AJCommittee Calls Vatican Document A Step In The Right Direction

American Jewish Committee
Monday, 16 March 1998

"It Tells The Truth, But Not The Whole Truth"

Robert S. Rifkind, President of the American Jewish Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the Vatican document "We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah." The fourteen-page document, written by the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, includes an introductory letter from Pope John Paul II.

"This long-awaited and greatly anticipated document is another step in the right direction for the future of Catholic - Jewish relations. At the same time, however, it only begins to address many issues and questions concerning the role of the Catholic Church in the evolution of anti-Semitism through the ages and its culmination in the Shoah (Holocaust). It tells the truth, but not the whole truth.

"We 'hear with open hearts' the strong messages of remembrance and repentance that the Catholic Church conveys with regard to the 'errors and failures' of many Church individuals during this dark period of human history. We recognize the conciliatory tone and the spirit with which it is presented to the Jewish community.

"The Church's pronouncement is important for its call for repentance for the evil done by its members, the failure of so many to protest the evils that they saw, and the failure of many nations to provide refuge for those who sought it. The pronouncement is important also for its recognition of the imperative of remembrance of what the Pope refers to as the 'unspeakable iniquity of the Shoah.' Most important is the call for a 'new future in which there will be no more anti-Judaism among Christians.'

"Nonetheless, we cannot help but express our disappointment and regret that the document fails to deal adequately with other troubling issues. It was our hope that this document, once released, would enable us to heal the wounds still open after more than half a century and enable Jews and Catholics around the world to accelerate the path to reconciliation so gloriously begun during the Second Vatican Council and ongoing to this very day. Nevertheless, we are hopeful that this statement, although incomplete in several vitally important aspects, will be practically applied in Catholic communities around the world and move us closer toward this end.

"We further note with appreciation the Catholic Church's recognition that 'much of scholarly study remains to be done' in an effort to 'learn more about the reality of the Shoah and its causes.' To this end,we urge the Vatican to open fully its archives to scholars, historians, and other academics so that such study may indeed be undertaken.

"The remembrance, repentance and resolve to the future as presented in the Vatican document are necessary and warmly received. It must be recognized that this only provides the opportunity for fuller discussion between Catholics and Jews.

"We urge His Holiness, in the interests of truth, on which alone we can build a better future for humanity, to allow these archives to be opened in the dawning of the new millennium. Both Catholics and Jews are searching for the truth as we begin forging a new 21st century relationship. It is only by knowing the past -- in all its goodness and all its evil -- that we can ever hope to grow and learn and work together, as true partners based in mutual respect and understanding."

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