Page 95 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

and I add my voice to that cry in the name of the Catholic Church.
With the historic breakthrough of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has repudiated all forms of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, ‘unequivocally condemning manifestations of hatred towards Jews and Judaism as a sin against God’.8 Catholics should all be devastated by the current surge in attacks against Jews around the world. We had wanted to believe that ‘Never Again’ was a refrain solidly understood by both mature and new generations. Yet now we see how little that refrain is understood and that the path ahead requires ever closer collaboration to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism and anti-Judaism. I commit myself to that path and I call on bishops, clergy, lay Catholic leaders and all the faithful to revisit this path with greater intensity, deeper understanding and active recommitment. The church, and all people of faith and goodwill, must ensure that ‘the spoiled seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism [will] never again be allowed to take root in any human heart’.9
I Ask Forgiveness for the Silence of Catholics
I am aware that many Jews have felt dismay and disappointment at the silence of too many Catholics in these past months since October 7. Where we Catholics have failed in our responsibilities, I ask your forgiveness. I sincerely hope and pray that we can make amends for this failure. It is a hope that must be realised in action more than words. I trust that this letter is a start, and I urge Catholic leaders everywhere to join me in a renewal of our Nostra Aetate–inspired convictions and commitments.
8 Francis, Letter of the Holy Father Francis to Jewish Brothers and Sisters in Israel, 2 February 2024.
9 Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, the Vatican, 16 March 1998.
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