Vatican II, the Passion of the Christ , and the Future of Catholic–jewish Dialogue

Vatican II (1962-65) was one of most important religious events of twentieth century. Given impetus by horrors of Shoah, courage of Pope John XXIII (about whom Hans Kung observed, 5 years he renewed Catholic Church more than his predecessors had in 500 years), work of Jules Isaac in identifying and refuting what he termed the teaching of contempt, and determination of Cardinal Augustin Bea--Vatican II meant that church could no longer ignore world. (1) Convened initially in order to deal with liturgical reform and ecumenism, council issued Nostra aetate (hereafter, N.A.; our time), (2) a paradigm-shattering document, especially so in its fourth section, which committed church to reassessing its theology of Judaism. N.A., although by and for church, has a dramatically universal resonance. It can be understood within context of what Judaism terms Heshbon ha-Nefesh (a reckoning of soul). Now that forty years--a biblical generation--have passed, it is clear that this document was key that opened door of possibility for meaningful Catholic-Jewish dialogue. Rabbi A. James Rudin attests that, because of N.A., [t]here have been more positive [Catholic-Jewish] encounters since 1965 than there were in first nineteen hundred years of Church. (3) One small measure of this turnabout is fact that a conference such as this one on occasion of document's fortieth anniversary, dealing with impact of N.A. on new era of interreligious relationships (and others like it being held in various venues, including Jerusalem) would have been impossible forty years ago. Yet, unresolved and perhaps unresolvable issues remain that pose at least two questions: What does each of faith communities perceive as a dialogue, and what are its anticipated outcomes? I shall return to these questions later. Many in Jewish community wonder about meaning of church apologetics. Mindful of plethora of positive developments in dialogue and growing areas of joint study and social-justice efforts, a fundamental question remains about how church proclamations inform dialogue on three issues: Antisemitism, Shoah, and role of Israel. The controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of Christ--intentionally released on Ash Wednesday--and enthusiastic response to it among many in Christian (although by no means exclusively Catholic) community reveal that issue of Antisemitism and Shoah still separate two faith communities. In what follows I shall argue that, whereas we live after Flood, we still have not been granted a full vision of Rainbow. Antisemitism Addressing persistent and pernicious issue of Antisemitism on twentieth anniversary of N.A., Edward H. Flannery inquired how a dialogue could prosper in face of two unspoken questions that each partner implicitly raises. One partner wonders, Why are they so persecution-minded and concentrated on their troubles? The other partner wonders, Why are they so indifferent and callous about persecution of my people? (4) In view of trauma to Catholic-Jewish relations induced by reactions to The Passion of Christ, Flannery's inquiry assumes added urgency twenty years after he first posed it. Gibson may or may not be an Antisemite, but one thing is certain: This film would not have been made by an individual interested in fostering any of dimensions of 1974 Implementing Guidelines relating to N.A., particularly those concerning its declaration of special relationship between Christianity and Judaism and recognition that genuine dialogue demands legitimacy of self-definition. Rabbi Irving Greenberg notes that Vatican II hinted that Jews never forfeited their election; moreover, Council Fathers combined this with a call or promise to teach Gospels in a way that would not present Jews as reprobate. …