The visit of the leader of the Catholic Church to America will be of interest to many people in the Jewish communities across the U.S.A. While the Pope’s visit will focus on the United Nations and the Catholic communities in New York and Washington D.C., he has set aside time to engage other religious communities as well. Jews will join in the interfaith gathering in Washington, but Park East Synagogue in New York City will welcome him Friday evening before the Sabbath begins. It will not be just any Sabbath, but the one prior to Passover which starts on Saturday evening.
Before entering their Sabbath rest, members of synagogues across the USA will have cleaned their homes of “leaven” as they fulfill the commandment to eat only unleavened bread and food products for the next eight days. “Cleaning out the leaven” is more than a physical act. It is understood as a metaphor for cleaning our consciences and clearing up disputes so that Jews can focus on the meaning of their holiday.
Pope Benedict’s visit is a chance to “clean the leaven” and settle a controversy currently brewing in the Jewish-Catholic dialogue. Since the conclusion of the II Vatican Council in 1965, Catholics have sought a more positive approach towards Judaism and the Jewish people through instructions from the Papal Commission on Religious Relations with the Jews. Diocesan bishops, pastors, and Catholic Universities as well as Jewish organizations and synagogues have organized symposia that promoted mutual respect and understanding of one another. With institutional support from both sides, Catholics and Jews have discovered that there are foundations for solidarity with one another in their religious traditions as well as in their friendships. Both communities, correctly I believe, have tried to establish this friendly atmosphere while maintaining appropriate boundaries between us. We have been seeking to find ways to fulfill the hope expressed by Pope John Paul II to become “a blessing to one another.”
During last summer Benedict issued an instruction to his own Church that permitted wider use of the Latin mass in order to provide more opportunities to Catholics for expand their spiritual experience of the liturgy. Just before Holy Week the text of the newly written intercession was published. It prayed for the Jews to come to acknowledge Jesus as the savior of all humanity.
While Jewish leaders and theologians applaud any effort to open people to prayer, they were divided in whether or not this expanded practice would permit the use of texts on Good Friday that contradicted the more positive image of Judaism expressed at the Council in 1965. Some Jewish leaders expressed profound concern that reciting the old prayers would lead to anti-Jewish sentiment or even anti-Semitism. Other Jewish thinkers and many Catholic theologians wondered why the text of the liturgy issued in 1970 with its text asserting that Jews were the first to hear God’s word and prayed for them to reach fulfillment of revelation would not have been sufficient. A number of Jewish thinkers asserted that the Jews should not comment on any matters that are internal to Catholic theology. However, it would be fair to state that everyone in the Jewish community is in doubt about how a prayer that calls for the conversion of the Jews contributes to the respect and trust that both John Paul II and Benedict argue is at the foundation of healthy interreligious dialogue.
Members of the Vatican have addressed the concerns expressed by Jewish inquiries. They indicate that the vast majority of Catholics will continue to use the 1970 text that presents Judaism in a positive light. Walter Cardinal Kasper, who leads the Commission on Judaism, explained that the text of the prayer does not call for any targeted groups sent to convert the Jews but points to the end of time when the conversion of all humankind will be in the hands of God alone. Other Catholic theologians say that it would contradict their faith to withhold the message of Jesus to Jews and share it with everyone else. Last week the Vatican Secretary of State, Tarciso Cardinal Bertone, stated that the Latin prayer does not represent any contradiction to the esteem that the Catholic Church holds for Jews and the Jewish People.
Therefore, we all wait for what will happen at Park East Synagogue. Reading the texts of his words, watching the video presentation, Jews will see the expression on Pope’s face and hear the tone of his voice speaking directly to all of us. He will, I hope, clean out the leaven so that he, his Church, and the Jewish community can continue the dialogue. My cousin will be an usher at the synagogue that evening. He asked me how he might greet the Pope. I said, “Wish him Shabbat Shalom.”
Rabbi Michael A. Signer is Abrams Professor of Jewish Thought and Culture in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.
