Torah...for the Nations? part 4

The rise of the State of Israel presented a theological problem for most Christians. The historical Churches had long maintained that the Jews were destined to wander and suffer as a result of our refusal to accept Christianity. Although Evangelicals eventually came to see Israel as a fulfillment of prophecy, the older Churches had long accepted the idea that the Biblical prophesies no longer applied to the Jewish people, who had been "substituted" and replaced by the Church. Once Israel was a fact on the ground, different groups expressed various ideas. They even began to demand of Israel to recognize THEM as the only real Church. Chief Rabbi Herzog records such a demand from the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. He writes that he considered this to be a historical joke. But Israel was not in the business of promoting Torah, except to the extent that it could be used to political advantage. A decade later, the Catholic Church was in need of a new Pope. No suitable candidate was evident. The Cardinals decided in 1958, after much deliberation, to choose an old and feeble man as Pope, giving a few years' respite before a better Pope might be chosen. Surprisingly, Pope John XXIII, managed to change the course of history during his five year reign. He challenged many ideas that had been held by the Church for centuries. When a Jewish delegation came to visit him, he said: "I am your brother, Joseph." He called upon Christians to do penance for their treatment of the Jews. He called for an Ecumenical Council to examine what Christianity is and isn't, how to relate to non-Catholic Christians, and, perhaps most importantly, how to relate to the Jews. This Council continued until 1965, two years after the Pope's death. One of its main conclusions was that the ancient charge of deicide ("killing G-d") was false and the Jews are therefore under no curse. Open dialogue, on the basis of mutual respect, was called for. The Jews now had the authority of the Catholic Church to teach our Truth to the world. What followed will be the subject of my next post.