Nostra aetate

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Papal audience on October 28, 2015 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Nostra aetate . Pope Francis greets Rabbi Walter Homolka

Nostra aetate (Latin for "in our time") is the name of the declaration on the attitude of the Church to non-Christian religions , which the Second Vatican Council passed on October 26, 1965 and which Pope Paul VI. promulgated on October 28, 1965 . It recognizes the truth and the sacred in the other religions and confirms the permanent election of Judaism , in which Christianity is rooted. The declaration meant that the previously exclusively understood truth claim of the Roman Catholic Church Extra ecclesiam nulla salus (“no salvation outside the Church”) was relativized: There are also truths in religions outside the Church.

The text is the unplanned result of years of deliberations at the Council, accompanied by many conflicts. The preliminary drafts, which were originally limited to the Catholic relationship to Judaism, were placed in the context of an opening to general interreligious dialogue and expanded. Some passages and individual passages remained controversial to the end, but more than 96% of the Council Fathers voted for the text.

Emergence

Initiatives in advance

The initiative for Nostra aetate goes to Pope John XXIII. back. This originally planned a special decree on Judaism. As a nuncio in Bulgaria and Hungary , he witnessed the persecution of the Jews during the Nazi era and saved the lives of many Jews. Since taking office in 1958, he initiated a renewed relationship between his church and Judaism. As a first step to unannounced he left in 1959 in the great prayers on Good Friday in the prayer for the Jews the words perfidis ( "faithless") and iudaicam perfidiam underscore ( "Jewish infidelity").

After he announced the Second Vatican Council in 1960 and set up a central commission to prepare it, it received reform proposals from Catholics, Protestants and Jews from all over the world. On April 24, 1960, the Jesuit Biblical Institute in Rome sent a petition on Judaism to the Central Commission, on June 24 the Institute for Christian-Jewish Studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey , and at the beginning of September a working group for Christian-Jewish cooperation in Apeldoorn . All proposals had two main points:

On June 13, 1960, the Jewish historian Jules Isaac , whose wife and children had murdered the National Socialists, asked the Pope directly at a private audience for such a declaration and for condemning the old church and Catholic "doctrine of contempt" of Judaism to overcome them sustainably. He received the promise of the Pope to set up a commission to clarify the questions raised, and the encouragement: "You have the right to more than hope." On September 18, 1960, the Pope instructed the German Cardinal Augustin Bea to take over the secretariat led the unity of Christians to draft a text for the Jewish decree with this.

Course of the deliberations

On November 15, 1960, the Unity Secretariat formed a sub-commission Quaestiones de Iudaeis ("Questions Concerning the Jews"), to which Leo von Rudloff (Jerusalem), Gregory Baum (Rome) and Johannes Oesterreicher (Seton Hall) belonged; the latter were Christians of Jewish origin. Baum submitted a sketch in February 1961, and Oesterreicher a longer theological study. A first draft emerged from this in December 1961.

During the deliberations, in the spring of 1961, the media learned prematurely of the plan for the declaration. There were protests mainly from Arab states that the Holy See intends to recognize the State of Israel and to favor Judaism over Islam as a dialogue partner. This in turn sparked fears in the oriental churches in predominantly Islamic countries.

At the beginning of June 1962, the Unity Secretariat submitted its draft to the Central Commission of the Council. On June 12, 1962, the World Jewish Congress announced that it would send Chaim Wardi , an official in the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs, to Rome to observe the council. This was seen as an attempt to exert influence and intensified the Arab-Islamic protests. Sometimes a secret collaboration between the Holy See and the World Jewish Congress was suspected.

The Central Commission then deleted the declaration from the agenda of the council. The Chief Rabbi of Rome protested against this on October 10, 1962, the eve of the opening of the Council. Some Catholic bishops also protested. Cardinal Bea sent the Pope a detailed memorandum on the status of the preparations for the declaration and stressed its urgency. Thereupon, on December 13, 1962, the Pope reaffirmed his will to reorganize relations with Judaism in a letter to the council that had already been opened and recommended that the declaration be put back on the agenda. Through tough negotiation, Bea managed to get the coordination commission to insert the declaration as the fourth chapter in the scheme for the decree on ecumenism, Unitatis redintegratio .

In the months that followed, representatives of Arab Christians such as the Syrian Patriarch Maximos IV and European bishops such as Marcel Lefebvre tried to fail this proposal, mainly because of the declaration on Judaism that was integrated into it. Ecumenism is about the inner unity of the church, to which the Jews do not belong.

The Council Secretariat under Archbishop Pericle Felici did not allow a preliminary vote on the Jewish Declaration and downgraded it to a mere appendix to the Ecumenism Decree. On December 4, 1963, it postponed the resolution to the third council period planned for 1964. This delay should the Israel visit of the new Pope Paul VI. to exonerate from Arab and Jewish protests from January 4 to 6, 1964.

Under their impression, Johannes Oesterreicher revised the draft of the declaration of the Jews, left out controversial sentences and weakened other formulations. So the god murder theory was no longer explicitly condemned. This preliminary draft also became known prematurely through indiscretion. It received a largely negative response; many Western media accused the authors of bowing to pressure from Arab states and not ending anti-Judaism.

On August 6, 1964, Pope Paul VI promulgated. the encyclical Ecclesiam suam , which spoke for the first time of dialogue and granted other monotheistic religions a true worship of God. The unity commission had initially rejected a concrete treatment of other religions due to a lack of expertise and experts, but now set up working groups to submit proposals for this topic. They developed lively travel diplomacy in order to include churches in Arab-Islamic and Eastern European countries and to allow them to influence the design of the text. Some of the amendments proposed by the Eastern Churches were incorporated and Islam was given a chapter of its own.

On September 25, 1964, the third preliminary draft was discussed in the general assembly. Many participants criticized the watering down of the previous drafts, especially with regard to the statements about the Israel Federation and the accusation of "murdering God": only the current Jews, not those living in Jesus' time, had been acquitted of this accusation. They recommended a return to the source text in order to achieve a clear rejection of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism. The German bishops supported a statement on the essential link between the church and Judaism and a more detailed explanation of the relationship between Jesus Christ and Old Testament salvation history . A third group wanted other monotheistic religions mentioned. Some bishops, especially those from Arab states, wanted to weaken the recognition of Judaism even more. Opponents claimed that the church had made its positive relationship with the Jews during the Nazi era sufficiently clear. The declaration will only make the situation of Catholics in the Islamic world more difficult and “make whole peoples enemies of the church”, according to the Melkite Archbishop Joseph Tawil .

Overall, however, there was a large majority in favor of an explanation that would turn away from anti-Judaist accusations. As a result, the third draft was revised again and some of the weaknesses in it were removed. The controversial word "murder of God" was dropped and Jewish collective guilt for the crucifixion of Christ was rejected. The rejection of anti-Semitism remained unmistakable, but with the final passage was placed in the more general context of rejecting any form of discrimination.

The opponents of the declaration declared these changes to be a propaganda success for the Jews; Maximos claimed that the bishops of the United States did not want to jeopardize business relationships with American Jews. As long as the Jews rejected Christ as their Savior, there would be a “mark of shame” on their foreheads, as the prophets would have prophesied. In early October 1964, the highest Arab committee in Palestine protested against alleged attempts by the council to “declare the Jews innocent”.

On October 9, 1964, Cardinal Secretary of State Amleto Giovanni Cicognani stated in a letter to Cardinal Bea that he had called up a new six-member commission “on a higher order” - the usual formulation for an instruction from the Pope. The majority should be opposed to the declaration on the Jews and should review the fourth draft text, shorten it and incorporate it into the scheme for the decree on the church. When asked by the Pope, Cardinal Bea learned that he had neither ordered the new commission nor the review and reduction of the fourth draft. A group of German bishops under Joseph Cardinal Frings complained by letter to the Pope on October 11, 1964 about the unauthorized violation of the Council's rules and obtained his intervention in favor of the previous procedure. The theological commission rejected the proposal to append the Declaration on Judaism to the completed dogmatic constitution on the Church, Lumen gentium .

The decision was made to deal with the relationship to Judaism in a special declaration on non-Christian religions. The General Assembly adopted the fourth preliminary draft on November 20 with 1,651 placet (approval), 242 placet juxta modum (approval with requests for changes) and 99 non-placet votes for the final discussion.

After that, the opponents stepped up their efforts to let the declaration fail. Campaigns in the Arab media threatened Christians in their states with reprisals; The Jordanian Prime Minister declared on November 25, 1964 that he would put all signatories of the Declaration on Judaism on a "black list". Orthodox Christians organized protest demonstrations in many cities in the Middle East with high-ranking church officials speaking.

In the spring of 1965 the Pope sent two representatives of the council, Johannes Willebrands and Pierre Duprey , to the Middle East to examine the situation of the Christians there. After they reported of numerous threats and attacks against Christian minorities in Arab states, the Unity Secretariat once again considered removing the declaration from the agenda, i.e. no longer allowing it to be decided by the council. But now even those who had been reluctant to take part in the council spoke out in favor of the resolution. Josef Stangl explained that it is now about the credibility and moral authority of the whole church:

"In this decisive hour of the Council, the following applies: Not diplomacy, not tactics, not too great pastoral prudence, but justice on the straight path, 'the truth will make you free' (Jn 8:32)"

A main point of contention in the decree Dignitatis humanae , the recognition of religious freedom as a result of individual freedom of conscience , was better justified biblically and thus indirectly helped Nostra aetate to gain more acceptance.

However, a passion sermon given by the Pope in 1965, in which he again spoke of the collective guilt of the Jews for the death of Jesus, intensified rumors that the Holy See intended to prevent or postpone the decision on the declaration. Then warned 55 German Catholic theologians in a letter to the Pope the urgent promulgation of the Declaration as a "task in world history". They saw in this the necessary new beginning in the Christian-Jewish relationship since 1945, which at the same time would decisively strengthen the unity of Christians among one another:

“The importance of this declaration cannot be overestimated, because all Christians, who have longed for it, welcome the fact that old, unjustified accusations against the Jews can no longer be recorded (e.g. the joint guilt for the crucifixion of Christ). As a result, Christian anti-Semitism has lost its ground. "

During the same period, the conservative forces united in the Coetus Internationalis Patrum distributed writings to all council members. They tried to 28 October, the final votes with points of order to prevent. But on October 14th and 15th, 1965, the general assembly, and on October 28th the conciliar session, approved the final bill with a large majority (2221 for, 88 against, three invalid votes, no abstentions). This came into effect under canon law.

content

With five parts, the declaration is the shortest document of the council.

introduction

Section 1 describes the topic: The starting point is the factual plurality of religions. Not individual people of other faith, but the non-Christian religions as a whole are the subject of this text. Given that humanity is growing together, it is not primarily their Christianization, but a contribution to “unity and love among men” that is defined as the task of the church. From this follows the search for similarities of all religions, not the emphasis on their differences from Christianity without denying them. The origin and goal of the international community are biblically based on the creation mandate in Genesis and the perspective of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21) as a biblical image of the polis that are united and reconciled with God . The questions about the ultimate purpose and meaning of human existence are shown and summarized as the theme and task of all religions, not just Christianity:

"What is that ultimate and unspeakable secret of our existence, from which we come and where we are going?"

The different religions

Section 2 mentions, in relation to the various peoples, a “certain perception of that hidden power” “which is present in the course of the world and the events of human life”, not infrequently also “the recognition of a supreme deity or even a father. This perception and acknowledgment imbues their lives with a deep religious meaning. ”In connection with the advancement of culture, religions seek answers to the same questions with more precise terms and a more well-developed language, for example Hinduism research “ the divine mystery ”in Buddhism tried "people with a pious and trusting mind either to reach the state of complete liberation or [...] to reach the highest enlightenment". The Catholic Church rejects “nothing of all that is true and holy in these religions”, but must ceaselessly proclaim that Christ is “the way, the truth and the life”.

The Catholics are called upon, "that with wisdom and love, through conversation and cooperation with those who profess other religions, as well as through their witness to the Christian faith and life, they should learn about those spiritual and moral goods and also the socio-cultural values ​​that are to be found in them, recognize, uphold and promote. "

The Muslim religion

Section 3 begins with an expression of respect for the Muslims, who also worshiped God who spoke to the people. Although they did not recognize Jesus as God, they worshiped him as a prophet and also honored the Virgin Mary ; They also awaited the Last Judgment and therefore placed value on a moral lifestyle that was determined by prayer, fasting and alms. The paragraph closes with an exhortation to all to put past disputes and enmities between Christians and Muslims aside, to make sincere efforts to achieve mutual understanding and to work together for the protection and promotion of social justice, moral goods and, last but not least, peace and the Freedom for all people. "

The Jewish religion

Section 4, the longest section and centerpiece of the Declaration, begins as an ecclesiological reflection: In reflecting on her mystery, the Church considers her spiritual connection with the “tribe of Abraham”. They acknowledge that “according to the saving mystery of God, the beginnings of their faith and their election” can already be found with the patriarchs, with Moses and the prophets. As "sons of Abraham according to the faith" all Christians are included in the calling of Abraham, and the salvation of the church is "mysteriously represented" in the exodus from Egypt.

“Therefore the Church cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through that people with whom God made the Old Covenant out of unspeakable mercy and is nourished by the roots of the good olive tree, in which the heathen as wild saplings are grafted (7). For the Church believes that Christ, our peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles through the cross and united both in himself. "

After this appraisal, it is pointed out that many Jews did not accept the Gospel, and not a few opposed its spread. Yet, according to the apostolic testimony, they are “still loved by God for the sake of the fathers; his gifts of grace and his calling are irrevocable. With the prophets and the same apostle, the Church awaits the day known only to God, on which all peoples call on the Lord with one voice and 'serve him shoulder to shoulder'. "

From this biblical finding it is concluded that the church must promote mutual knowledge and respect and fraternal dialogue. On the reservation that the Jewish authorities had also insisted on the death of Christ, "one can still blame the events of his suffering neither indiscriminately to all Jews living at that time nor to Jews today." Certainly, "the Church is the new people of God" Nevertheless, the Jews should not be portrayed as "rejected or cursed by God", as if something like this was in the Holy Scriptures. Everyone should ensure that Christian catechesis and preaching do not spread any anti-Jewish doctrines that contradict “evangelical truth and the spirit of Christ”.

In view of the Jewish heritage, the complaint follows about “outbreaks of hatred, persecution and manifestations of anti-Semitism”, which were justified with an anti-Jewish theology. Christ voluntarily bore the sins of all human beings "so that all may attain salvation": That is why the Church can only proclaim Christ as the universal love of God and the source of all graces.

Universal brotherhood

Section 5 affirms general human dignity by appealing to the image of God in every human being and rejects all kinds of discrimination and acts of violence "because this is contrary to the spirit of Christ."

reception

Catholic-Jewish dialogue

The declaration brought about an enormous intensification and deepening of the interreligious dialogue: including the world prayer meeting of the world religions initiated by Pope John Paul II in Assisi (1986), his visits to synagogues (Mainz 1980, Rome 1986), the declaration We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah (1998) and his confession of guilt in Israel (2000). In 2001 the document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission The Jewish People and their Holy Scriptures appeared in the Christian Bible , which explicitly referred to the call in Nostra aetate for mutual knowledge and respect between Christians and Jews. In Germany this followed, for example:

  • On November 22nd, 1975, the Joint Synod of the Dioceses decided on Our Hope .
  • On May 8, 1979, the Discussion Group Jews and Christians presented the working paper to the Central Committee of German Catholics on Theological Priorities of the Judeo-Christian Discussion .
  • On April 28, 1980, the German bishops passed the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Judaism .
  • On December 3, 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the publication of Nostra Aetate, the declaration of orthodox rabbis followed to do the will of our Father in Heaven: Towards a partnership between Jews and Christians .
  • On December 10, 2015, the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism (Vatican) published reflections on theological questions in Catholic-Jewish relations under the title Because the grace and vocation granted by God are irrevocable (Rom 11:29).

Protestant theologians

A prominent commentator on the declaration was the Reformed theologian Karl Barth . Cardinal Bea had invited him as an observer to the last two plenary sessions of the Council in Rome in 1965; however, he was unable to attend due to illness. After the end of the council, the recovered Barth made up the visit to Rome from September 22nd to 29th, 1966 and spoke with some co-authors of the most important council texts, including Karl Rahner , Josef Ratzinger and Otto Semmelroth , and with Pope Paul VI. He published his prepared theological interpretations and inquiries about them in 1967 in his small work Ad limina apostolorum . He interpreted Nostra aetate from the cross of Jesus Christ as the “sign of the all-embracing love of God” (4.8). From there he understood the non-Christian partial truths as “rays of the one truth that enlightens all people” and the non-Christian religions as a yearning for this full truth. The necessary Christian respect for these partial truths arose for him from the church's preaching mandate itself (2,3), not just from the general prohibition of discrimination (4:11).

Barth's criticism in the form of eight questions began with the question of whether his interpretation was in the sense of the council and, if so, why it was so difficult to extract from the text (1.). Because this begins with an analysis of the history of religion without any biblical justification (2.). The critical missionary mandate of the church is only at the end, instead of forming its “objective center” (3.). In contrast, the direct proclamation of the “word from the cross” ( 1 Cor 3 : 1ff  LUT ) might have better asserted the justified humane concern of the declaration, since it could only be followed by the call to humanity in Christian humility (4.). The declaration raises the "high religions" above the supposedly primitive "natural religions", although this is outdated in terms of religious history and Jesus' cross contradicts claims to revelation whose images of God externally resemble those of the Bible (5.). Judaism cannot be classified as a non-Christian religion with Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, since its Holy Scriptures are the "original form of the one divine revelation" and its existence, regardless of the belief or unbelief of individual Jews, is the "only natural (world-historical) proof of God " (6.). In view of the medieval and modern ecclesiastical hostility towards Jews , an express admission of guilt towards the Jews is far more necessary than towards other Christians (7.). Also in the Islam part (3.2) there is no memory of the “fatal role of the church in the so-called crusades ” (8.).

Other historians and theologians also criticized the fact that Nostra aetate did not name any particular responsibility of the Church and Popes for the Crusades, for example. Nonetheless, Nostra aetate is also seen in ecumenism as a reorientation in the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and other world religions.

bibliography

  • Nostra aetate. Declaration on the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions. In: AAS 58 (1966), pp. 740-744. Latin text and German translation in: LThK E.II (Freiburg 1967) pp. 488–495.
  • Vatican Commission for Relations with Judaism : Guidelines and Instructions for Implementing the Council Declaration “Nostra Aetate” Art. 4 (December 1, 1974). In: Klemens Richter (ed.): The Catholic Church and Judaism. Documents from 1945–1982. Herder, Freiburg 1982, ISBN 3-451-19639-5 , pp. 80-87. Also in Freiburger Rundbrief, contributions to Christian-Jewish encounter 26 (1974), p. 3f.

literature

  • Maximilian Gottschlich: Nostra aetate - The failed revolution. In: Maximilian Gottschlich: Unsaved shadows. The Christians and the new anti-Semitism. Schöningh, Paderborn 2015, ISBN 978-3-506-78247-2 , pp. 25-66.
  • Andreas Renz: The Catholic Church and the interreligious dialogue. 50 years of “Nostra aetate” - history, commentary, reception. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-17-023425-3
  • Dorothee Recker: The pioneers of the declaration of Jews of the Second Vatican Council: Johannes XXIII., Cardinal Bea and Prelate Austrians - a representation of their theological development. Bonifatius Verlag, Paderborn 2007, ISBN 3-89710-369-9
  • David Rosen: Nostra Aetate - An Unfinished Agenda: Jewish-Catholic Relations. AphorismA, 2007, ISBN 3-86575-516-X
  • Gerhard Gäde : "Ray of that truth that enlightens all people". For an interioristic reading of the Council Declaration Nostra aetate , Gregorianum 87/2006, pp. 727–747.
  • Hans Hermann Henrix: Nostra Aetate - A forward-looking Council text. Einhard, 2006, ISBN 3-936342-50-4
  • Norbert J. Hofmann: words and deeds. The Council Document Nostra Aetate and its impact history. DIALOG (magazine) 60/2005, pp. 9–15
  • Peter Hünermann (Ed.): Herder's Theological Commentary on the Second Vatican Council, Volume 1: The documents of the Second Vatican Council. Constitutions, decrees, declarations. Latin-German study edition , Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna, pp. 355–362
  • Thomas Roddey: The relationship of the church to non-Christian religions: the declaration “Nostra aetate” of the Second Vatican Council and its reception by the church's teaching office. Schöningh, Paderborn 2005, ISBN 3-506-71381-7
  • Erich Zenger: Nostra Aetate. The necessary dispute over the recognition of Judaism in the Catholic Church. In: Günther Bernd Ginzel , Günter Fessler (ed.): The churches and the Jews. Attempt to take stock. Bleicher, Gerlangen 1999, ISBN 3-7953-0939-5 , pp. 49-81
  • Jean-Marie Delmaire: Vatican II et les Juifs. In: Le Deuxieme Conciel du Vatican (1959-1965) , Series Collection de l'Ecole Francaise de Rome, 1988, pp. 577-598

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Maximilian Gottschlich: Unredeemed Shadows , Paderborn 2015, p. 29 f.
  2. ↑ Erich Zenger: Nostra aetate: The necessary dispute about the recognition of Judaism in the Catholic Church , in: Günther Bernd Ginzel, Günter Fessler (ed.): The churches and the Jews. Trial of a balance sheet , Schneider, Gerlingen 1997, p. 76
  3. ↑ Jean Marie Mayeur et al. a. (Ed.): The History of Christianity , Volume 13: Crises and Renewal , Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 2002, Chapter 3: The Course of the Council, pp. 60f
  4. ^ Elias H. Füllenbach : "German Catholics write to the Pope". Gertrud Luckner's initiative for the promulgation of “Nostra aetate” (spring 1965) , in: Catholics and the Second Vatican Council. Petitions, reports, photographs , Regina Heyder and Gisela Muschiol (eds.), Münster 2018, pp. 214–222.
  5. ↑ Cf. also Erich Zenger : Nostra Aetate: The necessary dispute about the recognition of Judaism in the Catholic Church , p. 77
  6. ↑ Otto Hermann Pesch: The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965): Prehistory - Course - Results - Post-history. Echter Verlag, Würzburg 1993, ISBN 3-429-01533-2 , pp. 292-303
  7. ↑ Pontifical Biblical Commission: The Jewish People and their Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible. In: vatican.va. May 24, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Karl Lehmann: We need each other. In: Rheinischer Merkur . March 26, 2006, archived from the original on July 23, 2012 ; Retrieved October 28, 2018 (reproduced on cardinalrating.com).
  9. ↑ Anna Neumann: Declaration by Orthodox Rabbis - Voice from the Middle. In: ekir.de . December 15, 2015, accessed on October 29, 2017 (conversation between Jehoschua Ahrens , Barbara Rudolph and Elias H. Füllenbach ).
  10. ↑ Kurt Koch, Brian Forrell, Norbert J. Hoffmann: "Because grace and calling that God grants are irrevocable" (Rom 11:29): reflections on theological issues in Catholic-Jewish relations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of "Nostra aetate “(No. 4). (pdf, 138 kB) Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, December 10, 2015, accessed on October 28, 2018 .
  11. ^ Karl Barth: Ad Limina Apostolorum , Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2nd edition, Berlin 1969, pp. 36–38
  12. ↑ Examples from Michael Wolffsohn: Jews and Christians: unequal siblings; the story of two rivals . Patmos, 2008, ISBN 3-491-72508-9 , p. 161.
  13. ^ Lena Lybaek, Konrad Raiser, Stefanie Schardien: Community of churches and social responsibility. Lit Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-8258-7061-8