Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, October 26, 2000
Christian-Jewish
(Continued from page 4)
live and to prosper. While there are times when
Catholics and other Christians fail to see in the
Jewish people “our elder brothers and sisters in
faith,” as Pope John Paul II has called them,
there is generally a much better relationship
among us than existed just 50 years ago. It is
hoped that this series will engender further
understanding and appreciation of what has been
accomplished in the last five decades by the
work of the Holy Spirit between the Jewish peo
ple and the Church.
Dr. Boys refers in her book to ten theses for
understanding the Jews that were developed at a
conference of Christians and Jews in Switzerland
in 1947, just two years following World War II.
Using these theses as a starting point, Ms. Boys
notes the importance of “rethinking traditional
The Southern Cross, Page 11
Christian theology” regarding the Jewish people.
The task is neither simple nor comfortable, but
one in which we must become engaged if we take
the words of Nostra Aetate seriously.
Father Michael J. Kavanaugh is diocesan
director of Ecumenism. This is the first in
a series of articles on Jewish-Christian
relations
Letters
(Continued from page 4)
we Catholics believe in Tradition.
We believe in the resurrection of
our Lord, Jesus Christ, not because
it is written in the Gospels but
because the early Christian com
munity believed in the resurrection.
The resurrection explains why [the]
Gospels were written. So the
Catholic Church (= early Christian
community) and its Tradition came
first and then the Gospels!
“No church is necessary for sal
vation”: The Church is the body of
Christ, the Head. Jesus founded his
Church and identified himself with
the Church: “[Saul, Saul,] why do
you persecute me?” So, to say, “no
church is necessary” is the same as
to say, “Jesus is not necessary.” Cut
off from the Church, we wither like
branches cut off from the vine tree.
“We are saved by faith alone and
without works”: “What does it
profit, my brethren, though a man
say he has faith and have not
works? Can faith save him? Even
so faith, if it has not works, is dead,
being alone” {James 2:14-17). So,
faith or works? The answer is:
both. Catholics believe that true
faith in Jesus generates love ex
pressed in deeds and without good
deeds faith is fake. Jesus is very
clear on this point. But faith and
love of course is impossible with
out the grace of God.
Background to the Vatican state
ment: objective study of history
without prejudice will show that
the Catholic Church is the Church
founded by Jesus, as the current
pope can be linked all the way back
to Peter, on whom Jesus founded
What better
way to Celebrate
the Great Jubilee than by the Pope’s
own newspaper, UOsservatore Romano.
The Southern Cross offers an easy way to order
at a discounted price. UOsservatore Romano is the
official publication of the Vatican printed each
week in English. By subscribing today, you’ll save
$42 off the regular price and you’ll enjoy a full year
of exclusive reports about the Holy Father and
Jubilee 2000 events, like the Pope’s planned visit to
the Holy Land.
Receive UOsservatore Romano weekly for $109/yr. This special
offer is for readers of Southern Cross and is only valid for orders
placed before 3/31/00, so order today. Make your check payable to the
Cathedral Foundation and we’ll start your subscription right away.
Name:
Address:
City:
St:
Zip:
Check enclosed Visa
Card No.:
MasterCard
Discover
Exp. date:
Signature:
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
It’s here It’s time
Send this order to: Cathedral Foundation,
PO. Box 777, Baltimore, MD 21203
Voice: (410) 547-5324*E-mail: pmedinger@catholicreview.org
his Church. The very fact that no
other churches existed until much
later is further proof. All other
churches came into existence
through humans rebelling against
or defecting from the original
Catholic Church. While the
Orthodox churches have no union
with the pope, the Protestant
churches differ from the Catholic
Church also in doctrine. The
Catholic Church, as the Mother of
all the other churches, does want
union with all the other churches
but not at the cost of truths of our
faith. The Catholic Church pro
motes in every possible way, espe
cially through dialogue [and] ecu
menism. But some Catholics have
taken ecumenism to mean union by
all means, even by ignoring doctri
nal difference. In Asian countries
like India, some zealous ecumenists
not only say “all religions are true
and salvific” (like all rivers flow
into the sea, so all religions lead
humans to Heaven!) but even want
to use readings at Mass from Hindu
or Islamic scriptures! If all reli
gions are true, the thousands of
martyrs and missionaries in the his
tory of the Church were fools. Why
should one preach the Gospel if all
religions are true? Why did Jesus
come into the world and command
his disciples to preach the Gospel
to every creature? Did not Jesus
say, “I am the way, the truth and
the life” and “No one comes to the
Father except through me”? It is in
this context one must look at this
statement. Indeed the Catholic
Church wants to co-operate with all
other churches and other religions
and concentrate on what unites us
[rather] than [on what] divides. But
the declaration is neither pre-
Vatican II nor insulting. On the
contrary, it is a timely warning to
all Catholics not to dilute the truths
of their faith for the sake of fake
unity with non-Catholics or non-
Christians.
Father Xavier Kumbalaparampil
Port Chaplain
Savannah
Editor s note: The letters on the
declaration seem to have exhausted
the topic.
“One Faith... One Family:
The Diocese of Savannah
1850-2000”
A 350-page commemorative book
Name:
Order form
Address:
City:
State: Zip:
Phone:
Parish:
Please send me
copies of One Faith... One Family @ $30 per copy.
Check one payment option:
Enclosed is my check for $ for copies, plus for home
delivery (@ $8.00 per copy, if desired)
Please charge my VISA/MASTERCARD #
Expiration date: Signature:
Return form to:
Signature Publications
1600 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13203