wfn.org | UAHC's Rabbi Yoffie calls for Theological & Social Issues Dialogue

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CONTACT: Emily Grotta, UAHC: (212) 650-4227
Steve Rabinowitz: (202) 547-3577
Heidi Paluk, Assumption College: (508) 767-7173

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie Calls For Jewish-Catholic Dialogue on Theology & 
Social Issues;
Says Holocaust Cannot Be Only Item on Interreligious Agenda

(Worcester, MA-March 23, 2000)-Praising Pope John Paul II for "vigorous and
daring" efforts to reconcile relations between the Catholic Church and the
Jewish people, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie today called for serious and thoughtful
dialogue to explore issues such as ethics and redemption, family, and
poverty.

Speaking only hours after the Pope spoke at Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to
Holocaust victims, Yoffie said, "One can't help but be impressed by the fact
that this is a deeply personal journey for the Pope. Yoffie is the president
of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the central body of Reform
Judaism, the largest branch of Judaism in the North America.

"The tragedy of the Shoah has a profoundly personal meaning for the him,"
Yoffie continued. "He was expressing his sorrow not only as head of a
billion member church, but, also, as a man who knew personally so many
victims of the slaughter. I believe that Jews everywhere were touched by the
ceremony and by his words, which so clearly came from his heart, and that
following this visit and this event, Catholic-Jewish relations will be
immeasurably strengthened.

Yoffie also chastised those Jewish organizations that criticize the Pope for
what he failed to say at Yad Vashem and in his historic apology March 12.
Yoffie delivered the Joseph Klein Lecture on Judaic Affairs at Assumption
College in Worcester, MA and was awarded an honorary doctorate.

"I want to express my own distress at the manner in which so many Jewish
leaders have responded to recent Papal and Vatican pronouncements," Rabbi
Yoffie said. "Sometimes a Jewish organization with an impressive title and
virtually no constituency will come forward and assert its voice in
Catholic-Jewish affairs."

"Who speaks for the Jews?" Yoffie asked. Noting the UAHC is the largest
grassroots Jewish constituency in the nation, with 895 synagogues and some
1.5 million members, he said that American Jews wholeheartedly welcome the
changes in the Church and its attitudes.

Referring to the Pope's extraordinary March 12 confession, Yoffie said,
"When my friend apologizes to me for a sin that he has committed, the
appropriate response is for me to thank him, to welcome his repentance, and
to express my desire to continue our discussion. It is surely inappropriate
to greet a heartfelt act of contrition with a pointed reminder of every act
of wrongdoing that I think may have been left off the list."

The changes in Jewish-Catholic relations over the past half century are
"world-shattering in their impact," Yoffie said, praising Pope John Paul II
for championing the issues. "In a Church where anti-Judaism was a prejudice
so routine that rare was the member who did not experience it, only by
demonstrating an intense depth of concern expressed in powerful and
suggestive language could the Pope hope to change the church's direction and
overcome the hostility of the past. And this is exactly what John Paul has
repeatedly done."

Yoffie then turned to the Holocaust, the issue that has generated the most
Jewish criticism of the Church. "We need to recognize and accept the impasse
at which we find ourselves," he said. Referring to Pope Pius XII's failure
to publicly criticize the Nazis and his silence as Jewish children were
transported past St. Peter's en route to the death camps, he said, "I simply
cannot understand the failure of the Pope speak out."

Nevertheless, Yoffie said, the campaign against the beatification of Pius
XII by some Jewish groups is "chutzpah of the first order, and rightly
offensive to Catholics." The conferring of sainthood is an internal church
affair, a religious process that should not be treated as a political
process subject to lobbying, he said.

Instead, Yoffie proposed serious discussion among the theologians and
religious thinkers from both communities. This discussion would encompass
the broader religious issues in the debate over the actions of Pius XII -how
a person can be righteous in a time of evil, and how much moral resistance
against evil is required for that person to be seen as a saint, for example.
Through such a debate, Yoffie explained, Jews and Catholics would have an
excellent chance to come to a better understanding of one another."
Yoffie suggested the Church and the UAHC undertake a joint education
campaign about the two religions. "This means that the Catholics need to
educate Catholics about Jews, and the Jews need to educate Jews about
Catholics," he said. "We should review your books, and you should review
ours. And we should not hesitate to prod, push, and make demands of
ourselves and of each other." He promised that the UAHC will immediately
undertake production of religious school textbooks that "portray accurately
and sympathetically the evolving position of the church on the Jews and
Judaism."

At the conclusion of his remarks, Yoffie laid out an agenda for further
dialogue that includes ethics, redemption and sin, the crisis in society and
families, and the issues affecting the poorest and most vulnerable citizens
of our country, such as health insurance.

"We may read the Bible somewhat differently, but I think that we can agree
that there is a Biblical mandate for a just society," Yoffie said. "I think
that we can agree that religion without a passion for justice is a failed
mission, a contradiction in terms. I think we can agree that in the future,
social action will be primarily interreligious, reaching across the chasms
of race, faith, and culture."

The Union of American Hebrew Congregations is the central body of Reform
Judaism in North America, uniting 1.5 million Reform Jews in 895 synagogues.
UAHC services include camps, music and book publishing, outreach to
unaffiliated and intermarried Jews, educational programs, and the Religious
Action Center in Washington, DC.
# # #

Emily Grotta
Director of Communications
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
EGrotta@uahc.org
http://uahc.org
(212) 650-4227