Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: Judaism

Showing posts with label Judaism. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

"Important and impressive..."

Rabbi Eugene Korn writes that:

...Benedict has chosen to stress these teachings not because of Jewish pressure nor to be politically correct. He wrote the book for Catholics around the world, not to win Jewish minds and hearts. Evidently Benedict understands that purging the New Testament and Catholic thinking of all traces of the Adversus Judaeos motifs so prevalent in early and medieval Christian theology is essential if he is to purify the faith of Christian believers. This makes the most recent installment of “Jesus of Nazareth” an all the more important and impressive work.

Read the full article at the Jewish Daily Forward...

"A truly catholic worldview"

The St. Louis Jewish Light has a new editorial titled "A truly catholic worldview" expressing appreciation for Pope Benedict's new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.

Pope Benedict XVI, highly respected for his careful scholarship and keen intellect, has made a major contribution to positive Roman Catholic-Jewish relations with the forthcoming publication of his new book "Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem To the Resurrection," the sequel to the Pope's 2007 bestseller "Jesus of Nazareth."

According to press reports from Vatican City the book makes "a sweeping exoneration of the Jewish people for the death of Jesus," contradicting the belief that was used for centuries to brand Jews as "Christ-killers" or guilty of "Deicide."

"It is good that Mr Netanyahu should praise the Pope’s book: but it contains nothing new about the Jews"

Dr. William Oddie comments in the Catholic Herald:

Last week, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, thanked Pope Benedict for making it clear – in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth part II – that there is no basis in Scripture for the accusation that the Jewish people as a whole were responsible for Jesus’s death. “I commend you for rejecting in your new book the false claim that was used as a basis for the hatred of Jews for hundreds of years,” Mr Netanyahu wrote to the Pope; he added that he hoped that “the clarity and bravery” shown by Benedict XVI would strengthen relations between Jews and Christians worldwide and promote peace in the next generations.

This reaction is certainly to be welcomed, and I certainly hope that this will be one outcome. I have to say, all the same, that I don’t quite see that the pope needed any particular bravery to assert what Catholics have taken for granted for generations.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Jimmy Akin: "Pope Benedict's 'SHOCKING' Statement on the Jews!"

Catholic apologist and author Jimmy Akin gives an analysis of the media coverage so far of Pope Benedict's new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, concluding that

Still, given the real existence of anti-Semitism in the world and its historical linkage to Christianity—and given some of the tensions that have occurred with the Jewish community during Pope Benedict’s reign—it is always good to have an occasion in the press to remind people of the fact that the Jewish people cannot be slimed as Christ-killers the way they have been in the past—and that the Church fundamentally rejects this characterization.

"Pope Benedict and Hamas: Two Ways of Looking at History"

Writer Alan Elsner contrasts the peaceful message of Pope Benedict XVI with the move toward harsher rhetoric by Hamas:

Two separate pieces of news this week show two organizations moving in opposite directions, one toward reconciliation and historical justice and the other toward hatred and endless conflict.

...Hamas is urging teachers to refuse to include the Holocaust in their lessons and has ordered children to leave the classroom if teachers tried to tell them about the Holocaust...

Such hatred is purely destructive. It cannot lead anywhere except to more suffering for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The leaders of Hamas should take a leaf from Pope Benedict's book. The truth will help set them free.

"Why the Pope's Rejection of Jewish Guilt Matters"

Stephan Faris has a piece up on the Time Magazine website with some more reaction from Jewish scholars and leaders to the Pope's new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.

When Pope Benedict XVI writes that the Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus, what's important is less the passage itself than the man who set it down on paper.

By tackling the subject in a book to be published March 10, Benedict, who has struggled in his relations with the Jewish community, doesn't so much state something new — the affirmation that the Jewish people as a whole were not responsible for the crucifixion is an old one, uncontroversial in the modern Catholic Church — as lend the idea the ecclesiastical equivalent of a celebrity endorsement. "The significance is in the author," says Joseph Sievers, professor of Jewish history at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. "He brings together an awareness of the issues in the texts themselves with the history of how these texts have been interpreted through the last 2,000 years."

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Why Are the Pope's Words on the Jews Important?

Jesuit Fr. James Martin, the well-known author and frequent television guest commentator, outlines the importance of the Pope's words in Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.

So what is the value of the pope’s words? The importance, it seems to me, is fivefold.
First, Pope Benedict’s book underlines even further the Catholic church’s belief that “the Jews” are not responsible for the death of Jesus. That is, it is an important reminder from the pontiff, and an especially timely one, given the approach of Passover and Easter.

Second, the pope’s book elaborates these ideas in ways that may be more helpful for the average reader than Nostra Aetate, which could not delve deeply into the lengthy textual analysis of the Gospels. (The documents of Vatican II also read like the definitive pronouncements they are, a style perhaps not as inviting to readers as the personal reflection.) Of course many other Catholic Biblical scholars before and since Vatican II have analyzed the Gospels to conclude that, in short, the Romans and a few Jewish leaders acting together were primarily responsible for the crucifixion. You can find careful analyses of the Gospel accounts of the Passion in hundreds of scholarly books, academic treatises and Scripture commentaries; but many are not quite as clear as the pope’s presentation, nor are some written for the non-specialist.

"What Benedict XVI has written about the Jews is news—but not new news"

Carl E. Olson over at Ignatius Press's Insight Scoop has an in-depth look at the Church's relationship with Judaism. He says that:

...it's understandable and important that the Holy Father address the issue in a chapter about the trial of Jesus Christ. Yet is not so understandable why so many news outlets (not all, but many) are presenting Benedict's statements as somehow new and surprising, even unprecedented.

It's important that people understand that the Catholic Church—in conciliar and magisterial documents—has addressed this vital issue directly, and that Benedict is fleshing out and remarking in more detail on what has already been established by previous pontiffs.

Read more...

(Note: Insight Scoop is operated by Ignatius Press, the publisher of Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week.)

News Roundup: The Pope and Judaism

Now we must ask: Who exactly were Jesus' accusers? Who insisted that he be condemned to death? We must take note of the different answers that the Gospels give to this question. According to John it was simply "the Jews". But John's use of this expression does not in any way indicate — as the modern reader might suppose — the people of Israel in general, even less is it "racist" in character.
—POPE BENEDICT XVI

Read the full excerpt here.

Pope Benedict's words on who was guilty for Jesus' death have caused a stir worldwide. Here's a partial listing of news outlets that have covered this story and links to their coverage:

BBC: Pope Benedict: Jewish people not guilty for Jesus death
Catholic News Service: In book, pope says Jesus' death cannot be blamed on Jewish people
Christianity Today: Pope Benedict points finger at who killed Jesus
CNN: Jews did not kill Jesus, pope writes in new book
The Daily: Settled After 2,000 Years
JTA: Pope wins praise for repudiating Jewish guilt for Jesus’ death
NY Daily News: Pope Benedict strikes welcome blow against rising world anti-Semitism with his new book about Jesus
Reuters: Pope book says Jews not guilty of Christ's death
Sydney Morning Herald: Jews in the clear on death of Christ
United Press International: Pope: Jews not to blame for crucifixion
USA Today: Pope's new book says Jewish people not guilty of Jesus' death

Israeli Prime Minister thanks Pope Benedict for "rejecting false charge that has been basis for hatred of Jewish People for years."

From the Jerusalem Post:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday sent a letter praising Pope Benedict XVI for reiterating that the Jewish people are not responsible for Jesus' death. The Pope made the comments in a new book released on Wednesday.

"I commend you for forcefully rejecting, in your recent book, a false charge that has been a foundation for the hatred of the Jewish People for many centuries," Netanyahu wrote.

The Prime Minister also offered to meet again with the Pope: "My fervent hope is that your clarity and courage will strengthen the relations between Jews and Christians throughout the world and help promote peace and reconciliation for generations to come."

"I look forward to seeing you again soon and to expressing my deep appreciation for you in person."