Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Dr. Jones reads from Pope Benedict's German article in the July/August edition of Internationale Katholische Zeitschrift COMMUNIO. In English the title is "Mercy and Mission without Regrets." Benedict has been accused of being anti-Semitic in what he wrote here and backtracking from prior statements regarding the Jews like in the Vatican II document Nostra aetate. Benedict starts out by stating that the difference between Jews and Christians is based on their different ways of interpreting Scripture and that things have changed since Auschwitz. Mike starts out by quoting Jewish Rabbis who say that the New Testament is anti-Semitic. It is easy to see why Jewish - Christian dialogue has been very hard to maintain. Mike traces the main problem today in this relationship to a talk Pope John Paul II gave at a Synagogue in Mainz Germany in 1980. The Pope said that the covenant the Jews have with God is eternal. This statement and many following have been interpreted by some to mean the Jews do not need to accept Jesus as Lord and be baptized to be saved. This is a case of two conflicting truths or as Mike says: "squaring the circle." Mike goes on to explain the ongoing difficulties the Catholic-Jewish dialogue has had especially since Vatican II. In this dialogue the question remains: are Christians the real Israel or are Jews the true Israel?
Dr. Jones reads from Pope Benedict's German article in the July/August edition of Internationale Katholische Zeitschrift COMMUNIO. In English the title is "Mercy and Mission without Regrets." Benedict has been accused of being anti-Semitic in what he wrote here and backtracking from prior statements regarding the Jews like in the Vatican II document Nostra aetate. Benedict starts out by stating that the difference between Jews and Christians is based on their different ways of interpreting Scripture and that things have changed since Auschwitz. Mike starts out by quoting Jewish Rabbis who say that the New Testament is anti-Semitic. It is easy to see why Jewish - Christian dialogue has been very hard to maintain. Mike traces the main problem today in this relationship to a talk Pope John Paul II gave at a Synagogue in Mainz Germany in 1980. The Pope said that the covenant the Jews have with God is eternal. This statement and many following have been interpreted by some to mean the Jews do not need to accept Jesus as Lord and be baptized to be saved. This is a case of two conflicting truths or as Mike says: "squaring the circle." Mike goes on to explain the ongoing difficulties the Catholic-Jewish dialogue has had especially since Vatican II. In this dialogue the question remains: are Christians the real Israel or are Jews the true Israel?
