„The only thing I wish to say is that the Document Dominus Iesus DOES NOT state that everybody needs to become a Catholic in order to be saved by God. On the contrary, it declares that God’s grace, which is the grace of Jesus Christ according to our faith, is available to all. Therefore, the Church believes that Judaism, i.e. the faithful response of the Jewish people to God’s irrevocable covenant, IS SALVIFIC for them, because God is faithful to his promises. This touches the problem of mission towards Jews, a painful question with regard to forced conversion in the past. Dominus Iesus, as other official documents, raised this question again saying that dialogue is a part of evangelisation. This stirred Jewish suspicion. But this is a language problem, since the term evangelisation, in official Church documents, cannot be understood in the same way it is commonly interpreted in everyday’s speech. In strict theological language, evangelisation is a very complex and overall term, and reality. It implies presence and witness, prayer and liturgy, proclamation and catechesis, dialogue and social work. Now, presence and witness, prayer and liturgy, dialogue and social work, which are all part of evangelisation, DO NOT have the goal of increasing the number of Catholics. Thus evangelisation, if understood in its proper and theological meaning, DOES NOT imply any attempt of proselytism whatsoever. On the other hand, the term mission, in its proper sense, is referred to conversion from false gods and idols to the true and one God, who revealed himself in the salvation history with his elected people. Thus MISSION, in this strict sense, CANNOT be used with regard to Jews, who believe in the true and one God. Therefore –and this is characteristic- [there] DOES NOT exist any Catholic missionary organisation for Jews.“ (Walter Cardinal Kasper President of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jew, Delivered at the 17th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, New York, May 1, 2001.)
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 17:12:13 +0000
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