The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Part IV
By Bishop Dr Gerhard Ludwig Müller
Translated by Dr Thomas Pink
The Search for Fundamental Reconciliation
The text of the ZdK's 'Jews and Christians' dialogue circle carries the all too showy title 'No to Mission to the Jews - yes to Jewish-Christian dialogue'. The either-or choice suggested here oversimplifies beyond the possible measure the theologically complex unity of the Old Covenant with the New as well as the difference between the Jewish and Christian faith-communities in respect of the confession of Jesus the Christ.
We must surely welcome it if in a theological research circle there is a deepening of the positive relation between Christians and Jews regarding the sources of revelation and confessional belief, if wounds are healed and if a deeper reconciliation is sought. Given a spiritual relationship rooted in the God of creation and of covenant (see Nostra Aetate §4), Christians and Jews face a common challenge, namely that of giving witness before a secularised world to the liberating power of God and of proclaiming the human dignity that is based on that power. Man is created in the image of God, and is called to the freedom and glory that belongs to God's children (see Romans 8, 21).
Dialogue in a research circle cannot however occur at the expense of qualifying or muddying essential Christian doctrines about the mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation, about the redemption and justification of sinners, about grace and original sin, about the universal and sole mediation of Christ, about the necessity for salvation of the Church, of faith in Christ, and of union with Christ in the sacraments, and about the relation of God's will that all be saved to that will's realisation in Church and sacrament.
From the point of view of Catholic theology it is very difficult to make out any convincing conception of the subject in the text being considered.
Magisterial evaluation of the 'Jews and Christians' dialogue group's declaration
The text has no magisterial authority. It can in no way be regarded as an official document of the Catholic Church or as an authentic presentation of the Catholic faith and confession. The text is guided by a quite blatant setting of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and of John Paul II against the teaching and legitimate measures (in the formulation of liturgical texts) of Pope Benedict XVI - an opposition (ZdK Declaration pp1, 10) which both in form and content is completely off the mark.
Neither is it true that the reformulation of the intercession for the Jews in the extraordinary rite of the Good Friday liturgy has anything to do with a 'Mission to the Jews' in the absolutely pejorative sense which the research circle's paper insinuates ("the Mission to the Jews … as expression of a disdain of Judaism... and therefore prepared the ground for the anti-Semitism of National Socialism." ZdK Declaration p13). Nor is there a 'Church of the Second Vatican Council' which presents the covenant of God with the Jewish people as one saving way to God – ‘even without any recognition of Jesus Christ and without the sacrament of baptism’ (ZdK Declaration p1).
The Second Vatican Council precisely did not express itself in this reductive and ambiguous way.
Nostra Aetate is of great importance for the new beginning in relations between Jews and Christians. But neither this declaration nor other Council texts nor the New Testament may be interpreted selectively on the basis of certain preconceptions which qualify the universal mediation of salvation of Jesus Christ and the consequent necessity for salvation of the confession of Christ, of the Church and of her sacraments.
Church teaching in its entirety and interrelatedness remains determinative. In the interpretation of revelation as it is transmitted in proper yet related ways in each of Scripture and Tradition, Catholic theology must always respect the fact that the binding explanation of revelation is 'entrusted exclusively to the living magisterium of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.' Dei Verbum §10
For this reason the Church’s undiminished confession of Christ remains constitutive of the Catholic faith and a central point of reference in the dialogue with the Jewish faith-community.
Jews and Christians should be a blessing to the world
The Second Vatican Council has in Nostra Aetate framed the foundations for a dialogue which encompasses both what has already been achieved and responsibility for the future: 'Together with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will call on the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Zeph. 3:9). 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.' Nostra Aetate §4.
The words of John Paul II which he uttered in 1993 to the Jews of his homeland Poland are still valid for the proper development of Jewish-Christian dialogue: 'As Christians and as Jews we follow the example of Abraham. We are called to be a blessing to the world. That is the task that awaits us. It is absolutely essential for us, Christians and Jews both, first to be a blessing to each other!'
Pope Benedict XVI took up this theme in the Cologne synagogue on his visit in 2005 during World Youth Day: 'On this occasion too I would like to assure you that I intend to continue with complete commitment on the path of improving relations and friendship with the Jewish people - a path along which Pope John Paul II took decisive steps.'
Previous parts of the series:
Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Introduction Pt. I
Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Introduction Pt. II
Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Bishop Müller's Statement Pt. I
Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Bishop Müller's Statement Pt. II
Confessing the Messiah: The Church's Confession of Christ in Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Bishop Müller's Statement Pt. III
