Cardinal Keeler clarifies status of 'Covenant and Mission' statement

Cardinal William H. Keeler, Moderator of Catholic-Jewish Relations of the United States Catholic Conference, has clarified the status of the statement Reflections on Covenant and Mission, issued in August 2002

Cardinal Keeler clarifies status of 'Covenant and Mission' statement

Baltimore - Cardinal William H. Keeler, Moderator of Catholic-Jewish Relations of the United States Catholic Conference, has clarified the status of the statement Reflections on Covenant and Mission, issued in August 2002 by a consultation of the National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. The document, Cardinal Keeler noted, is not an official statement of the U.S. Catholic Conference or of its Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, but rather 'represents the state of thought among the participants of a dialogue that has been going on for a number of years between the U.S. Catholic Church and the Jewish community in this country.' The August statement had met with criticism because of its affirmation that the church's 'evangelistic task no longer includes the wish to absorb the Jewish faith into Christianity and so end the distinctive witness of Jews to God in human history' and that 'Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God.' F.S.

Text of Keeler statement: www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2002/02-161.htm