MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Elysée Palace, Paris
Friday, 12 September 2008
By her very nature the Catholic Church feels obliged to respect the Covenant made by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, the Church herself is situated within the eternal Covenant of the Almighty, whose plans are immutable, and she respects the children of the Promise, the children of the Covenant, as her beloved brothers and sisters in the faith. She compellingly repeats, through my voice, the words of the great Pope Pius XI, my beloved predecessor: Spiritually, we are Semites *(Allocution to the Belgian Pilgrims, 16 September 1938). The Church therefore is opposed to every form of anti-Semitism, which can never be theologically justified. The theologian Henri de Lubac, in a time of darkness, as Pius XII (Summi Pontificatus, 10 October 1939) described it, added that to be anti-Semitic also signifies being anti-Christian (cf. Un nuovo fronte religioso in: Israele e la Fede Cristiana [1942]). Once again I feel the duty to pay heartfelt recognition to those who have died unjustly and to those that have dedicated themselves to assure that the names of these victims may always be remembered. God does not forget!
I cannot neglect, on an occasion such as this, to recall the eminent role played by the Jews of France in the building up of the whole nation and of their prestigious contribution to her spiritual patrimony. ** They have given - and continue to give - great figures to the spheres of politics, culture and the arts. To each one of them I extend affectionate and respectful wishes and with fervour I invoke upon all of your families and upon all of your communities a special Blessing of the Lord of time and of history. Shabbat shalom!
Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites.
And, of course, Jesus told those who appealed to racialism as their bond of righteousness (the descendants of Abraham) that because they refused to accept Him as Messiah, they were the children of the Devil;
John 8: If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father. They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not.
You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me: Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. But if I say the truth, you believe me not.
** France was known as the eldest daughter of the church
"You can't have both unity in the Church, and good relations with the Jews." - E. Michael Jones. Why? B
ReplyDeleteBecause they will use that goodwill to impose their jewish values on us, and many Catholics will go along with it. See the recent dust-up with Janet Smith and Patrick Coffin.
DeleteAgreed. I am a big fan of Dr Jones and agree with almost all he says. I have a subscription to "Culture Wars" and several of his books, including "The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit...."
ReplyDeleteI am sick of all this deference to the racial supremacism of the Jews (see Talmud) and our fear and cowardice in the face of their perfidy; i.e. they say they are friends ands want to cooperate but, behind the scenes, they work to destroy the Catholic Faith
Same here. I look forward to every issue of CW mag. I recall Jones speculating Card. Ratzinger most likely swallowed the commands of his Jewish oppressors coming of age post-WWII Germany, and was unwilling to address the issue head-on, even as pope ( I cannot believe he said that about their contributions to France...yikes). And Summorum Pontificum was his "passive-aggressive" way of dealing with the perfidious Jews.... PJPII of course was not any better, and Francis seems to be openly co-operating with them. No surprise the world is now on fire.
DeleteWeren't you ABS at one time? I always got a laugh from your comments whenever they pop up on Catholic blogs (this time it was Boniface's Unam Sanctum). Anyway, keep up the good fight...Logos is rising. -PJ
Yeah, I used to use ABS.
ReplyDeleteYou also continue the fight. It is what we must do as the Church Militant..
O, and S.P. was issued as an act of tolerance, as he how abdicated admitted.
as he who abdicated admitted
ReplyDelete