Statement of Bishop Pail G. Bootkoski on the Enduring Relationship Between Catholics and Jews
Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski and the priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters and people of the Diocese of Metuchen join with Pope Benedict XVI and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in repudiating and condemning Priestly Society of St. Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson’s statements regarding the Shoah. To deny that more than six million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators is both historically wrong and morally repugnant. We ask the Jewish community’s forgiveness for those ways Catholic Christians have failed to honor, respect, and express gratitude for all the gifts we have received from the Jewish people throughout history.
The Diocese of Metuchen has always been enriched by the vibrant Jewish community in New Jersey. We value the ways we have worked together for social justice, religious freedom and the sanctity of life. We pledge to intensify our collaborative efforts to eliminate anti-Semitism whenever and wherever it emerges. We will not allow events in the past few weeks to undermine all the important work of Catholic-Jewish dialogue over the years. We stand firm in our commitment to reconciliation and affirm without qualification section four of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in October 1965, which deplored “all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews.”