Expert: Edward Bode - 10/3/2008

Question
Dear Edward,

Here is my question again. Just to clarify - I know of course that as per Vatican II it is possible for Jews to receive salvation, but saying that Christians should not seek to convert them seems to go much further than this. Also I assume that since this is a filmed interview, the Archbishop is speaking for the Church ie not simply giving a personal opinion. If this is the view of the Church, then surely it would require some form of formal declaration...


In the TV program 'Children of Abraham'...

http://tinyurl.com/4fz4ze

...broadcast in the UK a few years ago, there is an interview (at 21 min 30) of Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio, Jerusalem.  

Question:   Should Christians still seek to convert Jews?

Pietro Sambi:    No.


Assuming this is correct, is there some authority, such as a church document, to this effect?

Thank you


Charles

Answer
Thanks, Charles, for writing again. I have had time to do some research.
I was unable to find the original text of Archbishop Sambi.  I was curious to find the context of his remarks and whether he was correctly reported.  I, like you, thought the comment out of line with traditional Catholic teaching.  
I did find an article about him; here is a copy:
ROME, JUNE 7, 2002 (Zenit.org).- The papal representative in the Holy Land urged Israelis and Palestinians toward an examination of conscience that could help break the region's vicious circle of terrorism and reprisals.
"I condemn with my whole soul the acts of the suicide terrorists, but I must say that they are the expression of a people who have been left without doors or windows. They are signs of the desperation of a youth that sees no future," said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio in Israel. He is also the apostolic delegate for Jerusalem and Palestine.
The archbishop make his statements after the Palestinian suicide car bomb attack that killed 17 on Wednesday. The Italian episcopal conference's Religious Information Service published the statements.
"Peace will not be possible in the Holy Land if Israel does not withdraw from the Occupied Territories and if it does not consent to the creation of a Palestinian state," the nuncio said. "Likewise, Israel's right to exist within safe and recognized borders is undeniable."
"Instead, at this time, reprisals are carried out on either side," the archbishop added. "This way does not create a future. I believe in love, respect and help for these two peoples. There are mistakes and motives on both sides, but neither wishes to make an examination of conscience."
"When I think of peace, the life of people, not something abstract, comes to mind," he continued. "In order to forge a different future, what is needed is respect for life understood as something sacred, and respect for agreements concluded. We hope to be able to reach peace without having to wait for mountains of dead."
"The Churches present in Israel represent only 2% of the population," Archbishop Sambi added. "It is evident that only the solidarity of those acting in the Western world can give importance to the work that Christians can do in those territories."
"Many today are knocking on the door of the Catholic Church," he noted. "Above all, Jews coming from Russia. It is a pastoral opportunity we must not lose. Tomorrow they might represent Catholics of Jewish expression."
Dialogue with Islam is possible but very difficult, he said. "However, it is a dialogue that willy-nilly must be carried forward."
"In any case, one must keep in mind that the interreligious dialogue is a different question from relations between states at the political level," the nuncio concluded.
Here the archbishop is talking with approval of Jewish converts.
However, even if the archbishop were cited correctly in the info that you found, he was not speaking in the name of the Church.
In the Old Testament, we read of expecting a prophet like Moses, and of a new covenant.  Jesus announced that new deal to the Jewish people  -- a deal that would be for the rise and fall of many in Israel.  The Book of Acts tells of Paul's preaching in Jewish synagogues and his disillusionment with the reaction -- he then turned to the Gentiles.  His epistles, especially Romans, appeal to the Jews to accept Jesus as Messiah [the one Savior of all humanity].  Throughout the centuries, the Church as preached conversion to all peoples.  I know of no official document stating that we should not work for the conversion of Jews.

An interesting aspect of the traditional Catholic outlook is the current request by bishops in USA to seek a re-wording in an offical document.  Here is a news story about the initiative:
Bishops vote to revise U.S. catechism on Jewish covenant with God
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops have voted to ask the Vatican to approve a small change in the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults to clarify church teaching on God's covenant with the Jewish people. The proposed change -- which would replace one sentence in the catechism -- was discussed by the bishops in executive session at their June meeting in Orlando, Fla., but did not receive the needed two-thirds majority of all members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at that time. After mail balloting, the final vote of 231-14, with one abstention, was announced Aug. 5 in a letter to bishops from Msgr. David Malloy, USCCB general secretary. The change, which must be confirmed by the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, would remove from the catechism a sentence that reads: "Thus the covenant that God made with the Jewish people through Moses remains eternally valid for them." Replacing it would be this sentence: "To the Jewish people, whom God first chose to hear his word, 'belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ'" (Rom 9:4-5; cf. CCC, No. 839).
[CCC, No. 839 is a reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 839 -- available online at www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm]
I think that this change from an USA alteration indicates that the Jewish people are still the appropriate subjects for conversion and not exempt from the need of Jesus as their savior even given their special relationship with God in pre-Christian times.  The original USA version [different from the universal Catechism]could possibly be interpreted to imply that Jews should not be sought as converts because of their "eternally valid" covenant.
Charles, I hope these thoughts bring some clarity to your concerns.  If you have access to the original questionable quote of the archbishop, I would appreciate knowing the source.
However, the short answer is that the traditional Church teaching desrived from Scripture has not changed in regard to missionary outreach to the Jewish people.
Best wishes.
The retraction of this USA alteration