After the outcry of groups, including leading Jewish ones, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced that it will remove language from a new document that said interfaith dialogue was an opportunity to convert people to Catholicism.

This is a positive development in ties between the two communities. Yet, one is still troubled that leading members of the USCCB initially felt that such wording was acceptable. One sincerely hopes that the USCCB is changing its policy not out of pressure, but out of an understanding of how offensive this was to Jews, others and the spirit of interfaith dialogue in general.

Members of the coalition opposing the original wording included the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the National Council of Synagogues, the Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America.

In part of its response to a formal letter raising the concerns, the Bishops wrote that the Jewish covenant “endures till the present day.” That reflects the well-established principles established by the late Pope John Paul II regarding the historic Catholic-Jewish rapprochement launched by the Catholic Church’s Vatican II teachings in 1965. 

Bottom line: Think of how far we’ve come. The Catholic Church actually is willing to listen to Jewish concerns. That speaks incredibly well of the Church and we Jews should acknowledge it.