THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REVIEW Cardinal John J. O’Connor died five years ago, but I frequently remember the times we worked together on the critical issues faced by our two communities. Our friendship was a result of the Second Vatican Council. In October 1965, 2,200 Catholic bishops adopted Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religious, which repudiated the idea that all Jews were guilty of the death of Jesus and deplored all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism leveled at any time from any source against the Jews.
The declaration also urged Catholics to develop mutual respect and knowledge about Jews and Judaism. But it took dedicated leaders like O’Connor to make Nostra Aetate come alive as a dynamic force within Catholicism.
The declaration also urged Catholics to develop mutual respect and knowledge about Jews and Judaism. But it took dedicated leaders like O’Connor to make Nostra Aetate come alive as a dynamic force within Catholicism.
RSS Feed
