In speaking with Jewish groups I have noticed over the years that while the statement of the Second Vatican Council is well known, other official Catholic and Protestant statements that have been put out since then are not so well-known. This tends to leave a general impression in the Jewish community that the Churches have failed to follow up on the initial breakthrough and have not made a serious effort to "reach the grass roots" with their renewed Christian teaching. I would argue, however, that the now numerous international and national statements of Christian churches since the Council represent a very significant development in understanding on official levels that will indeed have a profound influence throughout Christian life on all levels in the Years to come. (The reader should note that this is my "half full glass" argument. I am of the school that continues, after studying past Jewish-Christian relations, to be astounded that there is any liquid in the glass at all. Many of my co-workers in the vineyard of dialogue will, rightfully, point to the half emptiness of the same glass.)

What Leon Klenicki and I tried to do for official Catholic documents, Protestant scholars Allan Brockway, Paul van Buren, Rolf Rendtorff and Simon Schoon have accomplished for Protestant texts in The Theology of the Churches and the Jewish People: Statements of the World Council of Churches and Its Member Churches (Geneva: WCC Publications, 1988). Along with a surprisingly firm consensus striving to acknowledge the ongoing validity of the faith of the Jewish people on its own terms (rather than as a mere propadeutic to Christian faith), the more subtle differences in point of view among the twenty World Council and Protestant denominational statements, and those among the commentators themselves, are interesting to note. The internal pluralism of the Christian community, and the creativity consequent upon that pluralism, may surprise some readers of this Journal who may think of Christianity as rather "monolithic" in its attitudes toward Jews and Judaism.

More specifically, Harold Ditmanson has edited Stepping Stones to Further Jewish-Lutheran Relationships: Key Lutheran Statements (Minneapolis: Augsburg/Fortress, 1990), which includes seven documents with comments by himself, Leon Klenicki, E. Gritsch and J. Wallman. The title pays homage, of course, to Helga Croner's two volumes of Stepping Stones to Further Jewish-Christian Relations (Paulist/Stimulus), which carried Protestant and Catholic documentation up to 1985.

Anyone interested in the history (and therefore the meaning) of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration and subsequent documents of the Holy See on the subject will be delighted to know of the availability in English of two significant recent volumes. The first is Stjepan Schmidt's massive study, Augustin Bea, Cardinal of Unity (New York: New Ciq Press, 1992). Bea, a German Jesuit biblical scholar who was a protege of Pius XII, was given the resposibility by Pope John XXIII of drafting a document on the Jews for the consideration of the world's bishops. Schmidt narrates the famous meeting with Jules Isaac and devotes a fascinating chapter to the intrigue and drama surrounding the Council deliberations. The second is Cardinal Johannes Willebrands' Church and Jewish People: New Considerations (Paulist, 1992). Cardinal Willebrands worked with Bea during the Council and succeeded him as President of the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jewish People. The volume includes 25 of his own writings plus eight key official documents beginning in 1974, culminating in his addresses on "religious pluralism" to the 12th National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations in Chicago and on "The Shoah" to the International Conference on the Holocaust, both in November of 1990. The significance of these papers for a correct understanding of Church teaching on Jews and Judaism cannot be over-stressed.

The best source that I know of for ongoing documentation and articles, usually issues with a theme explored from both Jewish and Christian perspectives, is the journal SIDIC, put out three times a year by the Sisters of Sion in Rome. It can be ordered through my office (3211 Fourth Street, NE, Washington DC 200177). Also helpful for keeping up with trends and major themes in the dialogue are the volumes of the annual lecture series of the Center for Jewish-Christian Learning at the University of St. Thomas (2115 Summit Avenue, St. Paul MN 55105-1096).

Rabbi Leon Klenicki of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (823 United Nations Plaza, New York NY 10017) is beginning a new series of occasional papers, In Dialogue. The first number included a handy overview of Christian traditions by Msgr. Michael Carroll of Philadelphia and Klenicki on "Historical and Spiritual Healing" between Jews and Christians. The next number will have articles on education by myself and Fr. Remi Hoeckman, O.P., who has recently taken over as Secretary for the Holy See's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and reports on the important 1992 updates of Christian textbook studies for their treatment of Jews and Judaism.

The original "self-studies" were undertaken by Protestant, Catholic and Jewish scholars at the initiative of the American Jewish Committee in the late 1950s. My own Faith Without Prejudice (New York: Crossroad, 1993) updated the Catholic analysis to register the dramatic improvement in treatment brought about by the Second Vatican Council. Now, Philip Cunningham has done the same in a dissertation for Boston College with the Catholic elementary and secondary educational materials of the 1990s. Once again he reports, Catholic texts are significantly improved over the situation that prevailed in the mid-1970s. Indeed, the series that scored the worst in my study is virtually exemplary today.

Stuart Polly's dissertation on Protestant texts for Jewish Theological Seminary reveals a somewhat more mixed picture, which is not surprising given the range from mainstream to evangelical conservative materials that he studied. Indeed, the entire range, intriguingly, is present among the Lutherans alone, with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) scoring as high as the Catholic studies and the Missouri Synod among the lowest.

For those interested in local-level possibilities and parish-synagogue program ideas, The National Dialogue Newsletter (POB 849, Stamford CT 06904) is a must. Founded by the late Frank Brennan, of blessed memory, it has initiated some very interesting exchanges such as the responses to Michael S. Kogan's "Toward Total Dialogue" recently put together into a special issue. Other newsletter-style publications worth noting are: Interreligious Currents (UAHC, 838 5th Avenue, New York City NY 10021-7064) edited by Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor; Lights on Interfaith Relations edited by Rev. Jay T. Rock for the National Council of Churches (475 Riverside Drive, Room 870, New York City, NY 10115); and Prof. James H. Charlesworth's Explorations: Rethinking Relationships Among Jews and Christians (American Interfaith Institute, 401 North Broad Street, Philadelphia PA 19108).

For lack of a better category, I will include here Albert Vorspan's Start Worrying: Details to Follow (New York: UAHC Press, 1991). While most of the book is, as the author states, an "insider's look" at Jewish life, one chapter is dialogically pertinent, "The Pope is Coming, The Pope is Coming." As a staff person on the other side of the discussions Vorspan narrates with such humor, I can attest to the accuracy of his depiction. I can even tell you the names of most of the players.  

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