Walter Kasper Clarifies Intention of Benedict's Latin Prayer for the Jews to Chief Pharisee David Rosen

Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, has written a letter clarifying the intention of the new Good Friday prayer for the Jews at the request of the Chief Rabbi of "Israel," and papal knight, David Rosen of which I present some excerpts. First, we see it implied by a top Vatican prelate that the Scripture-based traditional Latin Good Friday prayer for the Jews was "language of contempt" while it is stated that the new prayer expresses an intention of "mutual respect in respective otherness":

"To give witness of our Christian faith, as is expressed in the reformulated prayer, is therefore in no way a return to the language of contempt but an expression of mutual respect in our respective otherness."

What is the intention of the reformulated prayer?

The reformulated text no longer speaks about the conversion of the Jews, as some Jewish critics wrongly affirm. The text is a prayer inspired by St. Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 11, which is the very text which speaks of the unbroken covenant. It takes up Paul's eschatological hope that at the end of times all Israel will be saved. As a prayer the text lays all in the hands of God and not in ours. It says nothing about the how and when. Therefore there is nothing about missionary activities, by which we may take Israel's salvation in our own hands. We leave all in the hands of the one who is the only master and Lord of history.

Does this prayer constitute any change in the Vatican's policy towards the elder brothers?

It is absolutely not the intention of anyone in the Roman Curia to step back and interrupt our fruitful dialogue, which for us is irreversible ...(Letter from Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, to Chief Rabbi of "Israel," David Rosen)

A photocopy of the letter can be read at the following link:

http://www.sidic.org/doc/DOC00353_Doc00558.pdf

There you have it, not from some hack lay theologian, but from one of the highest ranking Vatican prelates, expert in Benedict's theology of the "elder brothers" and Benedict's liaison to the Pharisees. If this anti-Gospel intention resonates with you, then sign up here to defend it:

Defend the Dogma, Defend the Holy Father!

And it's worth noting that one of Benedict's first actions as Pope was to make the self-described proud Pharisee, Chief Rabbi of "Israel," David Rosen, whom this letter is addressed to, a papal knight.

See:

The Vatican's Knight Defenders of the Talmud

Papal Rabbi-Knight David Rosen Wants to Change What Christians Believe About the Pharisees