On June 18, 2009, the Committee on Doctrine and the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB issued the "Note on Ambiguities Contained in Reflections on Covenant and Mission" (please see the Rorate post on this document.)
Now a clarification on the clarification has been issued. On October 5, 2009, the USCCB issued a "Statement of Principles" affirming, among other things, that "Jewish-Catholic dialogue, one of the blessed fruits of the Second Vatican Council, has never been and will never be used by the Catholic Church as a means of proselytism – nor is it intended as a disguised invitation to baptism.” (Statement of Principles #3, emphasis mine). The statement of principles accompanied a letter from Francis Cardinal George and four other prelates responding to a letter from several rabbis attacking the June 18 "Note". In their letter, in addition to affirming that they expect to encounter Jews "faithful to the Mosaic covenant" in Jewish-Christian dialogue, the bishops also stated that the following passage will be removed from the "Note on Ambiguities":
The final sentence had been the particular object of ire of certain rabbis, who considered it an invitation to "apostasy."
For more details: Bishops revise commentary on Catholic-Jewish dialogue
Now a clarification on the clarification has been issued. On October 5, 2009, the USCCB issued a "Statement of Principles" affirming, among other things, that "Jewish-Catholic dialogue, one of the blessed fruits of the Second Vatican Council, has never been and will never be used by the Catholic Church as a means of proselytism – nor is it intended as a disguised invitation to baptism.” (Statement of Principles #3, emphasis mine). The statement of principles accompanied a letter from Francis Cardinal George and four other prelates responding to a letter from several rabbis attacking the June 18 "Note". In their letter, in addition to affirming that they expect to encounter Jews "faithful to the Mosaic covenant" in Jewish-Christian dialogue, the bishops also stated that the following passage will be removed from the "Note on Ambiguities":
"For example, Reflections on Covenant and Mission proposes interreligious dialogue as a form of evangelization that is 'a mutually enriching sharing of gifts devoid of any intention whatsoever to invite the dialogue partner to baptism.' Though Christian participation in interreligious dialogue would not normally include an explicit invitation to baptism and entrance into the Church, the Christian dialogue partner is always giving witness to the following of Christ, to which all are implicitly invited."
The final sentence had been the particular object of ire of certain rabbis, who considered it an invitation to "apostasy."
For more details: Bishops revise commentary on Catholic-Jewish dialogue
