VATICAN
CITY, 4 APR 2008 (VIS) - Here follows the communique
provided by the Press Office of the Holy See on the
publication of the new “Oremus et pro Iudaeis”
for the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal. "Following
the publication of the new Prayer for the Jews for
the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, some groups
within the Jewish community have expressed disappointment
that it is not in harmony with the official declarations
and statements of the Holy See regarding the Jewish
people and their faith which have marked the progress
of friendly relations between the Jews and the Catholic
Church over the last forty years”. "The
Holy See wishes to reassure that the new formulation
of the Prayer, which modifies certain expressions
of the 1962 Missal, in no way intends to indicate
a change in the Catholic Church’s regard for
the Jews which has evolved from the basis of the Second
Vatican Council, particularly the Declaration Nostra
Aetate. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI, in an audience
with the Chief Rabbis of Israel on 15 September 2005,
remarked that this document has proven to be a milestone
on the road towards the reconciliation of Christians
with the Jewish people. The continuation of the position
found in Nostra Aetate is clearly shown by the fact
that the prayer contained in the 1970 Missal continues
to be in full use, and is the ordinary form of the
prayer of Catholics". "In the context of
other affirmations of the Council - on Sacred Scripture
(Dei Verbum, 14) and on the Church (Lumen Gentium,
16) - Nostra Aetate presents the fundamental principles
which have sustained and today continue to sustain
the bonds of esteem, dialogue, love, solidarity and
collaboration between Catholics and Jews. It is precisely
while examining the mystery of the Church that Nostra
Aetate recalls the unique bond with which the people
of the New Testament is spiritually linked with the
stock of Abraham and rejects every attitude of contempt
or discrimination against Jews, firmly repudiating
any kind of anti-Semitism". "The Holy See
hopes that the explanations made in this statement
will help to clarify any misunderstanding. It reiterates
the unwavering desire that the concrete progress made
in mutual understanding and the growth in esteem between
Jews and Christians will continue to develop". |
