The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has released a new statement on Catholic-Jewish relations, to address the resurgence in antisemitic attitudes and reinforce the significant steps forward between the faiths since the Second Vatican Council.
In the document, Walking Together: Catholics with Jews in the Australian Context, the ACBC says that a deep appreciation of Jesus Christ’s Jewish tradition is the starting point for mutual respect.
“We wish to encourage all people of goodwill, and especially Australia’s Catholics, to deepen their understanding of the Church’s relationship to Judaism by better appreciating the Jewishness of Jesus and of the first generation of Jesus’ disciples,” the document says.
Bishop Michael McKenna, chair of the bishops commission for Christian unity and inter-religious dialogue, launched the document at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney on 21 March, followed by a kosher lunch.
Bishop Michael McKenna, chair of the Bishops Commission for Christian Unity and Inter-Religious Dialogue, said Walking Together “aims to help Catholics understand more deeply the uniqueness of our relationship with Judaism, our elder sisters and brothers in faith.”
Jillian Segal, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said Walking Together “bears eloquent testimony to the intimacy of the connection between Judaism and Christianity”.
Read the article by Marilyn Rodrigues in The Catholic Weekly.