Recently, the Boston College Center for Christian-Jewish Learning has placed in its document depository a brochure entitled “A Sacred Obligation: Rethinking Christian Faith in Relation to Judaism and the Jewish People”, containing a set of ten statements from the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations.  While many of the statements raise interesting points, and rightly stress the need for mutual respect between practitioners of the two religions, a few of the Group’s assertions are alarming, and may potentially create serious confusion for both Christians and Jews seeking to better understand Catholic doctrine on this very prominent issue.

The Catholic Church has historically taught, and continues to teach, that the Covenant between God and the Jewish people was, properly speaking, never revoked.  Hence, the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17), referring to the fulfillment which occurred with His death upon the Cross, with the words “It is consummated” (John 19:30).  There is a sense in which it is incorrect to talk about an “old” and “new” Covenant, as if they are two different systems, with the latter superseding the former.  In reality, there is simply one Covenant, which began with Abraham in the Old Testament, found its fulfillment in Christ, and continues today through His Church: the “new Israel”.

This obviously raises questionsabout the practices tied to the Old Testament, namely the ritual and ceremonial laws laid out in the Pentateuch.  Are they still valid or salvific?  What purpose, if any, do they serve?  The simplest answer can be found in Pope Pius XII’s encyclical, Mystici Corporis: “by the death of our Redeemer, the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished; then the Law of Christ together with its mysteries, enactments, institutions, and sacred rites was ratified for the whole world in the blood of Jesus Christ.”  Ultimately, the ceremonial elements of Mosaic Law served only to prefigure the coming of the true Redeemer; while the Old Covenant was not superseded or revoked, as its true essence remained one and the same, its exterior elements were done away with, as the death of Christ made it superfluous to continue prefiguring the coming of a Redeemer who had already arrived.

The Christian Scholars Group seems scandalized by this theology, emphatically claiming that “God does not revoke divine promises.  We affirm that God is in covenant with both Jews and Christians”, as a rebuttal to the “theology of supersessionism” supposedly found in traditional Catholic doctrine.  Thus, they write, Christians should not think that Christ alone is the way to salvation, nor should they attempt to convert Jews, but rather concede that “If Jews, who do not share our faith in Christ, are in a saving covenant with God, then Christians need new ways of understanding the universal significance of Christ”.

In reality, the Group’s renunciation of  “supersessionism” does nothing to discredit the Catholic Church, since it merely repeats what has been taught for the better part of two millennia.  God, indeed, has never revoked his promise to the Jews, and his covenant extends to all people.  However, while this covenant is extended to all, by virtue of God’s universally salvific will, it does not follow that those who do not accept it have entered into it anyway, and need not be converted.  Christians, through accepting Christ, accept the Covenant; Jews, through rejecting Christ, reject the Covenant they once accepted.  God, indeed, can never be unfaithful.  He promised a Redeemer to Adam and Eve upon their exile from Eden, and established the Mosaic Law to prefigure His coming; thus, a Redeemer has come.  Those who accept Him accept God’s eternal promise of salvation, while those who reject Christ reject this promise.

The question still remains, how should Christians and Jews relate to one another in these times of increased interreligious dialogue?  Dialogue certainly ought to continue, but dialogue oriented towards conversion of the Jewish people, back to the true Covenant from which they have turned away in favor of its mere provisional elements.  The Christian Scholars Group is also right to stress the need for a peaceful and respectful relationship between them, which will foster a deeper understanding of the beliefs of both sides.  For instance, there is a very real, beautiful sense in which Judaism bears witness to the truth of the Catholic faith, something very unappreciated among modern Catholics; as St. Augustine writes in the City of God, “The Jews…are thus by their own Scriptures a testimony to us that we have not forged the prophecies about Christ”.  Mutual respect can make this testimony better understood, and bring Christians to a deeper appreciation of their own beliefs.  An atmosphere of peaceful toleration ought to be encouraged for this and many reasons, but with Christians nonetheless praying and working, that Jews may recognize and accept Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.