AmericanJewish Committee Deplores Father Gumpel's Attack on Jewish Scholars

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 8 August 2001

The American Jewish Committee has deplored "the intemperate language" of Father Peter Gumpel of the Vatican, who has accused Jewish scholars of launching an attack on the Church.

"Instead of calming the troubled waters, Father Gumpel is helping brew a storm of unnecessary recriminations and counter recriminations", declared Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's Director of International Interreligious Affairs.

"We call on those who bear ultimate responsibility in the Vatican both to ensure that all who speak in the name of the Holy See avoid incendiary language, as well as to actively engage the representatives of the Jewish community in constructive dialogue on the matter," Rabbi Rosen said.

Father Gumpel, head of the Vatican team seeking the beatification of Pope Pius XII has accused Jewish members of the team of Catholic and Jewish scholars who had been studying the history of the Vatican during World War II of launching a "violent attack against the Catholic Church" after the Jewish members were denied access, as previously agreed, to all of the Vatican's wartime archives.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org