Catholic-Jewish Relations in the Pope Leo Era |
Cardinal Robert Prevost’s election as the first American pontiff last May was a welcome surprise, and one that I suggested at the time, bodes well for the future of Catholic-Jewish relations. One year into Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, that prayerful prediction still rings true.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we can altogether avoid significant disagreements between Catholic and Jewish leaders, not least regarding differences in our understanding of conflicts in the Middle East and just war theory. Yet, I have confidence that the relationship is strong enough to weather those disagreements. Why? Pope Leo’s foundational statements on the Catholic-Jewish relationship.
In an unprecedented move, on the very day of his election, Pope Leo wrote to American Jewish Committee (AJC) and other key Jewish leaders, declaring: “I pledge to continue and strengthen the Church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate.” Citing the Church declaration that revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations and rejected two millennia of anti-Jewish teaching, the new pontiff elevated this relationship on day one.
He followed this up just eleven days later, when in meeting with non-Catholic delegations attending his Inaugural Mass, he eschewed platitudes and said to the Jewish people, “Even in these........