Seven years later, the USCCB addresses...

... one of the more embarrassing and controversial documents in recent memory, "Reflections on Covenant and Mission," originally released on August 12, 2002, by delegates from the Bishops’ Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA), a sub-committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and the National Council of Synagogues.

It created quite a sensation and was presented by many in the media as an official document declaring, in essence, that not only were Catholics not to evangelize Jews, the Old Covenant was just as valid as the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ. The Boston Globe, for example, ran the headline, "Catholics reject evangelization of Jews" the following day. In this case, the media could not be criticized for misrepresentation or hyperbole, for the document was a mess of ambiguity, confused theology, and, dare I say, outright falsehoods. (For some helpful background and context, see Christopher Blosser's page about the document and the resulting controversy the Ratzinger Fan Club site.)

When the document came out, I was working at editor of Envoy magazine. I wrote a piece about it, stating:

Before looking at some of the problems with “Reflections On Covenant and Mission,” it must be pointed out that the document carries little, if any, authoritative weight. It is, after all, a reflection, not a papal encyclical or declaration from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In fact, after the first wave of media attention and controversy, Cardinal William Keeler, the U.S. Bishops’ Moderator for Catholic-Jewish relations, took pains to point out that the document was not authoritative and  “does not represent a formal position taken by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) or the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (BCEIA). The purpose of publicly issuing the considerations which it contains is to encourage serious reflection on these matters by Jews and Catholics in the U.S.” (Accessed at www.ncbuscc.org. Dated Aug. 16, 2002).

Unfortunately, most people, including many Catholics, do not understand the various levels of authority attached to different official Catholic documents. They do not always understand that there is a huge difference between a dogmatic constitution or papal encyclical, and the reflections of a USCCB sub-committee. Although such reflections can be important and may benefit the Church in different ways, they are not infallible and they do not necessarily reflect the teaching of the Universal Church. Such reflections can even contradict the established doctrine of the Catholic Church.

What’s The Point?

The document is part of an ongoing, twenty year long interreligious dialogue between the USCCB and certain Jewish groups. One of its goals is to state that “campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity are no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church.” Although this is somewhat ambiguous, the delegates are apparently referring to coercive or aggressive forms of proselytism that do not respect the religious freedom of the individual. Of course, it would be difficult to find many Catholics today who support the forced baptisms and conversions that sometimes took place in past centuries.

The document also reflects on the relationship between the Old and New Covenants.  Quotes from Pope John Paul II explain that Jews are “the people of God of the Old Covenant, never revoked by God,” “the present-day people of the covenant concluded with Moses,” and “partners in a covenant of eternal love which was never revoked.” This might surprise some readers, but this recognition of God’s faithfulness to His covenant with the Jews has been the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church. This is based, in part, on St. Paul’s teaching in chapter 9 through 11 of his Epistle to the Romans.

The more difficult issue, which the document seeks to address, is what this recognition of the Old Covenant means for evangelistic efforts by Catholics. Put bluntly, do Jews need Jesus? Is it wrong for Catholics to tell Jews that Jesus is the one Lord and Savior? Do Jews need to be baptized and become Christian? In addressing these questions the document becomes confusing and contradictory.

Those confusing and contradictory qualities have now been addressed officially in a four-page document, "A Note on Ambiguities Contained in Reflections on Covenant and Mission" (PDF document), released on June 18, 2009, by the Committee on Doctrine and Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The accompanying statement says,

Bishop William Lori, chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and Pastoral Practice, stated that there were two key points at issue.

“The USCCB reaffirms what the Holy See has stated repeatedly: that 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.” Bishop Lori said. He added that current debates over the question of how Catholics understand the covenant with Moses in relation to Christ were equally important. The covenant with Moses, that continues to be adhered to by Jews today, is fulfilled, Christians believe, in Jesus.

 “As followers of Jesus, we see his covenant as fulfilling God’s plan for the salvation of all peoples, both now and at the end of time,” Bishop Lori said.

Archbishop Gregory commended the on-going work of scholars and pastors in Catholic-Jewish dialogue. “Pope John Paul II once referred to Jews as ‘our elder brothers and sisters in faith’”, he said. “By continuing our study together, we hope to deepen our understanding of Jesus and our relationship with each other in God’s redemption of the world.”

The note itself states:

Since Reflections on Covenant and Mission is not an official statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it was not subject to the same review process that official documents undergo. In the years since its publication, however, some theologians, including Catholics, have treated the document as authoritative. This has proven problematic because the section representing Catholic thought contains some statements that are insufficiently precise and potentially misleading. Reflections on Covenant and Mission should not be taken as an authoritative presentation of the teaching of the Catholic Church. In order to avoid any confusion, the USCCB Committee on Doctrine and the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs have decided to point out some of these ambiguities and to offer corresponding clarifications.

Here are some of those issues, as stated in the clarifying document:

• The document [Reflections on Covenant and Mission] correctly acknowledges that "Judaism is a religion that springs from divine revelation"5 and that "it is only about Israel's covenant that the Church can speak with the certainty of the biblical witness."6 Nevertheless, it is incomplete and potentially misleading in this context to refer to the enduring quality of the covenant without adding that for Catholics Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God fulfills both in history and at the end of time the special relationship that God established with Israel. (par. 5)

• Reflections on Covenant and Mission provides a clear acknowledgment of the relationship established by God with Israel prior to Jesus Christ. This acknowledgment needs to be accompanied, however, by a clear affirmation of the Church's belief that Jesus Christ in himself fulfills God’s revelation begun with Abraham and that proclaiming this good news to all the world is at the heart of her mission. (par. 6)

• Reflections on Covenant and Mission, however, renders even the possibility of individual conversion doubtful by a further statement that implies it is generally not good for Jews to convert, nor for Catholics to do anything that might lead Jews to conversion because it threatens to eliminate "the distinctive Jewish witness"... (par. 9)

When I first read Reflections on Covenant and Mission nearly seven years ago, I was struck by the fact that it avoided any mention whatsoever of Dominus Iesus, the CDF document issued just two years earlier, on August 6, 2000, by then-prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. That important document was, of course, very controversial; one reason is that it thoroughly dismissed the sort of ambiguous, fuzzy, and flighty theological noodlings that claimed (often in with an indirect and overly academic fogginess) Jesus Christ is not the unique Son of God, sole Savior of mankind, and only way to God the Father. It is, I think, an essential document for Catholics to read carefully, for it shines a bright light into the many doubting and even dissenting corners often found in both Catholic schools and parishes. Here is what I wrote about it and Reflections back in 2002:

What About Dominus Iesus?

Although the Catholic Reflection in the document contains twenty-five footnotes, not one of them quotes Dominus Iesus, the controversial “Declaration on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church” issued by Cardinal Ratzinger and the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith in August 2000. That important document was confirmed by Pope John Paul II and carries substantial doctrinal weight. It is a cogent, unambiguous explanation of what the Church teaches about Jesus Christ, His centrality as Savior, the mission of the Church, and the relationship between the Church and other religions. You can access the entire document here.

In light of the confusion over the “Reflections on Covenant and Mission,” I would like to quote a few sections from Dominus Iesus at length. The first clearly affirms the unique and singular work of Jesus Christ, and the importance of entering the Church through baptism:

Above all else, it must be firmly believed that “the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door”. This doctrine must not be set against the universal salvific will of God (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); “it is necessary to keep these two truths together, namely, the real possibility of salvation in Christ for all mankind and the necessity of the Church for this salvation”. (Dominus Iesus, 20)

The second quote addresses the question of how non-Christians might be saved. It emphasizes that the Church can never be seen as one possible way of salvation among many, nor can any other religion be seen as equally valid and substantive as Christianity:

With respect to the way in which the salvific grace of God — which is always given by means of Christ in the Spirit and has a mysterious relationship to the Church — comes to individual non-Christians, the Second Vatican Council limited itself to the statement that God bestows it “in ways known to himself”.  Theologians are seeking to understand this question more fully.  Their work is to be encouraged, since it is certainly useful for understanding better God's salvific plan and the ways in which it is accomplished. However, from what has been stated above about the mediation of Jesus Christ and the “unique and special relationship” which the Church has with the kingdom of God among men — which in substance is the universal kingdom of Christ the Saviour — it is clear that it would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions, seen as complementary to the Church or substantially equivalent to her, even if these are said to be converging with the Church toward the eschatological kingdom of God. (Dominus Iesus, 21)

While other religions do contain many elements of truth, they do not possess an equal assurance of the means of salvation:

If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation. (Dominus Iesus, 22)

Finally, in addressing interreligious dialogue, Dominus Iesus again stresses the unique nature of Jesus Christ, the need of all men for the Church, and the vital place of the sacraments in the work of salvation:

In inter-religious dialogue as well, the mission ad gentes “today as always retains its full force and necessity”.  “Indeed, God ‘desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth' (1 Tim 2:4); that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the promptings of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary”. Inter-religious dialogue, therefore, as part of her evangelizing mission, is just one of the actions of the Church in her mission ad gentes. Equality, which is a presupposition of inter-religious dialogue, refers to the equal personal dignity of the parties in dialogue, not to doctrinal content, nor even less to the position of Jesus Christ — who is God himself made man — in relation to the founders of the other religions. Indeed, the Church, guided by charity and respect for freedom, must be primarily committed to proclaiming to all people the truth definitively revealed by the Lord, and to announcing the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of adherence to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in order to participate fully in communion with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, the certainty of the universal salvific will of God does not diminish, but rather increases the duty and urgency of the proclamation of salvation and of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. (Dominus Iesus, 22)

Not surprisingly, the recent note of clarification is already being criticized by the Anti-Defamation League:

"This document, if taken at face value, reintroduces the notion that Catholics can use interfaith dialogue as a means to invite Jews to Christian baptism," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  "If so, then it is unacceptable, for such a statement would foster mistrust between Jews and Catholics and undermine years of work building a positive relationship based on mutual trust and respect of our differences in faith."

Foxman's argument, as it were, is nonsensical. How, exactly, does the potential for an invitation "foster mistrust"? On the contrary, authentic trust—whether in interreligious dialogue or anything else—can only be based on truth and honesty. The Catholic Church believes and teaches that Jesus Christ is the Incarnate Word of God and the unique Savior of mankind. That belief cannot be set aside and treated as though it either doesn't exist or has no meaning for a dialogue about what Catholics and others believe. If Mr. Foxman is afraid that Jews will be coerced into becoming Catholic, he is paranoid and overreacting. If he is afraid that some Jews might actually be attracted to the Catholic Faith, he is insecure. If he thinks the Catholic Church should change her beliefs because of his hypersensitivities, he is arrogant and disrespectful. If he thinks the Catholic belief about Jesus Christ and salvation is unimportant, he is clueless.

How often, by the way, do you hear of the Catholic Church complaining that Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Protestants, and other groups should not express their belief that they possess the truth?

Finally, two good books by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger related to these issues are Many Religions, One Covenant and Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions.

UPDATE: Dr. Jeff Mirus does a nice job explaining the significance and unusual character of the note of clarification.

Comments

[James]

Does anybody really care about what the NCCB said seven years ago? The write so many things that it all gets lost. Your average Catholic has a hard time stating the 7 sacraments in order.

[Carl E. Olson]

James: Dr. Jeff Mirus does a good job explaining the importance of this note of clarification.

[Ed Peters]

James, NCCB/USCCB statements aren't written for the average Catholic, they are written for "opinion shapers", etc., and seven years ago is hardly the blink of an eye in Church life. Of course, it's important that this flawed statement be corrected, and Mirus is right to call attention to it.

Golly, the bishops' conference is showing the more signs of sense (than anytime in my adult memory, anyway), and folks who should be supportive(okay, maybe not declaring holidays and dancing in the streets, but mildly approving at least) are dissing them for it right and left. I don't get it. Read Psalm 122.

[ray klaes]

4:10. Be it known to you all and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God hath raised from the dead, even by
him, this man standeth here before you, whole.

4:11. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner.

4:12. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.

[Mark Brumley]

You're right, Ed.