New Era Between Holy City, Eternal City : Diplomacy: Establishment of formal relations brings together the shared history of two ancient faiths.

The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel is a momentous event because it normalizes relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish people after 2,000 years. It brings together the spiritual children of Rome, the Eternal City, and the spiritual children of Jerusalem, the Holy City, in an extraordinary way.

In AD 70, the Roman Empire ended Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel by destroying Jerusalem’s Holy Temple. After that catastrophe, many Jews were expelled from their homeland.

But some Jews, few in number, remained in the Holy Land during the centuries of invasions and wars that followed. Their constant hope was that an independent Jewish state would someday be reborn. It was a long and painful wait that finally ended with the birth of modern Israel in 1948.

During those centuries, Christianity, deeply rooted in Judaism, grew in size and influence.

But the new religion’s relationship with its parent was strained and sometimes bloody. And because Jesus was a Jew from the land of Israel, and because Christianity had made the Hebrew Bible and much of Jewish teaching and liturgy its own, Jews and Christians shared a unique but deeply troubled relationship.

Jews became victims of Christian fury that included the Crusades, the Inquisition, expulsions, bigotry and persistent persecution. Because of this shameful reality, many Jews viewed Christians, and especially Roman Catholics, with deep suspicion and fear.

But, in some lands and during some centuries, the Christian-Jewish relationship was filled with light, though mostly it was a history of dark, ominous shadows. For nearly 20 centuries Christians and Jews lived an uneasy coexistence.

The Nazi Holocaust, the mass murder of 6 million Jews in the heart of Christian Europe between 1933 and 1945, shattered that fragile relationship. Systemic, radical evil and genocidal anti-Semitism required a new relationship between Christian and Jew.

For the Jewish people, the state of Israel became the symbol and reality of survival after Auschwitz. The Jewish state was the answer to homelessness and powerlessness, but it remained officially unrecognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

The 1965 Second Vatican Council declaration, “Nostra Aetate,” ushered in a positive era for Catholics and Jews, but it made no mention of the state of Israel.

Indeed, Vatican leaders have long had conflicting views about a reborn Jewish state.

In 1904, Theodor Herzl, modern Zionism’s founder, was hopeful he could obtain the Holy See’s support, but his hopes were dashed when Pope Pius X responded negatively to Herzl’s request: “We cannot approve of the Zionist movement. . . . We could never sanction it. The Hebrews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Hebrew people.”

But when Herzl met with the Vatican secretary of state two weeks later, the tone was different: “If the Jews believe they might greatly ease their lot by being admitted to the land of their ancestors, then we would regard it as a humanitarian question. We shall never forget that without Jerusalem (Judaism), we (Catholics) would have been nothing.”

At last the ambivalence has ended, and diplomatic relations mean that the Vatican, led by Pope John Paul II, now joins 133 other nation-states in fully recognizing the legitimacy and permanence of the Jewish state within the family of nations.

Vatican-Israel diplomatic relations could not have been established without nearly 30 years of dynamic and constructive Catholic-Jewish relations, much of it in the United States. Nor could it have happened without the leadership of many Catholic clergy and lay people.

One of the chief advocates for formal ties is Cardinal John O’Connor of New York. Wherever he traveled throughout the world, the cardinal consistently called for full diplomatic relations, and I strongly believe he reflected the beliefs of millions of Catholics.

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Will Vatican-Israel relations mean the end of anti-Semitism? No. But they will aid in the eternal struggle against that deadly social pathology.

Will Vatican-Israel relations mean the end of theological differences between Catholics and Jews? Of course not. But relations will release fresh energy in both communities, and the dialogue will move into new areas and with increased confidence.

Will Vatican-Israel relations mean the end of flash points between Catholics and Jews? No. But relations will provide a firm foundation to face future crises in a spirit of cooperation and not confrontation. The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel is not a once-in-a-generation event, nor is it even a once-in-a-lifetime happening. Rather, it is a once-and-for-all moment in the shared history of two ancient faith communities.

A Past Full of Conflict Major events of religious or political importance in Roman Catholic relations with Judaism and the State of Israel:

May 14, 1948: Vatican reacts coolly to establishment of the state of Israel. The Vatican newspaper says, “Zionism is not the embodiment of Israel as it is described in the Bible.”

Jan. 1964: Pope Paul VI visits the Holy Land on a “pilgrimage of prayer and penance.” It marks the first time a Pope has left Italy since 1809.

Oct. 28, 1965: Pope Paul VI issues “Nostra Aetate” (In Our Times), a declaration that the Crucifixion of Jesus “cannot be blamed upon all the Jews then living . . . nor upon the Jews of today.” It says that while the fulfillment of the “Ancient Covenant” (Hebrew Scriptures) was made complete in Jesus, whom most Jews rejected, “the Jews still remain most dear to God.”

1974: The Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations with Jews to promote dialogue with Jews is established by the Vatican.

Dec. 22, 1975: Pope Paul VI reaffirms Vatican policy on the Arab-Israeli dispute, saying Jews should recognize the “legitimate aspirations” of Palestinians.

Nov. 10, 1977: Vatican criticizes Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, saying a massive Jewish presence there would make it impossible to return the lands to Arabs.

June, 1982: Relations between the Vatican and Israel reach new low when the Jewish state invades Lebanon.

Sept. 15, 1982: Pope John Paul II meets with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat, provoking protests from Israel and Jews.

April 19, 1984: The Pope reaffirms Vatican support for a Palestinian homeland, security for Israel and designation of Jerusalem as an open city, with international guarantees to protect access to it by all major religions.

Feb. 19, 1985: Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres visits the Pope and says Jerusalem will remain Israel’s united capital.

1985: Pope John Paul II authorizes Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations With the Jews to publish an explanatory commentary on “Nostra Aetate.” It marks the first time any Vatican document has dealt with Israel as part of an official church teaching.

April 13, 1986: Pope John Paul II becomes the first modern Pope to visit a synagogue. Speaking in a Rome temple, he condemns anti-Semitism and calls Jews “our beloved elder brothers.”

June 25, 1987: The Pope angers Israel and Jews by granting a private audience to Austrian President Kurt Waldheim, who was accused of involvement in Nazi war crimes.

Sept. 1. 1987: The Pope declares that there are no theological obstacles to full diplomatic relations with Israel.

Sept. 11, 1987: The Pope meets with 400 Jewish leaders in Miami during a papal trip to the United States.

1990: Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Commission on Religious Relations With the Jews, issues a statement of repentance for crimes of anti-Semitism over the centuries. In December, on the 25th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate,” the Pope reaffirms Cassidy’s statement.

1991: The Roman Catholic Bishops Conference in Poland votes unanimously to issue a statement against anti-Semitism. The letter is read in every parish in the country.

July 29, 1992: The Vatican and Israel establish a permanent commission to study bilateral issues, including diplomatic relations.

Oct. 23, 1992: The Pope receives Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who invites him to visit the Holy Land.

Nov. 1992: The church issues a new catechism that expands on its teaching against anti-Semitism, rebuts any who blame the Jews for the Crucifixion, examines the common religious heritage of Judaism and Christianity and looks at the positive aspects of Jesus’ relationships with the Pharisees, members of a Jewish sect during biblical times that Christians have often characterized as hypocrites.

July 6, 1993: At the Pope’s direction, the last Carmelite nuns leave a convent next to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, ending a controversy that strained Roman Catholic-Jewish relations for nearly nine years.

Dec. 29, 1993: Delegations from Israel and the Vatican approve “fundamental agreement” on bilateral relations. It is signed the next day.

Sources: Los Angeles Times and Reuters