Meeting with Representatives of the French Jewish Community (1 June 1980)
ShareOn Sunday, 1 June 1980, the Holy Father addressed representatives of the French Jewish Community in Issy-les-Moulineaux.
Dear Brothers,
It is a joy for me to receive the representatives of the numerous and lively Jewish community in France. This community indeed has a long and glorious history. Is there any need to recall here the theologians, the exegetes, the philosophers and the public men who distinguished it in the past and still distinguish it?
It is also true, and I want to mention it, that your community suffered a lot during the dark years of occupation and war. I pay homage to those victims whose sacrifice we know has not been in vain. This is where the movement really started, thanks to the courage and determination of a few pioneers, including Jules Isaac, which has led us to present dialogue and collaboration, inspired and promoted by the Declaration “ Nostra Aetate ” of the Second Vatican Council.
This dialogue and this collaboration are very lively and very active here in France. I welcome it. Between Judaism and the Church, there is a relationship, as I said on another occasion to Jewish representatives, a relationship “at the very level of their respective religious identities” [ 1 ] . This relationship must be further deepened and enriched by study, mutual knowledge, religious teaching on both sides, and the effort to overcome the difficulties that still exist.
This will allow us to work together for a society free from discrimination and prejudice, where love and not hate, peace and not war, justice and not oppression can reign. It is towards this biblical ideal that we should always look, since it unites us so deeply.
[ 1 ] Ioannis Pauli PP. II Allocutio , March 12, 1979: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II , II (1979) 529.
© Copyright 1980 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
