Page 108 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

were made later, but for many Jews it was understandably too little, too late.
Recall that Catholic leaders from around the world were gathered in Rome at the time of the massacre, spot-lit before the eyes of their home communities as they discussed the meaning of ‘walking together’ at the Bishops’ Synod on Synodality. It was a critical opportunity to model what it meant to ‘walk with’ the Jewish people in their darkest hour. In that moment, Catholics needed to see images of their bishops standing shoulder to shoulder with rabbis, to hear a public outpouring of condolence messages, and to have Catholic teaching on antisemitism amplified and vigorously promoted. It didn’t happen.
Meanwhile, in my own homeland, usually peaceful multicultural Australia, antisemitic incidents have dramatically increased since October 7 to the point where students attending Jewish schools are advised not to wear their school uniforms in the streets. There is serious concern that antisemitism is becoming ‘normalised’ in Australian society. Still, a united Catholic voice protesting antisemitism in the public square is barely audible.
Does Easter 2024 present a chance for the Catholic Church to come to terms with and make amends for this disturbing paralysis? The holy days ahead invite a movement of transformation: from sorrow to hope, from repentance to new life, from sin to salvation. It is a religious journey that makes no sense at all without its foundations in God’s unbreakable fidelity to Israel and without its central figure, the Jewish Jesus.
What does the future hold? Once again, Catholics find themselves at a crossroad in their relationship with Jews. In this journey to Easter 2024, the moral credibility of Nostra Aetate, and of Catholics themselves, hangs in the balance.
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