Page 125 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

document designed to highlight the vital link between truth and peace, one finds a substantial paragraph (on page 10) that brings into play a series of historical antisemitic tropes, depicting Jews as Christ killers, murderers, liars, children of Satan, unbelievers and opponents of God. Drawing on John 8:39-45, with no provision of historical context or acknowledgement of important developments in biblical scholarship that impact interfaith relations, the document employs references to Jews that, over the centuries, have given rise to prejudicial caricatures that have been weaponised to denigrate, subjugate and even kill Jews. It is astonishing that, of all the ways and means available to the drafters of the document, this should be the choice of text and wording for a 2024 episcopal statement on truth and peace, issued in a volatile sociopolitical climate, at a time when levels of antisemitism in Australia are at an all-time high and when the world’s only Jewish state is facing lethal threats on all its borders.
Now, I don’t suggest that the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is deliberately setting out to stoke antisemitic hatreds in order to harm Jews. Also, it is too soon to gauge how the conference will respond to the objections that will inevitably be raised about the document’s inclusion and handling of the problematic Johannine text. However, the fact of this development is a clear indicator that perpetuation of stereotypes without regard or sensitivity to how the repeated negative portrayal of Jews in ancient Christian texts continues to infect many minds—and impacts upon the feelings, dignity and safety of present-day Jews—is a vexed issue that is not going away any time soon. It cries out for focused attention, and, until such a time that it is adequately addressed by Catholic education and preaching standards, the credibility of Catholic statements expressing respect for Jews and Judaism will rightly be called into question.
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