Saturday, August 22, 2009

US Jews slam USCCB salvation document

The Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and rabbis from various branches of Judaism have said that their relationship with Catholic leaders is at risk as a result of a recent USCCB statement on salvation.

The Jewish groups said they interpret the new document to mean that the bishops view interfaith dialogue as a chance to invite Jews to become Catholic, ABC News reports.

The Jewish leaders said they "pose no objection" to Christians sharing their faith, but said dialogue with Jews becomes "untenable" if the goal is to persuade Jews to accept Christ as their savior.

"A declaration of this sort is antithetical to the very essence of Jewish-Christian dialogue as we have understood it," Jewish leaders said in a letter to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The statement fueling the tension was issued by the bishops in June to clarify a 2002 document called "Covenant and Mission."

The bishops said the earlier document mistakenly played down the importance of sharing the Gospel and was therefore misleading.

"While the Catholic Church does not proselytize the Jewish people, neither does she fail to witness to them her faith in Christ, nor to welcome them to share in that same faith whenever appropriate," said Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., chairman of the USCCB Doctrine Committee.

He had said the revisions affirmed statements from the Holy See.
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