May 03, 2020

Nazi Hunters and Their Catholic Proxy Warriors - Part II

May 03, 2020/ E. Michael Jones

Bishop Rhoades was inspired to write his statement after attending a “Violins of Hope” inter-faith prayer service at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, celebrating the arrival of “violins that were played by Jewish prisoners at concentration camps during the Holocaust.” Listening to those violins brought tears “of both sadness and joy” to Bishop Rhoades’ eyes. He felt “joy at the love we share as brothers and sisters, drawn together by a common spiritual patrimony” but sadness at the “rise in recent years of anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic rhetoric in our society,” as well as “incidents of violence incited by hateful speech about Jews.”[15]

April 02, 2020

Are Jews Our Friends?

April 02, 2020/ Robert Sungenis

On February 19, 2020, Bishop Kevin Rhoades wrote a statement for his Fort Wayne-South Bend, IN diocese regarding how Catholics are to relate to Jews. Seeking collaboration in human affairs, however, often spills over into religious issues about which Christians and Jews are naturally at odds. It is a tough road for those who are seeking human friendship to wade through the rough waters inherent in spiritual matters. Over the last 70 years or so, various Catholic and Jews have attempted to forge these deep waters. Unfortunately, they find the pathway strewn with the dead bodies of compromise, contradiction and confusion. As a case in point, let us delve into the bishop’s efforts to give it another try.