Boy, Am I Going To Piss Off A Lot Of People With This Post
...won't be the first time, won't be the last

It's no big shocker to any of us that some very vocal folks of the Jewish persuasion are kinda pissed off at Pope Benedict. But what are we to make of it when a fairly prominent Catholic priest/educator saddles up with them against our own pope?

Here's some of the article from the New Jersey Jewish News; (emphasis and comments mine) ‘Prayer for Conversion’ reinstated by Pope
Jewish leaders fear a step backward in interfaith relations
by Robert Wiener
NJJN Staff Writer
February 21, 2008

Leaders of interfaith dialogue are expressing concern that a Good Friday prayer newly revised by Pope Benedict XVI could set back cordial relations between Catholics and Jews. The Latin-language “Prayer for Conversion of the Jews” urges Catholics to “pray for the Jews. May the Lord our God illuminate their hearts so that they may recognize Jesus Christ as savior of all men.” It also asks God to “kindly allow that, as all peoples enter into your Church, all of Israel may be saved.” (Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I find that prayer to be one of the kindest, most charitable things I've ever read)

The pontiff’s action on Feb. 5 reinstitutes a prayer that was dropped from Easter Week liturgy after the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, which ended in 1965. Prior to Vatican II, the “conversion prayer” spoke in more controversial language about the “blindness” of the Jews and urged that they “be rescued from their darkness.” (ahhh yes... Vatican II. You know, that's when Catholicism started.)

To Allyson Gall, executive director of the American Jewish Committee’s Metro New Jersey Area, the prayer is “a step backward. This is something that was written in the pope’s own hand. It was not written by an aide. He made a conscious decision he wants the wording this way. That is regrettable.” (Waaaah. Kwitcherbitchen.)

But Gall noted that the prayer is recited only on Good Friday in commemoration of the crucifixion, and its recitation is limited to the small number of Catholic churches where the Mass is celebrated in Latin. “In terms of the actual impact on Catholics or other people, forget about it,” she said. “But the point is, why did the pope do it? Up until now, the impression has been that things have moved along well and there really was a recognition that ‘Jews are Jews. They keep their own covenant, they forever are Jews, and leave them alone. We are not going to try to convert them.’ (And who was the head cheerleader for this bullshit? Pope John Paul II, that's who. Something about "The Jews had their own path to redemption" WITHOUT Jesus Christ? So much for The Great Commission. So much for "no man goes to The Father but through Me.")

“Now you have this little bit of a slip. It is regrettable because it is a step backward, but on the other hand, it is going to impact very few people.”

“This is not what we had hoped for,” said Father Lawrence Frizzell (right), director of the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University in South Orange. “There has been considerable discussion among those of us involved in Jewish-Christian relations,” said Frizzell, who has worked with Gall on interfaith projects. “I don’t know how to interpret this in terms of the larger picture. I would say in terms of people involved in Jewish-Christian relations, this is a disappointment. But I don’t want to say this is a harbinger of things to come.” (Interesting... a prayer that ALL may accept Christ as Lord and Savior is "not what we hoped for" and "a disappointment". I'll bet Jesus is thrilled to bits hearing this.)

However, Alan Brill, a Seton Hall colleague of Frizzell in Judeo-Christian studies and the Cooperman/Ross Endowed Professor in honor of Sister Rose Thering, said that although it may be “much ado about nothing,” he is concerned about the prayer’s future implications. “It does not say anything negative. It does not say the Jews have to convert. It does not imply any problem — just that the Jews should have their eyes enlightened.” (And once you're enlightened, a conversion of the heart takes place. Sheesh... could this guy spin it any harder?) The professor said that the prayer’s inclusion marks “the end of the era of John Paul II, the era of reconciliation (Thank God. The pontificate of John Paul II propelled papal groveling to an art form). A lot of Catholics spent their lives on reconciliation with Jews in light of the Holocaust (What about The Holocaust? Surely he doesn't mean the nearly one million Jews that Pope Pius XII saved, does he?). This is sending everyone back to business as usual. It does not say the Jews are wrong and should convert now, but we lost the momentum of things getting better and better.” (By "better and better", I think he means a watered-down, more gutless Catholicism)From March of 2006, I posted some of the truths concerning the leadership (or lack thereof) during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, and the rush to Canonization coupled with the current craze of everyone calling him John Paul The Great. Here's some of that particular post;
Yes, yes... everyone loved the former Holy Father. But as what? A strong Vicar of Christ... a guiding figure of moral absolutes in an uncertain world... a cuddly, if not somewhat confused but still very cuddly grandfather figure?

I say we pull in the reigns on this idiotic "Insta-Saint, Just Add Holy Water" fad. Are we talking Holy Canonization, or some type of ecclesiastical popularity contest? Sheesh... it took forty years to finally canonize the most recent pope to achieve Sainthood, Pope St. Pius X.

Sorry, Pope John Paul ain't no Pope St. Pius X.

But I digress, I'm dead set against this break-neck speed race for JP 2's canonization. For many reasons, actually. Here are just a couple;

1. What great happened under his pontificate? Other than empty seminaries, empty convents, empty pews, sodomite-rapist "priests", rapist protecting bishops, a Lavender Mafia, Catholic schools closing by the truckload, a majority of Catholics that don't even believe in The Real Presence, etc, etc... gee, I can't think of anything "great" that happened under his watch.

2. John Paul II did produce some utterly brilliant writings. Unfortunately, he was promptly ignored. And to make matters worse, he did absolutely nothing about it. What good is a shepherd who is unwilling (or afraid) to use his crozier?So here's the bottom line of this particular posting: certain Jews (and wimpy Catholic Fifth Columnists) are uber-pissed over Pope Benedict re-writing of the Prayer for Conversion during Good Friday Mass. Oh well... let 'em be uber-pissed. If they want to be obstinate to Christ, that's their call.

But what I find disconcerting, is the one they point to as their champion of "The Salvific Power of Christ Pertains to Everyone but The Jews" is none other than our very own Pope John Paul II. And the fact that they even point to him as their compass point is very, very telling, indeed.

And I'm sure that many will argue that none of this is what Pope JP intended. Know what? That's irrelevant. His actions (or more correctly, inactions) are what caused this turd bloom to blossom and produce bitter fruit in the first place. He's responsible for all this... period.

I'm not trying to slam Pope John Paul, but I find damn little that's Great about any of this. A lot of very bad things happened under his watch, and we Catholics need to quit looking at him and his pontificate through rose colored glasses. We need to face the hard, ugly truth... Pope John Paul II was a very ineffective and even weaker pope who allowed abuse upon abuse to be heaped upon The Bride of Christ.

Sorry... but this had to be said.