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Wednesday of this week will be the fiftieth anniversary of one of the most remarkablemoments in interfaith relations in my lifetime, the Vatican document Nostra Aetate, whichtransformed the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and other religions, mostnotably with Judaism and Jews.

　　It was the result of the meeting of two remarkable men. One was the French- Jewish historianJules Isaac, who survived the Holocaust, but lost his wife and daughter in Auschwitz. After theWar he set himself to discover the roots of anti-Semitism, tracing it back to the early history ofthe Church. Isaac didn’t believe, nor should we, that the Holocaust, or anti-Semitism itself, wereinspired by Christianity. Hitler’s hate had quite different roots, and anti-Semitism predates thebirth of Christianity. But Isaac charted the tendency of early Christian texts to blame Jewscollectively for the death of Jesus and to see Judaism as a failed relationship between God andhumanity. He called this “the teaching of contempt.”

　　Isaac’s work was read by Pope John XXIII, a man of courage who, during the war, had savedthousands of Jewish lives. In June 1960 the two men met, and the Pope resolved to re-examinethe Church’s attitude to other faiths, Judaism in particular. Thus began the process that led toNostra Aetate, though John, who died in 1963, didn’t live to see its completion. It transformedrelations between the two faiths, so that today, after centuries of estrangement and hostility,Jews and Catholics meet not as enemies but as cherished and respected friends: testimonythat even in the face of religious difference, broken relationships can be mended and ancientwounds begin to heal.

　　Rarely has this been more important than now, when religiously-motivated violence is bringingchaos and destruction to great swathes of the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.Christians are suffering; so are Muslims; and so are Jews.

　　What we need now is a new and broader Nostra Aetate, bringing together all the great faiths ina covenant of mutual respect and responsibility. We need leaders from every religion publicly todeclare that much of what’s being done today in the name of faith is in fact a desecration offaith and a violation of its most sacred principles.

　　It took the Holocaust to bring about Nostra Aetate. Let’s not wait for another crime againsthumanity and God to bring us to our senses. For though we are different, we are each inGod’s image. We honour Him by honouring all humankind.

　　1.remarkable adj. 非凡的，值得注意的

　　Lu Xun a great creative home, also a remarkablestylist.

　　鲁迅是伟大的创作家，也是卓越的文体家。

　　2.transform v.(使)改变

　　Will this fundamentally transform higher education?

　　网络教育是否将会使高等教育出现巨大变革呢?

　　3.notably adv. 显著地，尤其

　　The organization had many enemies, most notably among feminists.

　　这个组织有许多敌人，特别是在男女平等主义者中。

　　4.survive v. 幸存;生还

　　When someone dies intestate, the property automatically go to the survive partner unlessthere are children.

　　当某人无遗嘱死亡，财产自动归幸存的伴侣，除非他还有孩子。

　　5.inspire v.激发，产生

　　Learn from people who inspire you.

　　向激励你的人学习。

　　6.predate v.早于，先于

　　Indeed, this strand may well predate the anti-pollution effort.

　　而且，这一目标或许要早于防止污染。

　　7.collectively adv. 全体地，共同地

　　They collectively decided to recognize the changed situation.

　　他们集体决定承认局势的变化。

　　8.estrangement n. 疏远，失和

　　Friends managed to reconcile him with his wife after years of estrangement.

　　朋友们终于使他和疏远多年的妻子和解。

　　9.hostility n. 敌意;反对

　　The last decade has witnessed a serious rise in the levels of racism and hostility to Black andethnic groups.

　　过去十年里，对黑人及少数族裔的种族歧视和敌对行为变得日益猖獗。

　　10.desecration n.亵渎神圣,污辱

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