muslims have been set free from the chains of their sins-just as you and I have-by the power of Christ's blood! We must pray for these new brothers and sisters; many are being violently persecuted for their new-found faith.

These millions of conversions give us one more reason to rejoice this Easter season. Yes, we may be in a great clash of civilizations; battling Islamo-fascists who threaten to kill us. And the future may at times look bleak. But never despair: God is on His throne, bringing people into His kingdom from the very heart of Islam.

http://catholicexchange.com/why-muslims-convert

The Light Of Truth

In my last entry post, an anonymous commenter made the following comment, which can be found here.   According to the commenter: 

AnonymousMay 23, 2015 at 10:08 PM

This whole argument is stupid. Please allow me to demonstrate.

John and Barry both believe that the earth exists, and they both believe there is only one earth.

John looks out his window and notices that the world around him looks flat, and that water runs downhill. He concludes that the entire earth is, in fact, flat. He believes in the earth, but sees it a certain way.

Barry, on the other hand, is an astronaut, and he sees the earth rather differently – as a sort of sphere, in fact. Barry believes in the earth’s existence too, but sees something different to John.

Because they see the earth differently, albeit only in some limited respects: John and Barry do quite different things, and have quite different attitudes. John, for example, will not travel on ships, for fear of falling of the earth’s edge.

Now, what good can be achieved by merely affirming that both John and Barry believe in the same, one earth. Certainly, there is not another earth, but that doesn’t mean John and Barry “believe” in the same one. John’s is flat, for a start, and on John’s earth, sailing is dangerous.

Given that the earth is actually not flat, if Barry was to remain silent and not point out to John his mistaken understanding; could he be considered his friend? Would it be charitable to allow John to continue in his false belief? Even if John’s understanding is partially correct (the earth is flat in certain areas) his overall understanding is plain wrong – ie it doesn’t match reality.

Barry certainly doesn’t hate John for being wrong, in fact, he likes him. So he decides to tell him the truth, and not have a party celebrating that they both simply believe in the earth.

 

This is my response to the above commenter: 

 

Dear Anonymous at 10:08 pm,

 

Your whole argument is stupid.  Please allow me to demonstrate. 

Before the fourth century, people actually thought the earth was flat! By the fourth century and onward, people were starting to realize that the earth was a sphere, and there were no astronauts in the fourth century.  In other words, one never needed to be above the earth to figure out that the earth was a sphere.  The first person who advocated that the earth was a sphere was the Greek philosopher Aristotle.  Later, other philosophers and scientists of the fifth and sixth century were agreeing with Aristotle.  The Catholic Church also agreed that the earth was a sphere.  And there were no astronauts at that time.  The light of truth takes time to reveal itself.  And in this case, truth revealed itself in nature, which God created.   After the fourth century everyone accepted that the earth was a sphere, and no one was an astronaut during that time.  The debate after the fourth century was NOT the shape of the earth but the size of the earth. 

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  Columbus and his contemporaries believed the earth was a sphere because his plan was to seek a trade route to Asia by sailing west.   If the King and Queen of Spain actually believed that the world was flat, they would never have financed Columbus' voyage. 

You stated:  Because they see the earth differently, albeit only in some limited respects: John and Barry do quite different things, and have quite different attitudes. John, for example, will not travel on ships, for fear of falling of the earth’s edge.

Where is your faith in God?????  In Indonesia, 10,000 Muslims converted to Catholicism.  And here you are saying that it is impossible for John to see that the world is round??  Where is your faith in God??  This is why Tim Rohr and his kids stand outside the Catholic Church selling Catholic books.....because Catholics lost their faith.  Why does the NCW testify in front of the Catholic assembly in the church???  It is for the same reason why Tim Rohr sells Catholic books to Catholics.  Many Catholics lost their faith and even do not know their faith.   

You asked:  Now, what good can be achieved by merely affirming that both John and Barry believe in the same, one earth.  My question to you is what good can be achieved by pointing fingers and saying "You're wrong and we're right".  The light of truth takes time and patience.  Christ commissioned His Church to spread the Good News about Him.  That is all.  The role of the Church is to spread the Gospel so that people would know Christ. The living God, who desires all men to be saved, will be the one to enlighten people of the truth because since the beginning God prepared them to receive the Gospel.  However, it must be received through one's free will.  In other words, Christianity should not be forced upon anyone.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

CCC 843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life."³³²

When the Apostle Paul spoke to the pagans in Athens, he called them "children of God (Acts 17:28-29) because God created all mankind in His image and likeness.  Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis prayed and worshipped TOGETHER with the Jews in their synagogues because the Catholic Church recognized that the Jews pray to and worship the same God as the Christians.  If you feel that these Popes (the Vicars of Christ) were wrong, by what authority and credential do you have to make such a claim?   

What I find ironic is that you are so quick to accuse the Jews and Muslims of worshipping a different God because they are ignorant of God's nature of the Holy Trinity; yet, you do not recognize that Protestant Christians have a different view of Jesus.  While it is true that mainstream Protestants believe in the Holy Trinity, the things they say that Christ taught is not the same as what Catholics say. For example, Catholics say that Jesus instituted seven sacraments.  Some Protestant Christians only recognize one or two sacraments that Jesus instituted while other Christians claim that He instituted nothing of the sort.  Many Protestants believe in "sola fide" (faith alone) and "sola scriptura' (Bible alone).   These are errors of doctrine never taught by Christ; yet, the Protestants claim that these doctrines were actually taught by Christ.  So, why do you not accuse them of worshipping a different Christ?     

 

Nostra Aetate

There has been some anti-Semitic comments expressed by some commentors. Some of the comments have not been published due to the fact that it is too vile.  Apparently, some people do not believe that Jews and Christians worship the same God.  How some people conclude that the Jews worship a different God is beyond me.  If one were to ask a Jew the name of the God they worship, their answer would be "Yahweh" or "YHWH".  Is Yahweh supposed to be another or different God than who the Christians worship??? Yahweh is the one and only true God, and Christians also worship Yahweh.   

In the Jerusalem Bible, which is a Catholic Bible, the name "Yahweh" is found there.  This simply means that the Jews and the Christians worship the same God.  God revealed Himself to the Jews in their history, but to the Christians, this same God revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.  However, Christians are aware of God's nature....that He is three persons in one God.  Today, both Christians and Jews are waiting for the Messiah.  For Christians, they are waiting for His return; for the Jews, they await His coming.  On that Day, Christians will recognize Christ and bow down to Him, and the Jews will recognize Yahweh and bow down to Him.  

John 14:9  Jesus saith to him: Have I been so long a time with you; and have you not known me? Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How sayest thou, shew us the Father?  

The following was taken from the document Nostra Aetate, which was written in 1965:

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)

The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.

As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Soph. 3:9).(12)

Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.

True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.

Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.

Nostra Aetate