SPECIAL COMMENTARY

Values Of Faith Unite
Catholics And Jews

point that the Prophet Isaiah could
ince my arrival in the Arch-
proudly
declare that the Jewish people
diocese nine years ago, I have
as
a
whole
were indeed a "light to the
truly felt embraced by the
nations."
(Isaiah
49:5)
leadership of the Jewish com-
Those
of
us
who
are followers of
munity and I am very grateful to the
Jesus would not be able to live out our
many rabbis with whom I have been
own religious faith were it not for the
privileged to work so closely in a
way that you, our elder
number of settings, includ-
brothers and sisters, have
ing our Religious Leaders
preserved
the
Forum.
Covenant
and the
At every turn of the road,
word
of
God
—
I have been able to consult
often despite perse-
with leadership from the
cution and suffering
Jewish community and I
of
untold propor-
have felt your support and
tions.
We thank you
warm friendship. I hope and
for
the
gift of
pray that you have the same
Judaism
and your
sentiments with regard to
ADAM
4,000-year
witness of
our own Catholic clergy and
CARDINAL
faith. We thank you
faithful. It is our fervent
MAIDA
especially for your
. prayer and conviction that
Special to
commitment to life
we will draw closer to the
The Jewish News as a gift to be shared
Lord precisely by drawing
and celebrated in
closer to one another.
family solidarity.
Early in my priestly ministry, I
As
believers,
we stand
remember working with a young
together
in
sharp
contrast with
woman who was contemplating enter-
the values and thinking of our
ing contemplative life in a cloister,
highly individualized western
completely cut off from the world of
American
society. We live in
family and society at large. Something
the
midst
of a culture that
she said to me at the time struck a
puts
such
high priority on
chord in my spirit and has remained
individual
rights and choice
with me all these years. She said, "I
that
we
have
lost appreciation
just don't feel I belong in this world!"
for the "common good" and
I know what she meant; she was refer-
the solidarity of all human
ring to her own personal state of mind
beings as members of one
and heart. She was trying to identify a
same
family, all created in the image
certain "dis-ease" with the things of
and
likeness
of God.
this world; she was looking for an
As
Christians
and Jews, together we
opportunity for greater interior peace
are
engaged
in
a
wonderful conversa-
and tranquility. She did not seem to
tion
with
the
Lord
and each other. We
share the same values and attitudes as
know the significance of a conversa-
other people in the society
tion that is focused and wholehearted,
As I reflect back on those insightful
a
genuine dialogue where there is
and humble words, I suspect that
openness
on both sides. In fact, the
many of us can identify with them.
very
word
"conversation," has roots
And it is fitting that we should think
with
another
word important in both
and feel that way because, after all, as
of
our
traditions
— the term "conver-
believers, we are indeed "aliens" in the
sion,"
a
turning
away
from the isola-
midst of a pagan culture. We do not
tion of a sin and fear and a turning
belong to this world any more than
toward a deeper communion with
Abraham did 4,000 years ago. Like
God and neighbor.
our brothers and sisters of Jewish and
As I understand it from your rab-
Christian heritage alike, in every age
bis,
when Judaism speaks of teshuva or
and in every place, we believers have
conversion,
you mean a "return," the
always been a bit out of sync with the
positive
act
of
reshaping one's life.
popular society and its values.
Conversion or renewal means going
Almost from the very beginning of
back to our source, the Lord Himself
Judaism, the sons and daughters of
and praying for the healing grace of a
Abraham have endured the challeng-
new beginning. In our Catholic tradi-
ing experience of being a minority in
tion at the moment, we are in the
the midst of cultures that did not
midst of a great season of conversion
accept them. But thanks to God's
or
renewal that we call Lent.
grace and their courage, no matter
Our Holy Father Pope John Paul II
how dark the circumstances, they kept
has challenged our Catholic commu-
the flame of faith alive, even to the

S

3/12
1999

32 Detroit Jewish News

nity to use these last months of this
century and this millennium to exam-
ine our consciences and to ask for a
healing and reconciliation of any ways
that we have been closed to the grace
and gift of God. In that spirit, he has
expressed the sorrow of the Catholic
Church for its failures, especially in
the face of the tragedy of the terrible

society, the creating of a world out-
lined so beautifully by all the Jewish
prophets of old.
It is my hope and prayer that as
believers joined together, we can affect
our American civil discourse by bring-
ing to the table our mutual concern
for the value of human life and the
way that people enter this world and
return to God. We have
mu ch to say to our cul-
ture about the impor-
t' tance of solidarity and
i- the common good; our
t', lives are interwoven.
Ti
What happens to Jews
affects Catholics and
what happens to
Catholics in some way
affects you as well.
Now more than ever,
we need to raise our
voices together in praise
and thanks to God for
His many blessings and
in contrition for the
ways we have misjudged
and sinned against each
other. Above all, we need
to join our voices to
make a difference in our
society. If we are to be a
light to the nations and
influence the world
around us, we must
speak and act with a
unified voice about the
values of faith that are common to us,
values embedded in the Torah. We
need to create a common covenant
statement about our commitment to
defend the dignity of all human life,
especially the lives of those who are
most vulnerable.
I do not have a specific agenda or
plan of action. I simply speak from
my heart about the desire that we
Catholics have to join hands and
hearts with you, to join our voices so
that we can truly sing a song of the
Lord even as we live as aliens in the
midst of this society. Bonded together
by the power of God's love and His
covenant, we have no reason for fear.
We can truly be, together, a bridge
into a new millennium and hopefully
usher in a new age, an era of peace
and justice for all. El

t

Holocaust/Shoah, which destroyed
six-million Jews for no other reason
than simply because they were Jews.
On behalf of the Church of Detroit
and in communion with the Church
throughout the world, I wish to
express our sorrow for the tragedy that
the Jewish people have suffered in our
own life and times. I also pray that
God will bring new life and transfor-
mation out of this terrible tragedy.
Awareness of our sins and failings will
hopefully lead us to a greater respect
for you, our elder brothers and sisters
in the faith. We regret especially the
burden of our own silence during the
Holocaust and the ways that each of
us — individually and collectively —
could have done more to try to stem
the tide of needless human suffering
and death.
Together, we are believers in a mer-
ciful God who is faithful. We also pro-
fess belief in a God who has entrusted
to us the responsibility for dominion
over His creation; He has made us the
instruments for continuing the work
of His creation. The work of which I
speak is the establishment of a just

This is an abridged version of the
talk Adam Cardinal Maida delivered at
Temple Beth El's annual Brotherhood
Shabbat service on March 5. The title of
his talk — "How Can We Sing a Song
to the Lord in a Foreign Land?" — was
derivedfrom Psalm 137.