Has Antisemitism been Uprooted from Christianity? A Catholic Response

Abstract:Recent decades have produced important statements on the legacy of Catholic antisemitism. Such statements have come from Catholic leaders in North America, from many countries in Europe (especially Germany and France), as well as from Australia. The Vatican's signature statement We Remember appeared in 1998 with a foreword by Pope John Paul II who clearly denounced antisemitism as inherently sinful. Despite these statements, we still must question whether the roots of antisemitism in the Catholic Church have been fully uprooted from Catholic consciousness. Put simply, the answer is no. Despite the genuine advances toward this goal that have occurred, certain steps still need to be taken by the Catholic Church before we are able to say that the work of uprooting antisemitism has been successfully completed. Areas that still need attention include the Christian approach to the so-called Old Testament, the image of Jews in the New Testament, the profoundly anti-Jewish theology central to the teachings of the Church Fathers such as St. Augustine, the failure to acknowledge sufficient responsibility for the Holocaust, and the vexing question as to the need for the Church to evangelize Jews. Until these potential and persistent seeds of antisemitism are completely excised from Catholic consciousness, we cannot rest easy.