Dr. Warren Carroll, a Catholic historian, was asked:
"What was the rationale the Church used for including the term "perfidious Jews" in the Good Friday Liturgy? My dictionary defines this term to be "of deliberate breach of faith or trust."
To which he responded:
"The word 'perfidious' in the old Good Friday liturgy referred to the rejection of God's Son the Messiah by the Jews who called for his crucifixion. He had given them proofs of who He was, but they closed their eyes and ears to them. Though it may be counter-productive to make this point in today's age, this willful blindness to the truth is spectacularly evidenced by the Sanhedrin when they received the report of Jesus' Resurrection from the Roman guards at His tomb. There were 16 guards on duty, only 600 yards from Pilate's government house and residence; they were certainly not all asleep, for sleeping on watch by a Roman soldier was punishable by death. If the Sanhedrin believed their report, they knew a miracle had happened. If they disbelieved it, why did they not denounce them to Pilate and have the apostles arrested for stealing Jesus' body, either with the complicity of the guards or because of their negligence? But the Sanhedrin did neither, instead bribing the guards to say that Jesus' disciples had stolen His body while they slept, and promising to protect them from Pilate. They must have known or at least guessed the truth, and yet refused to believe. In any case, the expression 'perfidious' cannot logically apply to Jews apart from the circumstances of the crucifixion..."
Therefore, it is ridiculous for some (like the anti-Catholic propagandists at the Cohen Center), to view or interpret this as an "anti-Semitic" liturgy.
Talk about taking something out of context!
Exactly John. Well said. But expect these confused souls to suggest otherwise. After all, they can't let the truth get in the way of their agenda.
8 comments:
Pope John XXIII changed the Good Friday prayer because it was being misconstrued as being critical of all Jewish people. But, as Dr. Carroll explains, this was NOT the case. Mr. White over at the Cohen Center left a comment at La Salette Journey (which he asked Paul not to publish) in which he said: "..there is a problem with the Good Friday prayer in the Tridentine Mass...there is work to be done as we confront this dificult legacy."
But he neglects to explain just what this "problem" is. Theologically speaking, there is NO problem with this prayer. Nor was it intended to be "insensitive" to the wider Jewish community. However, after the Second World War and the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust (and remember, three million Catholics were also put to death - what about their Holocaust?), there began to be much more sensitivity about anti-Semitism and anything which might be PERCEIVED to either promote or condone it. But again, this prayer never referred to all Jews.
That someone like Mr. White, who claims to be Catholic, would use this to bash the Church while claiming that "there is work to be done as we confront this difficult legacy," is just abominable.
Shame on him. Shame on the Cohen Center.
Is there no end to the anti-Catholic agitprop? These people appear anxious to interpret almost anything the Catholic Church says or does as "anti-Semitic." This while turning a blind eye toward anti-Catholicism.
Whether its besmirching the legacy of Pius XII or implying that the Good Friday prayer of the Tridentine Mass was "anti-Semitic," the leadership of the Cohen Center seems determined to take words and events out of context in a concerted effort to discredit the Church and her teaching.
What is motivating this hatred? I think that question has been answered here at this Blog. Pete Majoy's criticism of the Catholic League and his association with Talk to Action is more than ample evidence all by itself that politics is behind the bigotry.
Mr. Melanson, you have really performed an important service for people. Your posts have exposed fanaticism on both ends of the political spectrum. I see what you are trying to do here. And I commend you for it. Fanatical groups like the SBC will blame the Jewish people for the war in Iraq and the various ills of society. And, there are fanatics who want to blame the Church for the Holocaust and who use the Holocaust to advance a leftist agenda. Our time seems to cultivate fanaticism I think.
The problem of anti-Catholicism is growing in the United States. Hate crimes are up against Catholics according to the FBI and the media have stepped up their attacks. This is a real pervasive problem. Sorry to hear about the hatred at Keene State.
I've been following your blog posts with much interest. I have to wonder if this Tom White was hired by Keene State College to provide a cover as it were for their anti-Catholic agenda. I say this because he professes to be a Catholic. If this man were a serious Catholic who loved his faith and made an effort to study the Church's history, he would not be disparaging Pius XII in any way or falsely accusing the Tridentine Mass of having "anti-Semitic" elements. I was glad to see you refute this lie. One of two possibilities here really. Either these people are just ignorant or they have an agenda. If ignorance is to blame, what does that have to say about Keene State's academic qualifications? If agenda is to blame, these people should all be terminated immediately.
What a travesty that your invitation to speak on the Holocaust was cancelled just because you are an orthodox Catholic faithful to Rome. If this is Keene State's idea of objectivity and dialogue, that institution is in crisis.
I find it nothing short of amazing (not to mention hypocritical) that Keene State has castigated the Saint Benedict Center for preaching exclusion when it does the same. If someone soundly refutes their erroneous ideas, their invitation to speak is cancelled. If someone opposes the legitimization of homosexual acts and same-sex "marriage," Keene State labels that person "homophobic" and thereby dismisses the person's argument without even considering it.
This is academic freedom? Hardly.
I had no idea that all of this was going on at Keene State College. I always knew that Keene was a liberal haven. But the anti-Catholicism is really troubling. According to my sister who lives in Keene, for some time a few years ago, an atheist named Arpad Toth was spewing his nonsense in The Keene Sentinel and you soundly defeated his arguments in the very same newspaper. I just don't understand how anyone can be an atheist. I do believe there are few real atheists though. With most, it's a cry for attention which is the result of a deep-seated inferiority complex.
I have further proof that atheists posting at the Keene Sentinel Blog have been engaging in dishonesty. I attempted to email a person who was critical of Paul and slandered him at that Blog. I wrote this person at the email address provided and received a mailer daemon informing me that no such yahoo account exists.
So, not only have Cohen Center sympathizers been dishonest in claiming that Paul never accepted Pete Majoy's invitation to speak (Paul's email refutes that lie), but now one of these persons has used a fake email address to slander Paul.
Further evidence of anti-Catholicism and moral cowardice.
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