CATHOLIC COURIER DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER, N.Y COLUMNS. THURSDAY, APRIL 28,1994 PAGE 19 NTARY Spirit of reconciliation has far to go By Father Richard P. McBrien ment expressing his appreciation for church and the Jews. ^ Syndicated columnist die pope's effort to commemorate the Jesus and the Apostles were Jews, Holocaust, adding that the concert it­ the "Declaration on the Relationship When the history of this pontificate self had "a significance that goes be­ of the Church to Non-Christian Reli­ is written, Pope John PauHI's out­ yond that of a simple artistic event." gions" (Nostra Aetate) pointed out. And reach to the Jews may be among his At an audience earlier in the day, a he Jewish people "still remain most most enduring achievements. survivor of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto dear to God." The most recent papal initiative is uprising told the pope: "As a young The council deplored "the hatred, of particular significance. Earlier this boy growing up in prewar Warsaw I persecutions, and displays of anti- month the pope invited Elio Toaff, feared crossing the sidewalk next to Semitism directed against the Jews at Rome's chief rabbi, to the Vatican as a church. Now, some 50 years later, any time and from any source," be­ guest of honor at a concert given by the unthinkable is happening." cause they contradict the cross's the London Royal Philharmonic Or­ A survivor of the death camps at meaning of Christ through which die chestra to honor die memory of Holo­ Auschwitz and Matthausen added: Prince of Peace "reconciled Jew and caust victims. ISSAYS "When the pope shook my hand, I Gentile, making them both one in In a land where gesture (figwra, in had the feeling 2,000 years of Jewish Himself" (n.4). Italian) is of die highest importance, IN suffering had come to some kind of For too many centuries, however, die pope may have been trying to un­ turning point." The pope, he said, Christ's cross has functioned for our derscore die two faiths' equal dignity THEOLOGY demonstrated "that there is a way to Jewish brothers and sisters not as a by seating die chief rabbi next to him­ live together in harmony and peace." symbol of peace and reconciliation, self on identical thrones. Jewish prayer for the dead, to Leonard The change in Cadiolic-Jewish re­ but of fear, division, and even death. A large menorah, or ceremonial Bernstein's music. Many in the hall lations had been initiated more than And that explains why, for exam­ candelabrum, stood out over the wept openly. 30 years earlier by Pope John XXIII ple, die Holocaust survivor at die Vat­ crowd of 5,000 invited guests, in­ "Many at diat time mourned, and and the Second Vatican Council. ican concert reported that, as a young cluding about 100 Holocaust survivors their lament resounds still," die pope In an audience with 130 U.S. Jews boy in Poland, he had been afraid to witii dieir children and grandchildren. said to the crowds. "We hear them in October of 1960, Pope John — who walk by a Catholic Church. Six survivors of die death camps lit here, too. Their lament did not per­ as a Vatican diplomat during the Our record has been, for the most six candles, representing the six mil­ ish with them, but lifts up strong, World War II had assisted in the es­ part, shameful. But thanks to vision­ lion Jews murdered by the Nazis. struggling, heartrending, and it says, cape of many Jews — told diem his fa­ ary leaders such as Pope John XXIII According to The New York Times, 'Do not forget us.'" vorite biblical story about Joseph rec­ and Pope John Paul II and to re­ die concert's high point came when "The candles lit by some of die sur­ ognizing his brothers. markable events such as die Second the cantor of Temple Emanu-El in vivors," he continued, "seek to "I am your brother," die pope con­ Vatican Council and tiiis recent Vati­ New YorX intoned in Hebrew the demonstrate symbolically that this hall cluded. "We are all sons of the same can concert, tiiat record.has begun at 92nd Psalm. "O Lord, it is good to has no narrow limits, but that it con­ Fadier. We come from die Fatiier, and last to improve. give thanks," to a composition writ­ tains all die victims: fathers, mothers, must return to the Father." The achievement of these individ­ ten by Schubert in 1826 for die dedi­ sons, brothers, friends. In our mem­ The Second Vatican Council that ual leaders and events, however, will cation of a synagogue in Vienna. ory they are all present They are widi Pope John himself had called to work be finally meaningless unless and un­ The pope himself was described as you; they are widi us." toward die unity of all peoples was es­ til the spirit of reconciliation perme­ being visibly moved when actor Although the chief rabbi did not pecially emphatic about the close spir­ ates the entire Catholic community, Richard Dreyfuss read Kaddish, die speak at the concert, he issued a state­ itual bonds that exist between the everywhere. What's reaUy going on in business today? They offer some short-term reli­ more concern widi die ultimate issues By Gregory F. Augustine Pierce gious trends, such as "an increasing and big questions about the meaning Syndicated columnist restiveness with conventional religious of life, the nature of reality, etc. Every .once in a while, something orthodoxies" and "a rise in interest in "Other trends related here include comes across my (jiesk that doesn't fit fundamentalist religions that offer so­ the growing recognition of the di­ into any of my existing categories. lace and a sense of certitude amid the vinity of the human spirit; the widen­ Such a thing was a copy of the "exec­ confusions and ambiguities" of today. ing appreciation of the power of the utive summary" of What's Really Go­ They also see "an erosion of the place mind; and the awareness that exis­ ing On? by F. Byron Nahser and Su­ religion has held in the civil identity tence has many planes beyond the san E. Mehrtens. of the nation," using examples such physical (e.g., mental, emotional, spir­ Described as "apre-publication pre­ as the increase thefts and looting of itual, etc.). While currently business sentation of a pragmatic mediod for church properties. may seem to be the antithesis of spir­ achieving success dirough self-doubt," They also see a host of trends "re­ ituality, in our long-term future it is this booklet turned out to be a 24- flecting Americans' personal in­ likely we will see a revisioning of busi­ page condensation of a 450-page study AITH volvement in seeking God, or in de­ ness, from being a way to earn a living done by an advertising firm in Chica­ termining the meaning and purpose (as most people think of it today), to go "designed to provide business widi AND of their lives." More people are re­ being a spiritual discipline, set in the a new method of determining what's defining "God" to be more inclusive context of personal 'vocation,' or di­ really going on in die face of our cur­ WORK of the feminine, and others are re­ vine calling." rent information overload." fusing to look to religious authority What do all these trends mean for The authors conducted a wide-rang­ and a broader understanding of die figures to tell them what's right or business? According to the authors, ing survey based on more than 6,000 role and value of their products." what to believe. The authors also see it means that "business must seize the books, monographs, articles and per­ One of die booklet's sections deals a trend toward "voluntary simplicity." opportunities that lie in die challenges sonal interviews and then used those with religion and spirituality. First, "The religious/spiritual aspects of we face now, by identifying its out­ to identify some of die surprising facts the authors offer some surprising life is likely to grow in coming decades moded assumptions, broadening its and long- and short-term trends of facts: a new religion is formed in the because the large cohort of baby thinking and vision, and seeing be­ our time. Their purpose was to "help U.S. every week; 63 percent of Amer­ boomers is aging, and the elderly are yond the reality of the moment." move business away from the short- icans believes die U.S. is in a state of well known for having more reli­ And if that's what they mean for term reactive mode and toward action moral decline; and die fastest grow­ gious/spiritual interest dian younger business, what do tiiey mean for those based on sharper interpretive skills ing religion in die U.S. is Islam. people," they write. "So expect to see of us involved with organized religion? 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