Sermon by Rabbi Denise L. Eger, April 22, 2005

Shabbat Shalom and A Sweet and Happy Passover to everyone.

For the last several weeks—one would think that the whole world was Roman Catholic. The death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI has consumed the media day and night. Indeed who shall head the largest Church in the world is news—but the speculation and the excessive detail has been sensory overload for many of us.

This fall Jews and Catholics will celebrate forty years since the Vatican II Councils breakthrough document—Nostra Aetate came into being. Nostra Aetate—begun under the term of John XXIII and came to full fruition under Pope Paul VI. This groundbreaking document changed forever the way Roman Catholic teaching related to the Jews. For centuries, since the founding of the Church—Jews had been blamed, indeed cursed for causing the death of Jesus. A part of the Gospel, reinforced in Catechism and the dogma of Church teachings, expounded from Pulpits throughout the decades—the accusation against Jews became the justification for virulent Anti-Semitism and according to some analyses, led to the ultimate murder of Jews during the Shoa.

Certainly as we Jews begin to celebrate the Passover holiday—the memories of Pesachs past—when blood libels against Jews were the justification for pogrom after pogrom are not far behind. These church teaching that blamed Jews for the death of their Savior, under gird the violence perpetrated against shtetls in East Europe as well as the annihilation of Jews in towns and villages across Europe as the Crusaders marched to liberate the Holy Land from infidels.

But Nostrae Aetate, which came out in October of 1965—repudiated these teachings, and forever changed the relationship of Jews and Roman Catholics.

Thus when John Paul II, visited Auschwitz in 1979, visited Israel in 2000 as well as being the only Pope to ever visit inside a synagogue –as he did in 1986 in Rome, he gave further strength to this teaching of reconciliation between Jews and Roman Catholics. John Paul II reached out to the Jewish community, apologizing on behalf of the entire Church for the sin of Anti-Semitism. This was historic and unprecedented in Church history—reinforcing the II Vatican Councils words.

But what do we make of this new pope- The Former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger—now Pope Benedict XVI? A German Pope, who was once a member of the Hitler Youth—has risen to this most powerful position. In truth Ratzinger was forced to join the Hitler Youth as many in his day and time and his family had a strong anti-Nazi bent. But it remains to be seen whether this New Pope will continue to reach out to the Jewish community and to Israel.

For the last 20 years, Ratzinger’s position in the Church has been to as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981, where he was responsible for enforcing Catholic orthodoxy and was one of the key men in the drive to shore up the faith of the world's Roman Catholics. Formerly he had been the bishop and then cardinal of Munich (the place where Hitler and Nazism got its start) and then a theologian who taught at the University of Regensberg in.

As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (which in another time was called the Holy Office and before that the Holy Inquisition)—Ratzinger’s right ward and orthodox thinking reigned supreme—influencing greatly John Paul II pronouncements and teachings. Ratzinger even as recently as John Paul’s funeral—renounced relativism and secularism as the scourge of Europe and a threat to the Church.

Ratzinger’s writings of which there are many—are as fundamentalist in their views as any.

Many people believe Ratzinger will be remembered as the architect of John Paul’s internal Kulturkampf, intimidating and punishing thinkers in order to restore a model of church -- clerical, dogmatic and rule-bound -- many hoped had been swept away by the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 assembly of bishops that sought to renew Catholicism and open it to the world – of which Nostra Aetate document was a primary example. Ratzinger’s campaign bears comparison to the anti-modernist drive in the early part of the century or Pius XII’s crackdown in the 1950s, critics say, but is even more disheartening because it followed a moment of such optimism and new life. He has silenced Catholic theologians who dare to think beyond the boundaries of the Church be it Liberation theologians which uplifts the poor and condemns capitalism or the spirituality, creation ideas of Father Mathew Fox. He has been virulent in his condemnation of gay life and gay marriage—but silent in the face of the evil pedophilia scandals that has rocked the Catholic Church. He is clear that women cannot and never will be priests. This new pope has a long record of enforcing doctrinal purism and does not see change as part of the vocabulary of the church.

In 1986 Ratzinger wrote document (which has the force of a memo) to the Church—called "On The Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons." The letter warns of "deceitful propaganda" from pro-homosexual groups. It instructs bishops not to accept groups that "seek to undermine the teaching of the church, which are ambiguous about it, or which neglect it entirely." The letter refers to homosexual orientation as an "intrinsic moral evil." In the wake of the letter, many Catholic bishops bar Dignity from using church facilities.

Thus I believe we must greet this new pope with grave caution. For the gay community this Pope has a long track record of hatred. For women, this new pope has written extensively and believes in the infallibility of the position that the non-ordination of women is part of "the written word of God." This new pope has written that feminists within the church are to blame for the woes of the world and that womens grab for power within the church has “lethal effects on the structure of the family."

And of course Ratzinger continues to support and promote a policy of the Catholic Church against birth control and particulalry the use of condoms as a moral evil—which simply increases the spread of HIV and AIDS. This is a terrible Irony since Catholic priests have an unusally high rate of AIDS and HIV infection—higher than the average for men of a similar age.

And so we must as this new Pope begins his term—keep our eyes and ears open. We must continue to speak up for our beliefs and values—which are often 100 percent diametrically opposed to those Ratzinger takes. And even though we have a distates for all he promotes—we must remain in dialogue with Catholics—because although he heads the Church—the millions of parishoners around the world—do not always agree with those teachings. And it is there that we can share our lives, our values and our beliefs. We must not ever be intimidated for what we believe or how we love.

As we gather at our seder tables tomorrow and Sunday night we shall come to a portion of the traditional seder –that was said as the door is opened for Elijah. The door was opened in history not only for Elijah—but to check that no villagers were coming to attack the Jewish home. This prayer recited at the open door is one whose history stems from the virulent Anti-semitism often promulagated by the Church in medieval times.

This prayer known as Shefoch Chamatcha—based on Psalm 79:6-7 and Lamentations 3:66- asks God to “Pour out Your fury on those peoples who do not know You—And over realms which do not even call You by Your proper name. For such nations have eaten Jacob alive, Wiping out the places where we peaceably lived.”

This is hardly a text of dialogue with our neighbors—but one can understand that pain and suffering inflicted by the dogma of church hatred of Jews might inspire our own people toward revenge.

Thus as we gather tomorrow night—and open doors – let us not ask for Anger and destruction be the mode with which we come to the end of our seder meal. Let us pray instead—that God’s wrath be turned to love for all people and that love infect the world leading us to peace and dialogue even with those with whom we differ. Pour out your Divine love –even upon this new Pope—so that he will turn his hardened heart and hardened faith into a wellspring of hope and reconcilation with our Jewish people, with women in his church, and yes with the Gay and lesbian community as well.

Posted by Lee at April 26, 2005 11:11 AM