Work of Nostra Aetate: Catholic and Jewish Ties

Joseph D’Amato

November 14, 2014

Dr. Klose

Nostra Aetate 50 Years Later

Catholic and Jewish ties from the last 50 years represents a success from the work of Nostra Aetate because before the Nostra Aetate there was a bitter and battered 2000 year relationship between the two groups of people. The document has transformed the relationship between Roman Catholics and Jews. In the early Church many of the teachings taught Catholics that Jews had caused Jesus to be held for trial and be condemened to death. Before the Nostra Aetate, Jews were hated by the Catholic community because Catholics were thought that Jews rejected Lord Jesus Chirst. During Jesus’s life, Jesus never rejected his Jewish faith and once the Holocaust happened the Nazi murdering of six million Jews, the Church could no longer disconnect from Judaism. The Church needed to be challenenged and changed. In section 4 of Nostra Aetate, there are several statements that changed the Catholic and Judaism relationship forever. “Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church , mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time by anyone.” This statementment sculpted the Jewish and Catholic community to grow together and create a partnership between one another because in all reality Jesus was Jewish and Catholics believe that Jesus was our Savior. The Jewish Community has never had such a relationship with the Christian world as we had in the last 50 years since the Nostra Aetate. Before the Nostra Aetate, the Church and Judaism had some very difficult times trying to understand and communicate with one another because the Church was teaching that Jews was the reason that Jesus went on trial and was found to be crucified. Despite the difficult times that the Catholic community had with with Judaism, we have been able to handle each difference because the Catholic Church no longer look at Judasim as being different because they share a deep and profound connection with one another. The thing is with the Nostra Aetate it set a stepping stone “In Our Time” because it connected the Catholic community with different religions and made them understand and learn about each community. With the Nostra Aetate we will continue to learn about each religious community for the coming years, there will be no more ignorance throughout the world of religions because the Nostra Aetate made us to think outside the box and understand many different communities. We must understand that each religious community is different and accept them for what they believe because each of them have the same thing in common and that is faith. Each community has different teachings and meanings like the words mission, land, and covenant because they are differently defined by each community throughout the religious world. John Paul II said, “We must admit that though we lay claim to a common Scripture we use different lenses, techniques and historical understandings to read and interpret the text.” This is statement is very true about the different religious communities because we all interpret text different but the Nosrta Aetate makes us realize that we need to understand where each religious community comes from and there meaning behind it. In the last 50 years the Nostra Aetate has transformed the worlds religious communities not into one but to have better knowledge about one another and to move forward as a whole community and keep learning about each community. It took the Nostra Aetate quite some time before it came popular throughout the world but it can assure us that the my children that are raised Catholic can be raised without these ancient prejudices. The world we live in today people from different cultures and traditions need to work together because the world is evolving. Nostra Aetate will always be the corner stone to Catholics and Jews moving forward together.