My grandmother grew up in Catholic neighborhoods with rampant (and sometimes violent) antisemitism.
My parents came of age understanding that individual Catholics might relate to Jews in different ways. I have never experienced anything but respect and kindness from Catholic friends and colleagues.
In 60 short years, the largest religious organization in the world went from being a major purveyor of antisemitic hate to the closest friend of the Jewish community.
It is a story whose anniversary we celebrated on Tuesday – October 28 – and which merits our study when it comes to fighting the upswing in antisemitism today.
On that day, 60 years ago, Pope Paul VI shared words that permanently clarified how Catholics should relate to their Jewish friends and neighbors.
Antisemitism now defied Church doctrine, leaving clergy trafficking in it liable to discipline or defrocking and undoing nearly two millennia of falsehoods about Jews killing Jesus.
It also set in motion a process that continues today – of building toward more positive understandings.
Catholic-Jewish relations
The Catholic Church has since stopped proselytizing to Jews, affirmed the spiritual efficacy of the Jewish study of Torah and the living covenant between the Jewish people and God, sought forgiveness for antisemitism, and formed the Pontifical Council of Religious Relations with the Jews (on whose Jewish counterpart I serve, on the Board of Governors of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations).
The significance of each proclamation, public statement, and initiative by Catholic leaders is remarkable. But for every public declaration, there have been dozens (or hundreds) of private dialogues and consultations between Catholic and Jewish clergy.
The friendships run deep, as do the theological discourse and collaborative efforts around issues of shared concern. In some respects, the changes have been so great and so fast that we can hardly imagine an earlier time. Yet important work remains.
The Church has the opportunity to affirm the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people in Israel and its enduring connection to it, including the return of Jews from exile to the modern State of Israel.
The importance of interfaith dialogue
Further, we can and must work to ensure that the doctrinal changes manifest in local communities. Jewish Federations of North America has prioritized Catholic-Jewish collaboration and outreach to local Catholic leaders and communities.
Its community relations professionals across 141 federations in cities throughout North America are hard at work forging enduring friendships with their Catholic counterparts through dialogue, volunteer opportunities, and issues of shared concern (such as physical security).
In Jewish tradition, teshuva – repentance and change for the better – is regarded as both difficult and meritorious.
As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and all the dialogue that took place quietly over a period of years to help it take root, we should honor the unprecedented transformations that the Catholic Church has undertaken.
And we should imagine the other groups with which we might engage in deep dialogue for the sake of enduring friendship.
The writer is associate vice president, interfaith and intergroup initiatives, Jewish Federations of North America.