Italy's Rabbinical Assembly released an attack against Pope Francis last week. It is the most serious crisis between a pope and Judaism in the land of the pope since the Second Vatican Council. Significantly, since then it has always been the Jewish side that has criticized the Catholic Church, never the other way around, whether it was about the beatification process for Pius XII or the lifting of the excommunication for Bishop Richard Williamson or formulations in the Christian Bible or the missionary mandate towards the Jews... But what had happened?
The reason for the latest criticism is the accusation that Pope Francis has put the Israeli hostages of Hamas on a par with Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Innocent people, however, could not be equated with criminals, murderers or terrorists, the rabbis were outraged. The Pope has also accused both sides of terrorism, which is intolerable.
The quality of Jewish criticism has changed from the past. So far, individual gestures of a pontificate have been criticized, but not the person of the Pope. However, the current attack is directed directly against Pope Francis. Therefore, the consequences that are put forward are also categorical:
"We ask ourselves," the rabbis' document reads, "what is the use of decades of Jewish-Christian dialogue, in which friendship and fraternity have been spoken of, when in reality, when attempts are made to exterminate the Jews, instead of receiving signs of closeness and understanding, the answer is diplomatic acrobatics, balancing acts and icy equidistance, which is sure to mean distance, but is not justice".
Understanding is required when emotions run high in an open conflict. Nevertheless, the tone is surprising, because the criticism does not come from Israel and not from Jews directly affected there, but from rabbis who live in distant and safe Italy. Or is it about politics? Of course, it's about politics.
The matter is complicated by the fact that the rabbinic criticism is also factually incorrect. What exactly had triggered the outrage?
On 22nd November Pope Francis received 12 family members of Israeli hostages who have been in the hands of Hamas since 7 October. This gesture of closeness was very well received by those affected.
A little later, on the same morning, Francis received another twelve people: ten family members of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Christians and Muslims, as well as Gabriel Romanelli, the only Catholic priest in Gaza, and a Greek Orthodox priest.
It was this second encounter that outraged the rabbis. In their criticism of Pope Francis, an exclusive claim shines through. The Pope should have received only the Jewish guests. This black-and-white painting, which divides good and evil, may correspond to Old Testament criteria, but not Christian ones. Here we see a striking difference between Christianity and post-Christian Judaism (and also Islam), both of which lack the commandment to love one's neighbour.
Because the rabbis themselves were probably aware that it was difficult to convey their claim to exclusivity, they performed an artifice. In other words, they manipulated the information. They did not directly criticize the fact that Francis also received Palestinians, but were outraged in their message that Francis had received family members of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. This raised the moral question of whether hostages can be equated with prisoners. This gave the criticism a different note. In addition, the media quickly turned the prisoners into murderers, quasi Hamas terrorists.
However, in the Vatican publications on the reception of the Palestinians, there is not a word about "prisoners". Francis received family members of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. There is no mention of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, let alone relatives of prisoners.
In both meetings, which lasted half an hour each, Pope Francis tried to be close to the people in their suffering. In both encounters, women predominated among the guests.
Another aspect of the rabbis' statement stands out. The 1,400 victims of Hamas terror and the Jewish hostages of Hamas are rightly lamented. But there is no mention of the 15,000 Palestinian civilians who have been killed since the beginning of the Israeli counteroffensive. For every Jewish civilian killed by Hamas in the horrific attack on Israel, there are already ten Palestinian civilians killed in Israel's retaliatory strike. Aren't they also human beings and victims of an intolerable massacre? Are non-Jews to be "destroyed like dust in threshing," as it says in the Old Testament Second Book of Kings 13:7? Does an exclusive claim also apply to the victims?
The two-thousand-year-old Christian-Jewish relationship is very extensive and complex and will not be touched upon in detail here. Instead, a little-known document is to be published, the encyclical Auspicia quædam by Pope Pius XII. This pope is the greatest savior of the Jews in history, and yet his reputation has been and is besmirched like that of no other pope in the Christian-Jewish context. Pius XII wrote this encyclical, which he dedicated to Palestine – as he consistently calls the country – a few days before the State of Israel was proclaimed. The Second World War was only a short time ago. Many European cities, especially in Germany, but also in Italy, were ruins. Pius XII enjoyed great prestige, even in the Jewish world, because the KGB campaign against him (with the help of the German playwright Rolf Hochhuth) was not launched until the early 1960s. Note the Pope's choice of words and the criteria he indicates, insisting on justice and charity as a prerequisite for peace and well-being. Note also that the present text shows that encyclicals can be written briefly and in a way that is generally understandable, and even with an abbreviated version (see at the end). Here is the full text:
Encyclical Auspicia quædam
by Pope Pius XII
of 1 May 1948
Some indications today seem to clearly show that, after so many massacres and devastation caused by the long and terrible war, the entire great international community is passionately oriented toward the sound paths of peace; and that at present we are more willing to listen to those who devote themselves to rebuilding with wearisome work, who seek to appease and settle discord, and who set out to awaken a new order of well-being from the many ruins that surround us, rather than to those who stir up hatred and resentment, from which nothing but new and more serious damage can arise.
But although we ourselves and the Christian people have many reasons for consolation and can encourage us with the hope of better times, there is no lack of facts and events that bring Our paternal soul into great sorrow and sorrow. Although the war has ceased almost everywhere, the longed-for peace has not yet calmed minds and hearts; rather, we can still see the sky darkening with menacing clouds.
For our part, we do not cease to do all that We can to remove from the human family the dangers of other disasters that overwhelm it, and when human means prove inadequate, We appeal to God and at the same time exhort all Our children in Christ, scattered in all the countries of the earth, to ask together with Us for heavenly help.
For this reason, as in previous years, it has been a consolation for us to address Our exhortation to all, especially to the children so beloved by Us, so that in the month of May they may gather in great numbers around the altar of the great Mother of God to implore the end of the devastating war, and so also today with this Letter We urge them to not to interrupt this pious custom and to combine their petitions with resolutions for Christian renewal and works of salutary penance.
First of all, let them sincerely thank the Virgin Mother of God and our most gracious Mother for having achieved with her powerful intercession the longed-for end of the great conflagration of the world and for the many other benefits implored by the Almighty; but at the same time we implore you with renewed prayers that the mutual, fraternal and complete peace among all people, and the desired harmony between all social classes, may finally shine forth as a gift from heaven.
May the discord that benefits no one cease; may the disputes, which are often the germs of new misfortunes, be justly settled; May public and private relations between nations be strengthened and consolidated; may religion, the champion of all virtue, have the freedom it deserves; and may peaceful human work, under the auspices of justice and the divine breath of charity, bear the most abundant fruits for the common good.
You are well aware, Venerable Brethren, that our prayers are especially appreciated by the Blessed Virgin when they are not transient and empty voices, but come from hearts adorned with the necessary virtues. Therefore, strive with your apostolic zeal so that the public prayers raised to heaven in the month of May may correspond to a revival of Christian life. In fact, it is only on this basis that it is justified to hope that the course of things and events in public and private life can be directed into the right order, and that it will be possible for men, with the help of God, to attain not only the well-being possible in this world, but also heavenly happiness. that will never go away.
But there is another special reason at the moment that deeply grieves and torments Our hearts. We are referring to the holy places of Palestine, which have long been haunted by sad events and are devastated almost daily by new massacres and ruins. But if there is one region of the world that must be particularly dear to the heart of every worthy and civilized soul, it is certainly Palestine, from which so much light of truth has emanated for all men since the dark beginnings of history; in which the Incarnate Word of God proclaimed peace to all men of good will through choirs of angels, and in which, finally, Jesus Christ, nailed to the trunk of the Cross, brought salvation to all humanity and spread out His arms, as if to invite all peoples into the fraternal embrace, He sanctified the great commandment of charity with the shedding of His blood.
For this reason, Venerable Brothers, we hope that this year's prayers will have as a special object the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, so that the conditions in Palestine may finally be reconciled in accordance with justice, and that harmony and peace may triumph there too.
We have great confidence in the powerful patronage of our Heavenly Mother; a patronage which, in this month dedicated to her, may be obtained above all by innocent children with a holy prayer crusade. And it will be your task to invite and encourage them to do so with all care; and not only them, but also their fathers and mothers, who must also set an example for them in many ways.
We know well that We have never appealed in vain to the ardent zeal with which you have been inflamed; and We already seem to see great multitudes of children, men and women, crowding into the sacred halls to receive from the great Mother of God all the graces and favors we need.
May she, who Jesus has given us, ensure that all those who have strayed from the right path return to him as soon as possible, moved by healthy repentance; May she work for us, she who is our most gracious Mother and who has always proved to be our valid help and mediator of graces in every danger, so that even in the grave needs in which we find ourselves, a just solution to conflicts may be found, and that a safe and free peace may finally shine forth for the Church and for all nations.
A few years ago, as everyone remembers, when the recent world war was still raging, when We saw that human means were proving insecure and insufficient to extinguish this tremendous conflagration, We addressed our fervent prayers to the Merciful Redeemer, taking advantage of the powerful patronage of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And just as Our Predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, at the beginning of the twentieth century, consecrated the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so We also wish to consecrate it to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary on behalf of the human family redeemed by Him.
We hope, therefore, that this consecration be carried out both in the dioceses and in the individual parishes and families, when the opportunity arises; and We are confident that from this private and public consecration will accrue abundant benefits and heavenly favors.
In this hope, and as a pledge of Our paternal goodwill, in the outpouring of our hearts, we impart the Apostolic Blessing to each one of you, Venerable Brethren, and to all those who will respond with a willing heart to this exhortation of ours, and especially to the great and numerous multitudes of dear children.
Rome, in St. Peter's Basilica, May 1, 1948, in the year X of Our Pontificate.
PIUS PP. XII
Prayers in the month of May for an end to the tragic consequences of the war and the causes of discord. To the Christian world and to the rulers of the peoples, fundamental guidelines for peace, justice and charity. The armed conflict continues in Palestine: prayers for peace to return there as well. I invite you to renew your consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Text/Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
