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A Setback in Catholic-Jewish Relations By Msgr. George G. Higgins The Yardstick June 4, 2001     In my last column I said that, despite occasional ups and downs, great progress has been made since Vatican Council II in Catholic-Jewish relations and that the future looks even brighter. Did I speak too soon? Even before my column appeared in print another incident occurred that caused consternation in many Jewish circles.     When Pope John Paul II arrived in Damascus, Syria, during his May pilgrimage “in the footsteps of St. Paul,” Syria's President Assad, during the welcoming ceremony, indulged in a viciously anti-Semitic diatribe. The reaction of Jewish commentators was predictably one of anger and anguish. A number of Catholic commentators were equally disturbed and strongly criticized Assad, but that was not enough to satisfy all segments of the Jewish community.     Some, but not all, Jewish commentators on this ugly event were extremely critical of the pope for not responding on the spot to Assad's venomous attack. In criticizing the pope's “silence,” they played on the continuing controversy concerning Pope Pius XII's alleged “silence” about the Nazi Holocaust. Some went so far as to suggest that the pope's frequent statements repudiating all forms of anti-Semitism should not be taken seriously in view of his “silence” at the Damascus ceremony.     Others were more measured in their criticism. The Anti-Defamation League, in a quarter-page advertisement on the New York Times' op-ed page, after quoting from Assad's diatribe, said: “Pope John Paul II, we were greatly saddened by your silence.” The New York Times, in an editorial the day after the Damascus incident, condemned Assad but at the same time showed a measure of sympathy for the almost impossibly difficult situation the pope found himself in when Assad blindsided him with a speech the pope presumably had not seen and which he most certainly found abhorrent.     Should the pope have confronted Assad face to face on this issue during the welcoming ceremony? I think not, but I can understand why some Jewish friends think otherwise. But should the pope at least have repudiated Assad's diatribe in the strongest possible terms before leaving Syria? I wish he had done so either personally or through a top aide, but again I can understand why others think that, given the pope's record on anti-Semitism, it would have been unreasonable to expect him to go over the same ground again and challenge Assad face to face.     This controversy can be seen as a setback, but it does not mean I spoke too soon when I said the future of Catholic-Jewish relations in the United States is rather bright. The Catholic-Jewish dialogue is mature enough to weather occasional misunderstandings and disagreements over specific issues, even issues as neuralgic as the Damascus incident. We have emerged better friends than ever from similar past crises.     What can we do to make sure the Catholic-Jewish dialogue stays on course? Catholics, for their part, must try to understand viscerally why Jews are so profoundly disturbed by the kind of vicious anti-Semitic rhetoric Assad indulged in. Jews have every right to expect Catholics to join them in condemning Assad's rhetoric in the strongest terms.     In my unsolicited opinion, Jews, for their part, must resist the temptation to question the sincerity of the pope's statements condemning anti-Semitism solely because they disagree with how he reacted to Assad's malicious attack. To question the pope's integrity on this basis alone would be to say that his call for sincere dialogue between Catholics and Jews is a deliberately dishonest charade. I doubt that many Jews really feel that way.     I anticipate that despite this unhappy controversy, the Catholic-Jewish dialogue in the United States will stay on course.  Papal Social Encyclicals Other Catholic Social Teachings General Articles of Interest Catholic Worker Connection Msgr. George Higgins Home Page E-Mail: Fr. Sinclair Oubre