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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1991
EE
Catholic Bishops
Synod Ends
Rome (JTA) — A synod of
Catholic bishops, called to
plan the re-evangelization of
Europe in the post-
Communist era, ended its
session at the Vatican last
week with a voluble affirma-
tion of Jewish contributions
to European culture.
The statement, issued at
the close of the gathering at-
tended by bishops from all
over Eastern and Western
Europe, was clearly aimed at
easing the strains with Jews
that arose from the pope's
emphasis on the "Christian
roots of Europe" when he
called the synod last month.
The bishops seemed to be
responding to a European
Jewish Congress request
that the synod "respect and
affirm the principle of re-
ligious and cultural
pluralism" that is fun-
damental to modern Europe.
The Congress' request was
made in a letter to Cardinal
Carlo Maria Martini of
Milan, president of the Eu-
ropean Episcopal Con-
ference, a week before the
synod opened on Nov. 28.
It seemed significant that
the bishops went out of their
way to address Jewish con-
cerns while ignoring pro-
tests from the Eastern Or-
thodox churches.
Orthodox leaders charged,
among other things, that the
Roman Church was seeking
converts among them. They
were angered by the pope's
apparent support for Roman
Catholic Croatia over Or-
thodox Serbia in the
Yugoslavian civil war.
Eastern Church leaders in
Russia, Romania, Bulgaria
and Greece declined invita-
tions to send observers to the
synod.
The bishops assembled in
Rome pledged to work for "a
new spring" in Catholic-
Jewish relations. They made
clear their abhorrence of
resurgent anti-Semitism in
Germany, Poland and other
countries of the former
Communist bloc.
Their statement observed
that "European culture has
grown from many roots."
The fact that the Christian
faith goes back to the very
foundations of Europe "does
not imply that Europe and
Christianity are one and the
same thing."
The church has a "special
relationship with the Jewish
people," the bishops
asserted.
"An extremely important
factor in the construction of
a new order in Europe and in
the world is interreligious
dialogue, above all with our
`elder brothers,' the Jewish
people whose faith and cul-
ture are an element of
human development in
Europe," the statement said.
It added that "after the
terrible Holocaust of our
century, for which the chur-
ch feels a profound grief,
new attempts have to be
made to acknowledge
Judaism more profoundly,
rejecting all forms of anti-
Semitism, which are con-
trary either to the Gospel or
to natural law."
The bishops said the chur-
ch "certainly esteems the
roots which Christianity and
the Hebrew people share"
and seeks to "promote
positive relationships with
the Jewish people in the
church's preaching and edu-
cational work."
The bishops concluded that
"joint work at different
levels between Christians
and Jews" could have "great
significance in Europe's
future."
The statement issued by
the synod acknowledged
that the church's relations
with Moslems are also "very
significant." But it warned
that dialogue between
Catholics and Moslems
"needs to be conducted
prudently, with clear ideas
about possibilities and
limits."
The statement pointed to
the lack of religious freedom
for Christians in Moslem
countries as a major prob-
lem.
Nosair Trial
Goes To Jury
New York (JTA) -- The
trial of El Sayyid Nosair,
accused killer of Rabbi Meir
Kahane, wrapped up here
with the summations of the
prosecution and the defense.
The case will be presented
to the jury, and presiding
Judge Alvin Schlesinger has
expressed the desire for a
verdict by Christmas.
Judge Schlesinger's
presence has been strongly
felt during the trial, par-
ticularly in his refusal to
allow the defense team, led
by William Kunstler, to
raise claims that Kahane's
Jewish Defense League was
riven with enough strife to
provide a motive for the
assassination.