DETROIT
The Vatican Pushes Forward
On Auschwitz, Anti-Semitism
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
he Catholic Church
last week re-affirmed
a September decision
to fight anti-Semitism in
Eastern Europe and an-
nounced it has provided
funds to complete a
Carmelite monastery off the
grounds of the Auschwitz
concentration camp in
Poland.
The decisions were an-
nounced as part of a two-day
meeting at the Vatican bet-
ween 30 representatives of
the International Jewish
Committee on Interreligious
Consultations and 20 mem-
bers of the church hierarchy.
Rabbi Irwin Groner of
Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield attended
the meetings as president of
Conservative Judaism's
Rabbinical Assembly. He
said the actions in Rome
"are important to us as Jews
because of the significant in-
crease in anti-Semitism in
eastern Europe. The
Catholic Church has great
power to moderate and
reduce the level of anti-
Semitism in these societies
undergoing radical change."
The Vatican agreed to
translate and widely
disseminate recent Church
statements on Catholic-
Jewish ties. This is signifi-
cant, Rabbi Groner said, be-
cause "it would involve the
Church itself in presenting
its own understanding of the
crime of genocide in the
heart of eastern Europe."
The Pope told the group,
"No dialogue between
Christians and Jews can
overlook the painful experi-
ence of the Shoah." The Pope
used the word Shoah, the
Hebrew term for the Holo-
caust.
"There have been
some steps
forward, and some
steps back . . . but
we are moving
forward again."
Rabbi Groner
The Jewish represent-
atives also recommended
Church support for secular
legislation against racial
and religious discrimina-
tion; a joint Jewish-
Christian liaison committee
in Eastern Europe; and sup-
port for educational pro-
grams that teach respect for
Judaism and other re-
ligions. The Pope endorsed
these concepts, Rabbi
Groner said, "and we feel
this is a significant step for-
ward."
Rabbi Groner was disap-
pointed that the Vatican
would not move on recogni-
tion of the State of Israel.
Years ago, the Church an-
nounced it had no theologi-
cal objections to recognizing
the Jewish state, but it has
not done so on political
grounds, fearing a break
with Arab governments.
In addition to the major
issues discussed during the
two days of meetings, Rabbi
Groner said a small bit of
history was made. The Dec.
5 luncheon, at which Rabbi
Groner was asked to say the
Hamotzi (blessing over the
bread), was the first kosher
meal in Vatican history.
"Jewish expectations (of
Catholic-Jewish relations)
are very high," the rabbi
said. "And we are making
progress. But it takes time to
reverse a painful history of
1,900 years."
The meetings last week
marked the 25th anniver-
sary of Nostra Aetate,the
papal statement breaking
the Church's position that
Jews are guilty of deicide in
the death of Christ. The
International Jewish
Committee on Interreligious
Consultations has met every
two years at the Vatican
since Nostra Aetate, with a
steering committee meeting
in the off years. The com-
mittee includes represent-
atives of the Synagogue
Council of America, the
World Jewish Congress, the
American Jewish Com-
mittee and the Anti-
Defamation League.
Rabbi Groner characteriz-
ed the dialogue between the
Catholic and Jewish
spokesmen as "open and
frank. This group has moved
far beyond good will to ad-
dress some of the painful
issues in which Jewish and
Catholic perceptions are
very different. It is a tribute
to the new spirit in the
Catholic Church that these
subjects would be discussed
in an atmosphere of mutual
respect."
health professionals usually
see clients who are suffering
from "anniversary reac-
tions." Clients, she said, are
often down because they
spend so much time
reminiscing about how much
better their lives were when
they were younger. And
then there is the converse
side: some clients talk about
how miserable their lives
were as children and how
the holidays bring back
these memories.
But whether or not the
past is a factor in holiday
depression, Dr. Hotchkiss
said the pressure that socie-
ty puts on us to be happy
during this time of year is
enough to affect almost any-
one. No other time of year
demands as much happiness
and joy.
Dr. Hotchkiss suggested
that people who feel down
during the holidays take a
couple of common sense ap-
proaches to ease their feel-
ings. Instead of getting
caught up in the holiday
rush of shopping, parties and
travel, they should take an
hour or two every day away
from the rush.
"I urge everybody to create
some time for themselves,
even if it's an hour," she
said. "We all need a rest and
we all need to get away from
the rush so we can take the
holiday in better perspec-
tive."
She also suggested that
people make lists of ac-
tivities that they feel they
should be involved in. And
people should pick and
choose holiday parties, not
accepting every invitation.
Another suggestion is to
take the focus of the holidays
away from just gift giving.
Dr. Hotchkiss said in-
dividuals should develop
their own unique ways of
giving and celebrating the
holidays. She suggested vol-
unteering in a soup kitchen,
hospital or nursing home as
a way of giving.
"There's also an issue of
media attention," she said.
"We read that there is a
recession going on, and we
Rabbi Groner was one of 30 Jewish representatives who met with the
Pope.
In recent years, Jews and
Catholics were divided
publicly on the Carmelite
monastery established on
the grounds of Auschwitz,
the Vatican's refusal to rec-
ognize Israel and, in the
United States, opposing
viewpoints on abortion.
"There have been some
steps forward, and some
steps back — such as the
Pope meeting with Austrian
Chancellor Kurt Waldheim
— but we are moving for-
ward again," Rabbi Groner
said.
"If my Polish father were
alive today, he would have
said some critical things
(about the Catholic Church)
but he would have told me to
go to the meeting any-
way." 111
Ms the Holiday Season To Be Depressed
PHIL JACOBS
Assistant Editor
T
is the season to be
jolly. At least that's
what the shopping
malls and commercials are
telling us. But for many, 'tis
also the season to be sad.
Psychiatrists, psychol-
ogists, social service workers
and rabbis find that some
persons suffer at this time of
year for several reasons.
Typically, they say, the holi-
days exacerbate an array of
feelings.
"We don't call it the
Chanukah blues," said
Arlene Goldberg, director of
clinical services for the Jew-
ish Family Service. "It's the
total holiday blues. You find
that with the gaiety of the
holidays is an underlying
depression in some people."
Ms. Goldberg said the
holidays typically remind us
of people who have died in
our families, of happier
times in our lives and even
of places we once lived. She
14
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1990
also said that as the Jewish
family changes in terms of
single parenting, divorce
and other factors, holidays
can bring their own com-
plications within the
families.
"I think there's a greater
sense of being alone," she
said. "At holiday time,
there's a greater sense of be-
ing without. You see a much
more pronounced sense of
loss."
Ms. Goldberg also said
that for Jews, the holiday
blues are not restricted to
Chanukah. There is also
potential for this sort of
depression around major
holidays such as Rosh
Hashanah, Yom Kippur and
Passover. She said these
holidays can sometimes be
bittersweet because we
spend some time remember-
ing "bubbie's great kugel,"
or the way zayde led the
seder.
Dr. Linda Hotchkiss, the
interim chairman of Sinai
Hospital's psychiatric
department, said mental
read about a lot of people
who are feeling demoralized
or depressed. Then the holi-
days come along.
Rabbi Harold Loss of Tem-
ple Israel said expectations
of the times, involving
gatherings of family and
friends, puts people under a
tremendous amount of
pressure.
He said 1990 has present-
ed different, unique
pressures, such as the pro-
spects of a recession, and
war in the Middle East.
"I think that if there is
depression, it could be a re-
sponse to other things more
than just the season," Rabbi
Loss said. "People are doing
some hard checking into
themselves at this time of
year. They're looking into
what is really important in
their lives, and this is
difficult to do. There's econ-
omic pressure, but this is
also a time to look at what
you have in your life more
important than money, your
family. How many people ac-
tually do that?" ❑