[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 95 (Thursday, July 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S8416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             SAVING MEMORY

 Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, one of my constituents, Rabbi Israel 
Zoberman of congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, VA, has 
recently published some thoughts arising from the release of a Vatican 
document. I would like to bring them to the attention of my colleagues, 
and ask that they appear in the Congressional Record at the appropriate 
juncture.
  The article follows:

         [From the Southern Virginia Jewish News, May 22, 1998]

           Saving Memory: A Rabbi's: Response to the Vatican

                       (By Rabbi Israel Zoberman)

       The recent release of the long awaited Vatican document on 
     the connection between the Holocaust and the Catholic Church 
     almost coincides with the annual observance this season of 
     the Shoah's tragedy, the enormity of which has turned it into 
     the most defining event of the soon concluding 20th century, 
     the bloodiest of all times.
       Whie the document acknowledges a measure of Christian 
     culpability for Jewish suffering, it falls short of a full 
     apology, for the over-a-decade study of the trying theme is 
     fraught with painful and embarrassing confrontations for the 
     church, touching upon the historical rejectionist attitude by 
     Christianity of Judaism and the Jewish people. No wonder that 
     there were high expectations that the reached conclusions 
     would fully reflect and respect the record of a troubling 
     past reality in light of the subject's magnitude, as well as 
     the breakthrough conciliatory accomplishments of the Second 
     Vatican Council in the 60s and the unparalleled contribution 
     of Pope John II, building upon the foundation laid by his 
     great predecessor Pope John XXIII in dismissing Jewish 
     responsibility for Jesus' execution and honoring Abraham's 
     descendants. At stake was also the church's own need to come 
     to grips with a burden weighing upon its conscience in a way 
     demanding absolution from sins of both commission and 
     omission, allowing for a renewed sense of integrity and 
     reconciliation in an era of an unprecedented ecumenical 
     spirit, where no longer can any faith claim an imperialistic 
     role.
       It seems that the controversial document could not escape 
     internal political pressure and compromise along with 
     vestiges of pre-Second Vatican thinking. Perhaps some of us 
     within both the Jewish and Christian communities got a bit 
     carried away in believing that the significant victories of 
     the past several decades were free from roadblocks and 
     unforeseen detours. How else explain the skirting of two 
     central issues that the authors were surely aware of their 
     persistent presence, that now more than ever will beg an 
     unequivocal response. The fact that traditional anti-Semitism 
     has its origins in two millennia of the church's anti-Jewish 
     teachings, demonstrates contempt in word and deed for both 
     the spiritual heritage from which ironically Christianity 
     emerged, and the people who bore witness to the covenant they 
     refused to abandon when threatened with expulsion, forced 
     conversion and death itself. Is there any doubt that the 
     Holocaust and anti-Semitism are intimately interwoven?
       The second bone of contention is the role of Pope Pius XII 
     whose silence during the Nazi slaughter was far louder than 
     his intervention in saving individual lives. While there is 
     no surprise that the church would want to defend her 
     ``infallible' 'leaders, it is the failure to exercise the 
     vast moral authority invested in the Pope's high office which 
     should serve as a cardinal yardstick in evaluating the legacy 
     of any Holy Father, particularly under critical circumstances 
     testing and mantle of true spiritual greatness. The related 
     concern of the Vatican's alleged involvement in aiding the 
     escape of Nazis at the war's end to South America and 
     elsewhere, deserves an honest investigation and disclosure. 
     Only when past ghosts are finally laid to rest, can memory be 
     cleansed to serve the future.
       I trust that the contested official statement is not in its 
     final form, for history and our common God expect more from 
     us and we can deliver in this generation of unfathomable lows 
     but also dazzling heights, a gift of healing hope for those 
     to follow. I ought to know for during 1985 to 1995 my 
     congregation benefitted from generosity of the most gracious 
     Church of Ascension in Virginia Beach, where we found a 
     loving home in the only such Catholic-Jewish sharing bond in 
     the world, a direct outcome of a radically changed climate.
       The Polish Pope, John Paul II, with his unique personality 
     and past, did more than all other pontiffs combined to bring 
     the two faith groups closer to one another, coming as he does 
     from the vineyard turned graveyard of European Jewry, 
     experiencing and resisting the German occupation, and being 
     particularly close to a surviving Jewish childhood friend. 
     His heartfelt embrace of the Jews, beginning in an historic 
     first visit by a Pope to a synagogue, in 1986 in Rome, 
     addressing them as ``our dearly beloved brothers'' and ``our 
     elder brothers,'' culminated in establishing diplomatic 
     relations with the State of Israel in 1994. Before his 
     extraordinary papacy comes to an end, he may yet surprise us 
     with further bold steps to reassure us all that there is no 
     retreat from the visionary path he so compassionately 
     bequested to a suffering and expectant humanity.

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