by Rabbi David Rosen,
Director Israel Office of the Anti-Defamation League
and ADL Co-Liaison to the Holy See
The conclusion of the latest agreement between the Vatican and the State
of Israel heralds another milestone on a remarkable journey, not just of
diplomatic normalization but of reconciliation between the Catholic Church
and the Jewish people.
The radical revision of official Church teaching towards Jewry was ushered
in by Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council that he
convened. This produced the historic document known by its first two words
"Nostra Aetate", that not only condemned any particular charge of deicide
against the Jews and also condemned anti-semitism, but furthermore
affirmed the eternity of the Divine Covenant with the Jewish people. This
set the stage for subsequent notable advances in Catholic approaches
towards Judaism and Jewry, and eliminated the basis of any theological
opposition to the reestablishment of the Jewish State. However, political
factors relating to the Church's communities and interests in the Middle
East in particular, delayed that diplomatic normalization for almost
thirty more years. In the wake of the Madrid Peace Process, the Vatican
and Israel established a bilateral commission to explore and recommend the
formula for full normalization between the two. This led to the historic
signing of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel at the end of 1993, which was crowned a few months later in an exchange of Ambassadors.
That concordat commenced with a remarkable preamble that placed it in the
context of "the historic process of reconciliation between the Catholic
Church and the Jewish People". Indeed just as the Holy See represents more
than the Vatican State in this accord, and "speaks" on behalf of the whole
Catholic Church, so Israel here represents more than the State alone and
"speaks" on behalf of the Jewish people as a whole. Accordingly this
Agreement did indeed have a profoundly positive impact upon
Catholic-Jewish relations throughout the world. It also meant much more
than just a diplomatic normalization, but rather served as the basis for a
special relationship between the Holy See, the Catholic Church and the
State of Israel, in which the latter undertook to give "full legal effect"
- that is to say, de jure recognition - to the Catholic Church's authority
in the Holy Land.
In order to understand the significance of this, it needs to be pointed
out that since Ottoman times, the local Christian Churches had enjoyed
certain status and privileges, granted by the magnanimity of the ruling
authority. In the Fundamental Agreement, Israel committed herself not only
to the de jure confirmation of these rights pertaining to the Church's
educational and philanthropic institutions, but also to enshrine the
authoritative structure of the Church's hierarchy and religious orders in
Israeli law. To do so required Israel to formulate a special statute and
it was understood and agreed upon by the parties, that it would take a
couple of years to work this out.
The agreed formula has now been ratified and it is a dramatic step without
precedent. For wherever in the world arrangements exist between states and
the Catholic Church, the latter is authorized to register its various
bodies under the laws of the country like secular non-profit
organizations. Israel has gone way beyond such arrangement and has
provided special legal status for the Catholic Church and its internal
structure in which "full effect" is given to Canon Law. As a result the
Holy See is given precise legal jurisdiction under Israel law over its own
institutions and assets in the Holy Land. This, as indicated, is an
historic precedent, as no ruling authority in the Holy Land - especially
not a non-Christian power - has ever granted any Church such de jure
status. It has moreover been obtained in a country in which Christianity
in general and Catholicism in particular, constitutes a very small
minority.
In accordance with this legal recognition of the internal structure and
authority of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, a special register of
some 130 ecclesiastical bodies and organizations has been drawn up. Any
disputes, transactions etc. pertaining to them, will accordingly now be
fully adjudicated and resolved under and by Israeli law. This of course is
a remarkable vote of confidence in Israeli law on the part of the Holy
See, the significance of which in terms of regional interests cannot
be minimalized. It also serves as something of a model for the Holy See,
who undoubtedly would wish to achieve a similar agreement with other
states and national organizations in the region, to safeguard her
interests with them as well.
However, she achieved this agreement with Israel precisely because the
latter is not a theocracy, but a modern democracy committed both through
its Declaration of Independence and under the law of the land, to the
principle of freedom of religion for all the faith communities in the
country. Indeed this agreement, which will be followed by the necessary
legislation and regulations, serves as eloquent testimony of the maturity
of Israeli democracy and the commitment of the State to the development of
a society in which all the different communities in the Holy Land may live
freely and flourish.