Opus Priestly Amici Israel

The Opus Priest Amici Israel is an international association founded in Rome on 24 February 1926 with the purpose of prayer for Jews and ministry for their conversion. In the first year of its existence, adhered to 18 cardinals, 200 bishops, priests and about 2000. The first mission that gave himself the association was to delete the word perfidis which described the Jewish people in the Friday prayer. This reform was rejected by the Curia and Opus was dissolved by the Holy Office in March 1928.

History of Opus Priests

Background

The creation of Amici Israel intervened in a context where expectations Zionists were very active. In 1917 had held the Balfour Declaration in which the United Kingdom declared itself in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.

Some Catholics saw it as an encouraging sign, and advocated a 'Catholic Zionist friendship "that could facilitate the conversion of the Jews .

The creation of the association

Opus Priestly Amici Israel was created 24 February 1926, with the purpose of prayer for Jews and ministry for their conversion. The ministry was also represented at the time by other movements, such as Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion , founded in 1852 and the Association of Prayers for Israel , which existed since 1903 ^, . priestly Opus Amici Israel was led by a Dutch priest, Anton Van Asseldonk , Attorney General of the order of Crosier in Rome . Franceska van Leer , Jewish convert to Catholicism, had also importance during the creation of the association, she became known for the numerous conferences, which also brought funding .

At the outset, the association enjoyed the support of several cardinals of the Curia, whose Dutch Cardinal van Rossum , Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith , and theologians like Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange .

In the first year of its existence, adhered to 18 cardinals, 200 bishops, priests and about 2000. Two years later, the association had 19 cardinals, 300 bishops and 3,000 priests .

Projects Opus Priests were exposed in pamphlets written in Latin and circulated among the clergy. The idea to convert Jews to Christianity was also included, it was to remove obstacles to conversion to "spread the ideals of Zionism among Catholics "while calling on Catholics to" a ministry founded on love and charity .

Reform missed the "prayer for the Jews"

On January 2, 2008, Gariador Benedetto, president of the Association of Friends of Israel, and Anton Van Asseldonk, present a petition to the Church so that it modifies the Good Friday prayer for Jews. They called for the abolition of the adjective described the perfidy is the Jews ( Oremus et pro perfidis Iudaeis ) and the restoration of this prayerful genuflection . Pope Pius XI , who had maintained good personal relations with the Chief Rabbi of Milan , Alessandro da Fano, repeatedly received in private audience at the Vatican , forwarded to the Congregation of Rites demand for reform and he charged future Cardinal Schuster , a specialist in the history of the liturgy, to consider the question . The Congregation of Rites issued a positive opinion, and asked the approval of the Holy Office . The Curia , however, had a very negative reaction, culminating in a very hard Votum secretary of the Holy Office, Cardinal Merry del Val , itself a member of Amici Israel ^, . Beyond the question itself is posed a methodological problem: "If you start to reform the liturgy, there is no end more." It was indeed an ancient prayer, "consecrated by the centuries" . If we had agreed to hand such a reform on behalf of what criterion could one avoid addressing a thousand other problems liturgical and doctrinal even more obvious? It would become inevitable to convene a new council , for which we do not believe that the time was ripe. On the other hand, Pius XI declared himself "not convinced" by the pro-Zionist campaigns of Opus Priests who worked in conjunction with representatives of the European Zionist movement, including Viktor Jacobson and Albert Cohen .

Dissolution

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to dissolve the association (March 25, 1928) and impose a withdrawal to the principal proponents of liturgical change, including the future archbishop of Milan , Cardinal Schuster . Pius XI wished, however, to allow that decision, which was included a strong condemnation of hatred toward Jews:

"As he condemned all the hatreds and animosities between people, the Holy See condemns hatred against a people already elected by God, hate it now commonly refers to as anti-Semitism " .

Shortly after the dissolution, two commentary articles on the pope's decision, and signed Enrico Rosa (1870-1938), appeared in Civilt Cattolica and The Avvenire d'Italia - two Catholic sources allowed. Rosa condemns the "non-Christian form of antisemitism" based on "race" that he considers "bad", but he also warns against the opposite extreme in which, in its view, fell Amici Israel. He calls to keep a "healthy perception of the danger posed by the Jews" for the good of the Catholic people because of their growing political and cultural influence and to have been the guides of the great revolutions which, since 1789, would have persecuted the Church .

Causes of dissolution

Because of the secrecy normally attached to the disciplinary authority of the church, the causes of the dissolution of Israel Amici are sources of various conjectures .

According to the magazines of the time, from a relative "hebraization of the Church", a fraction of Amici Israel wanted the whole conversion and total Jewish people .

In 1999, the historian Philippe Chenaux said again that "the real motives of such a solution has not yet been fully elucidated . He remarked: "Encouraged her debut in high places, the association became suspicious. Philippe Chenaux said the action of the entourage of Stanislaus broth , where the idea prevailed that "the two Testaments are one" and the need to create a "Jewish Catholic Church, similar to the Greek Catholic Church, to Catholic Church Slavonic ... "

In 2003, referring in his book , to "well-informed article by Mr. Macina," Causes of the dissolution of Amici Israel ", Philippe Chenaux seems to agree with the thesis of the author highlighting the adverse role of apostolic founder of carelessness, P. Van Asseldonk. .

In 2003, the opening of Vatican archives covering the pontificate of Pius XI, allowed to study further the issue of Friends of Israel. According to Laurence Deffayet, demand, by the Friends of Israel, to change the Good Friday prayer for Jews, was not well received by the Holy Office. This request has also drawn attention to the latest bulletin of Opus Priestly (Pax super Israel), dated January 1928. The Holy Office then noted the overly original motion and its differences with the traditional teaching of the Church on Judaism. This awareness would have favored the rapid dissolution of the association .

References

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