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In Perspective: The Vatican Statement on the Holocaust
By Msgr. George Higgins
May 15, 1998
Jewish disappointment with the Vatican's recent statement on the church and the Holocaust came as no surprise, for it was admittedly a less than perfect document. In my opinion it would have been unrealistic to expect the Jewish community to welcome it uncritically.Be that as it may, criticism of the statement by Jewish leaders reminds me of what was said about Vatican Council II's declaration "Nostra Aetate" on Catholic-Jewish relations.
I followed "Nostra Aetate's" development in the council from Day 1 and was in almost daily contact with Jewish leaders during and immediately after the council concerning the declaration's pros and cons.
Like many of my Jewish friends and associates, I thought it was a less than perfect document and, if anything, I was more critical of the declaration than many of them. Nevertheless, I said that in the long perspective of history -- and even the short run -- it would prove of monumental importance.
I believed that Catholics and Jews alike would want to bear in mind that when Pope Paul VI promulgated the declaration Oct. 28, 1965, he was, in effect, writing "finis" -- not to a book, but to the preface of the first of a long series of volumes which would not be completed for many years.
That was another way of saying that while the declaration could not undo the past, with all its bitter memories of hatred and persecution of Jews by Christians, it could, by God's grace, help usher in a new era of mutual knowledge and respect.
I felt that if our Jewish neighbors and friends would bear in mind this long-range purpose of the declaration, they might find it easier to live with the fact that it was imperfect.
Still, it was on the whole a very good declaration and held great promise for the future -- promise that only would be fulfilled if Catholics bore in mind that its solemn promulgation was not the end of the story but only the beginning.
The declaration, of course, was addressed to Catholics. It was intended to clarify Christian teaching in areas where, in the past, an anti-Jewish tone had deformed the pure presentation of the Gospel. The declaration was a Catholic affair and represented an examination of the Christian conscience.
The same is true of the Vatican's recent statement. Catholics will want to understand that it is addressed to us and is meant as the beginning of an examination of conscience and a statement of repentance and contrition for our Catholic sins of the past. Catholic-Jewish response to "Nostra Aetate" has resulted in phenomenal progress in the field of Catholic-Jewish relations -- more progress than ever was made in the church's past history.
I have no doubt that, over the long haul -- and even in the short run -- the Vatican's new statement will prove, like "Nostra Aetate," a turning point in Catholic-Jewish relations.
I would also predict that, like "Nostra Aetate," it will prove not to be the last word from the Vatican on this subject but only the first. I will not be surprised if Pope John Paul II -- who has done more than any pope to advance the cause of Catholic-Jewish relations -- will have more to say about the Holocaust between now and the new millennium.
Meanwhile, let us do our own part as Catholics to meet the challenge of the recent statement on the Holocaust. Experience with "Nostra Aetate" should have taught us that even an imperfect statement on this subject can, in God's providence, work true miracles.