Page 101 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ ... [The church] decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti- Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Thus did the Catholic Church, with the authoritative weight of an Ecumenical Council, dismantle a key pillar of the ‘teaching of contempt’—a term that refers to the antagonistic attitude towards the Jewish people that had infected Christian communities since the early centuries of Christianity ’s development.
Post-conciliar ecclesial documents have reinforced this teaching and promoted a ‘teaching of respect’. In particular, teachers and homilists today are urged to take great care with scripture so as not to perpetuate patterns of anti-Judaism. For example, in statements of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, we read:
With respect to liturgical readings, care will be taken to see that homilies based on them will not distort their meaning, especially when it is a question of passages which seem to show the Jewish people as such in an unfavorable light. Efforts will be made so to instruct the Christian people that they will understand the true interpretation of all the texts and their meaning for the contemporary believer. (Guidelines, 1974, II)
The Gospels are the outcome of long and complicated editorial work ... Certain controversies reflect Christian- Jewish relations long after the time of Jesus. To establish this is of capital importance if we wish to bring out the meaning of certain Gospel texts for the Christians of today. All this should be taken into account when preparing catechesis and homilies for the last weeks of Lent and Holy Week. (Notes, 1985, IV, 21)
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