No self-satisfaction

Greer Fay Cashman’s “52 years later, a transformation largely unknown is translated and celebrated” (April 21) suffers from the usual phenomenon of “the elephant and the Jewish problem.”

The common misconception, encouraged especially in circles involved in ecumenical work, is that Vatican II was all about absolving the Jews from the deicide charge. This is wildly inaccurate. In fact, out of more than 400 pages of the document, a mere 39 words are devoted to this topic. And these words do not absolve Jews.

Part of the text reads: “The Jewish Authorities and those who followed their lead urged the death of Christ.” This makes it clear that those Jews are to be blamed for his death. But how many? Thirty percent? Seventy percent? After all, few Jews converted, so we must assume that the majority indeed “followed [the] lead” of their priests.

Furthermore, most Christians, whether religious or cultural, have not heard of Vatican II, but they have all read or at least learned what is written in the Gospels. In those documents, no doubt exists about responsibility. For this reason, the crucifixion theme makes a frequent appearance in anti-Israel propaganda, such as a cartoon in La Stampa – published long after Vatican II – showing a Palestinian child surrounded by Israeli tanks as he cries: “Father, they are coming to crucify me again!”

I do not wish to belittle the effort made by Pope John XXIII, who was indeed a saintly figure. He struggled against opposition in order to achieve this first small step in undoing the murderous effect of nearly two millennia of the deicide charge, a charge that culminated in its contribution to the Holocaust.

It is naïve to believe that anti-Israel attitudes in many branches of the Church are merely caused by sympathy for the Palestinians. Much still needs to be done. And we should not fall into misguided self-satisfaction. LOUIS GARB Jerusalem