THE PAPAL PILGRIMAGE

The Jewish community delegation, led by ECAJ President Leslie Caplan, knew the issues we wished to raise with the head of the Catholic Church, but we did not know what response we would receive.

Meeting in the St Mary’s complex meant that the Jewish delegation would be entering into the territory of the Catholic Church, bringing with us a message focusing on historic antisemitism and our view that an enormous chasm would exist between Catholics and Jews until Israel received formal diplomatic recognition from the Vatican.

It was at the Sydney meeting that the Pope first articulated the view that, for all Catholics, antisemitism is a sin. Just as importantly, Pope John Paul II treated us with respect and as equal partners in dialogue.

The meeting in Sydney was one of many between this Pope and the Jewish world, which have contributed to his reputation as a person who, in the opinion of the late Geoffrey Wigoder, transformed Catholicism from being part of the problem of antisemitism to part of the solution to antisemitism.

Without doubt he has played a remarkable and unparalleled role in leading his Church into a relationship with the people he calls the "older brothers and sisters" of his faith which could not have been imagined possible at the time of his ascension.

Pope John Paul II went against the history of Vatican hostility towards the Zionist enterprise when he became the first pontiff to pray for the welfare of the State of Israel in 1984, and he went on to describe it as the Jewish people’s historical right, in 1994. It is no coincidence that Pope John Paul II oversaw the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel.

It is also important to place in context the "apology" made by Pope John Paul II in Rome on 12 March this year. The concept of the Church acknowledging that it was necessary to apologise for the actions of adherents of the faith was an historic precedent and an important step on the road to building a relationship with others sourced in truth and respect.

Perhaps paradoxically, the fact that the apology did not specifically mention the Holocaust, or enumerate specific behaviour for which forgiveness was sought, will most likely encourage further investigation and scrutiny than may have followed a detailed listing of acts requiring contrition.

The apology, together with the Pilgrimage to Israel, bring into focus the serious, outstanding issues remaining between the Jewish world and the Catholic Church and the Vatican.

Although sections of the Church, with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in their vanguard, have made dramatic and meaningful steps to develop Church teaching under their authority away from antisemitism and towards understanding, this is not universal within Catholicism.

Questions relating to the Shoah (Nazi Holocaust) and the immediate post Holocaust period will not be resolved until there is complete access to Vatican archives relating to the actions of Pope Pius XII and other Vatican and Church leaders. Until this takes place suspicion and conjecture relating to sins of both commission and omission will remain.

The related issue of the role of the Vatican diplomatic service in facilitating the escape of Nazi war criminals from Europe is also a specific matter which requires condemnation by the Church.

The Vatican will, understandably, come under continuing scrutiny for any role it plays in the Middle East, especially when there is the suggestion that policies may be guided by theological considerations which stand in contradiction to developments within the Church.

It was only in 1965 that, through the leadership of Pope John XXIII, the Catholic Church formally rejected the teaching of contempt towards Jews and affirmed the permanence of the Divine Covenant with the Jewish people. We have seen dramatic progress in the relationship between Catholics and Jews over the two decades of Pope John Paul II, and his pilgrimage to Israel is not unrelated to his attitude to Jews.

While this comment is being written at the beginning of the Pope’s visit to Israel, there can be no doubt that the realities of Middle East politics will ensure that every word he utters and every step he takes will be imbued with numerous and contradictory symbolism and multiple and competing interpretations.

But it is most likely that the impact on the Arab/Israeli relationship, as against on the Jewish/Catholic dialogue, will only be properly understood in the years to come.

Just over five years ago I had my second meeting with Pope John Paul II, as the Jewish community’s representative at the multi-faith welcome for him at Sydney’s Domain. He told me there that he believed the Jewish people had a special role in the world’s future.

For the head of the Catholic Church to welcome a Jewish future, and to by his actions promote an on-going relationship between Jews and Catholics, speaks volumes about Pope John Paul II and is in itself likely to contribute to this ideal.