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Jews in catechisms in other countries
E. P. - Rome

SPAIN

"In textbooks used in schools until the recent reform in primary teaching, many expressions were to be found which betokened strong religious and sociological prejudice of an unconscious nature, transmitted through routine from medieval times, such as "ungrateful deicide people", "national corruption", as well as ritual ourdor legends".

"The committee of Amistad Judeo-Cristiana has worked for a long time to have hurtful passages removed from these books, and through discreet interventions has succeeded in having several corrections made, according to the norms of Vatican II. Two textbooks which are widely distributed in schools, constitute the best example of this effort at adaptation: "Yo soy. es,pagnol" and "Hemos visto al Senor" (I am Spanish, and We have seen the Lord) of Augustin SERRANO DE HARO. The first of these books was well known for its chapter on Dominguito del Val: "The Jews kill a child", in which the Jews received most unjust treatment. In the 1962 edition the Amistad Judeo-Cristiana managed to obtain a rectification, and in the latest edition of 1966, the whole chapter has been removed, as well as many other passages in the book which disseminated prejudice against the Jews".

"With the help of a team of students and young teachers, a systematic revision of school text books is actually being carried out. The committee has had the satisfaction of discovering that "only a few sentences stamped with prejudice were to be found in a small number of books, which, in any case, had fallen into disuse and are almost entirely out of circulation in schools, because of their content and their old-fashioned presentation... This work of revision will go on and later will be extended to text books for secondary education. In addition, the Episcopal Commission on Teaching is preparing a national catechism in the spirit of Vatican Council II. This important work will, obviously, require time to be well prepared. For anyone interested, we could provide a list of catechisms which have already been reviewed':
All the quotation are taken from: Amistad Judeo-Cristiana No.13 -February - March, 1967.
E.P. – Rome

ARGENTINA

Very little news of what is being done about catechetics in Argentina has reached us, but we have recently received: "Guia Del Manual Categuistico - Para ser Felices con Jesus"(ed.Bonum) (Teachers' book for catechetics, - To be happy with Jesus. This is a book for the teacher of infants and has just come out in the sixth edition. The Declaration on the Jews is quoted twice with a real desire to present our Jewish brothers in a just and true light. But, prejudice has been deeply rooted for too long for the authors themselves to realise that they have not eliminated it completely. Thus, the following statement immediately precedes the quotation from the Declaration: "In recalling briefly what Jesus said and did, it must be explained that not all Jews believed in Him, in spite of His miracles and His goodness; and that is why some of them became jealous of Him and decided that He must die". Too easily it is suggested that lack of faith in Jesus automatically brought into being hatred and desire for homicide. This is still an unfortunate anti-semitic belief found in many catechisms;'
E.P. - Rome.

LEBANON

For the last six years great efforts have been made in Lebanon for the renewal of catechetics and to give catechists an aggiornamento-animated training. There are, at present, seven catechetical training centres in Lebanon. Those who know the Arab countries will realise that the work being done in Lebanon to present the Jews with objectivity is remarkable.

A summary of a talk given by Father J. CORBON in 1965 to the regional conference of the O.I.E.C. (Office International de 1'Enseignement Catholique) for the Middle East, was published in "Proche-Orient Chr4tien"
(Tome XVI, fasc.TV) 1966. It seems essential to pick out certain points from this exposition, excellent for its norms of renewal and the means to be used to attain it. The catechist must transmit "a living word, and not just ideas about God". Catechetics should, therefore, be biblical: "it is not a question of vague 'sacred history', but the history of salvation. The Bible reveals God's intervention in man's history and through this intervention reveals man to himself.... the Bible reveals the meanings of events in our lives and enlightens them from within".

Fr. CORBON stresses, too, the importance of the faith of the catechist, "a faith which is transmitted by symbols", and "the Liturgy is a symbol". Finally, he reminds the catechist to take into account natural factors: temperament, early education, attitude of a milieu... "so as to distinguish what is a preparation and what is an obstacle to the action of the Holy Spirit"... "it is therefore an initiation into the practice of charity in the least movements of the heart and the slightest exterior manifestation".

All this provides a solid foundation which will facilitate serious study and revision of anti-semitic prejudice still to be found in Eastern liturgy. Actually, this is well on the way to being realised, because Fr. CORBON and Fr. HUMBLOT have already produced a series of fifteen sets of booklets entitled: "A propos des Juifs! Pour comprendre le Pro et du Concile, lisons_l'EVanEile". (Concerning the Jews! To understand the Council Declaration, we must read the Gospel.) The imprimatur was accorded by Mgr. IGNACE ZIADE, Archbishop of Beyrouth. These notes are intended for Christian teachers. Some deserve to be quoted in full, as they provide good answers to burning questions which are fundamental to religious antisemitism. Here are a few of the titles:
Cursed race?
May His Blood fall on us...
Original sin and the Jewish race? Reprobate race?
Who condemned Jesus Christ?
God killers: is this possible? The Jewish race alone guilty?

Others, however, still have traces of old errors about the Pharisees, who, in general, did not deserve to be dubbed as "religious hypocrites". Booklet No.13 should be entirely revised in the perspective of a new theology of the People of God. To explain in Booklet No.14 that religious anti-semitism is a "Christian temptation"to "'Maize" appears paradoxical. It is true, however, that "Judaize" is not used in the accepted sense of the word.

We would like to draw attention to the notes by the same author for catechists of classes 10 - 3. These notes are excellent from every point of view.

Le Catechisme expliquA Francais-Arabe (The Catechism explained - French-Arabic Tpublished by La Procure des Peres Lazaristes (the tenth edition is dated 1960), uses sound theology in reference to the Passion. Apart from a didactic and rationalist presentation of the Catholic religion, we regret only the pejorative presentation of Pharienism. It is also un
fortunate that there is misunderstanding of the Old Testament which is called "the Law of fear" (Law of Moses) in juxtaposition to the "Law of love" (Law of Christ),(p.204) as well as an apparent lack of knowledge about Judaism when the Sabbath is spoken of as "an insupportable servitude", (p.240) whereas, in reality, it is the joy of every pious Jew.
E.P. - Rome.

U.S.A.

It is difficult to give an exhaustive idea of what is being done in the United States in the field of catechetics. In this article we will merely refer to a few initiatives which have been taken in regard to research into present catechetical material, and to a series of catechisms, the "Bible, Life and Worship" series, where there is an attempt to present the Jews in an objective manner, the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, their fidelity to God through fulfillment of the Mosaic Law, our Biblical ties, and common efforts to solve the problems posed by contemporary society.

Several research projects are worthy of note. Sister ROSE ALBERT THERING, 0.P., Ph.D., Catholic Adult Education Center in Chicago Catholic religion texts, and Dr. BERNARD E. OLSON, National_Conference of Christiansand_Jews, Protestant religion materials Faith and Prejudice -Yale University Press). The general conclusion from both studies was that prejudice is somehow "woven" into Church history, its doctrineond deeply imbedded in its tradition. Lack of concern and lack of awareness regarding the problems of anti-semitism, compound the problem. Another revealing survey was the Glock and Stark report of the University of California (see Book Reviews.

The Religious Education Association which groups Protestant, Jew- ish and Catholic educators held its national convention on November 20-22 1966 on the theme of "The Ecumenical Revolution and Religious Education". Speakers representing the three faiths spoke on the necessity of educating children and adolescents to recognise the values and respect the rights of other individuals and groups. Rabbi IRVING GREENBERG, New York, declared that although Christians should "not yield too much and too easily to the claims of the secularist, or of the non-Christian religions", they must "face up to the ongoing validity of the Covenant of Abraham and Moses in a far more sweeping manner than Vatican II or even the World Council of Churches has yet done". Philip SCHARPER, editor-in-Chief, Sheed and Ward, New York, summarised the attitude of many Christians when he said "in the religious history of Western man, the Jew is to be found as an obdurate fact, who has either, with characteristic perverseness, refused to die to corroborate our theology of the Jew, or who perdures, indeed, but only to serve as a reminder to us of God's graciousness in inviting us into the household of the Christian faith". He insists that to know and recognise that Christianity has its foundation in the Old Testament, its thought patterns and liturgy, is not enough. "It is with a living Judaism that the Christian is summoned to have dialogue today, and the contemporary Christian must recognise that he is to speak and listen to-the contemporary Jew".

In the "Bible, Life and Worship." series of catechetical texts for elementary grades, there is a praiseworthy attempt at fulfilling both the demands of biblical integrity and inter-religious understanding. The basis of the material is primarily Biblical; great stress is laid on the background of both the Old and New Testaments. For example, Abraham, Father of all believers, depository of God's promises, is presented in Book 4 in the historical context of the land of Mesopotamia; Mary and Joseph at Nazareth; the hidden life of Christ, and His public life with the Apostles are all enriched by references to the historical background of the episodes recounted, and by charming illustrations of Palestinian and Jewish life, as it was and still is, in many places. Christ's going up to the Temple when He was twelve, for example, is linked with the present day Jewish ceremony of Bar Mitzvah, the full initiation for the Jew into the holy assembly of the People of God. Often Old Testament passages are given with references to the New Testament texts (for Abraham: Gen: 12:14; 13:14-17 15:1-6, and Romans: 4:3-21). Christ preaches in Judea to a concrete people in a given historical time. He worshipped with His people "on Saturday", the Sabbath Day with the Jews gathered together in the synagogues. They listened... to the Bible... They sang the prayer-songs or psalms... "Each year the Jews celebrated four great holidays or ,feast days: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles and Yom Kippur". In the activities in connection with the lesson, it is brought to the children's attention that present day Jews celebrate the same feasts and it is suggested that they find out about synagogue worship and how these feasts are kept holy by pious Jews of today. All this is indispensable for en adequate understanding of the New Testament, and of the spirituality of present day Judaism.

There are some inexactitudes regarding the Crucifixion. When speaking of prayer for others, "we pray that the message which Jesus brought may reach their ears and change their hearts", seems to lack a nuance of respect of the other as he is. In several other instances, we find our religious roots in Judaism are not clearly pointed out, as on p.21 of Book 4, where the paragraph on the New Testament follows immediately that of the Old without any attempt at linking the two. In this connection we could, perhaps, re-think our use of the terms "Old" and "New" when speaking of the Bible.

Children must be given a true respect for the values of present-day Judaism. Despite the many ways in which this is consciously done, there are some missed opportunities, for instance on p.175 in the story of Pope John XXIII and the group of Jews who came to visit him. The moral drawn does not seem to venture far enough. "We love the Jews in a special way because they are the people to whom the Lord God spoke, and because through them God kept his promise to send a Saviour..." And could we not also love them because of the values they witness to today? On the whole, however, these texts represent a very good beginning in our search for Christian self-understanding and in our efforts to teach respect for others.
T.F. - Rome.

CANADA

The Canadian catechisms "Come to the Father" (Viens vers le Pere, Celdbrons ses merveilles), published in French by Fides and in English by the Paulist Press, 1966, are being used experimentally in many dioceses in Canada and the U.S. Although they have been widely hailed as a breakthrough in catechetics, we feel that from the point of view of showing the background of the Old and New Testament, they could gain much depth from a study of the previously mentioned American series. Although Biblically oriented, "Come to the Father" has very little provision in parents' manual, teachers' guidebook or children's text for knowledge of the new insights into the thought and life patterns of our ancestors in the faith. Teaching this series with understanding and competence presupposes a biblical, historical training which most teachers in Canada have not as yet received. It is regrettable that it is not provided for in the manuals and that a new and widely used series such as this one should be lacking in such a fundamental area.
L.P. - Rome.

HOLLAND

In Holland there is a strong movement to develop catechetics in view of a more profound and solid renewal. Increasing efforts are being made, especially in what concerns the relationship of the Church and Judaism, to revise textbooks and to obtain, both for teachers and students, the means by which they may become familiar with the new outlook. We cite the following examples:

1) The "Lumen Institute" (P/O.B.512, Hilversum) has produced several ex- celleafrimsTrips with accompanying pamphlets which give a good idea of how to promote a new encounter between Judaism and Christianity. The following are a few of the titles: "Pesah, the Jewish Easter", a set of four filmstrips on "Israel, the land of Promise", two colour filmstrips on "Judaism", a summary of the religious and cultural bases of Judaism from its beginnings to the present day with special attention given to ecumenical "rapprochement".

2) "Geboren uit de Joden" (Born of the Jews, Hoeksteenreeks 45, Actie voor God, "leemstedeT. A small book (25 pages) which describes clearly and attractively how Jesus lived as a Jew, how the Church and the Synagogue became separated and how a new attitude slowly grew up between them.

3) The periodical "Christ's en Israel" (Review of the Catholic Council for Israel, Kastanjelaan 1, Harmelen, Utr.) from time to time publishes articles on catechetics from this point of view. In 1964, for instance, "Preaching and catechesis have very often not followed the lead of new theological insights into the mystery of the People of God" (p.87). Since that time several other articles have brought errors to light and given good directives, for example in the 1966 issues of the same review.

4) Some schools, as for instance the technical school for girls at Hilversum, introduces pupils to a new manner of understanding and living relations between Christians and Jews, through excursions to Amsterdam, celebrating Pesah, and performing Jewish folk dances.

5) In the"Katholiek Schoolblad" (a weekly review for teachers in Catholic schools, the supplement for March 11, 1967 deals with the Catholic attitude towards Jews. It contains many useful suggestions.

6) "De Nieuwe Katechismus" (The New Catechism : Preaching the faith for adults, Hilversum-Antwerpen, 's Hertogenbosch, Roermond-Maaseik, 1966). The great step forward in this catechism lies in the method used and in its appraoch to religious reality. There are no question-answer outlines, but a progressive introduction into the life of faith. It begins with a description of human existence, full of yearning and questioning. There follows a contemporary and positive explanation of revelation and of faith. However, when one looks carefully at what this catechism contains about the relationship between the Church and Judaism, there is ground for great disappointment. Certainly, we no longer find the traditional negative expressions and accusations, and the general tone of the catechism is positive. The catechism even speaks of the existence of Judaism as a mystery, from which will come a future salvation (p.240) But in the book as a whole, it soon becomes clear that there is no explanation, not even a true understanding of this aspect of revelation. The Old Testament is only prefiguration and preparation. The last chapter "The way unto the very end", makes no mention of the special role of Judaism. In addition, nowhere do we find the least mention of a contact between the Church and Judaism, an inexcusable error when considering the history of the Church (pp.250-275) and most regrettable when dealing with present formation of Christians. Many examples could illustrate these serious lacunae. There is, however, work in progress which will remedy these faults in the modern catechism.
J.R. - Leiden C.R. - Rome

In this section we have presented a few studies of how an image of the Jews is imparted in catechisms of various language groups. In the following article a method of research is suggested, which, we hope, will be of profit not only to groups or individuals who are actually engaged in a study of catechisms, but also to those for whom this work is a project of the future.