The Excommunication of St. Paul the Apostle by the Inmates of the Asylum known as the Post-Conciliar Roman Catholic Church
By Michael Hoffman • www.revisionisthistory.org
USCCB News Release
11-109
May 24, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON (May 24, 2011)—The National Council of Synagogues and the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discussed “Sources of Authority in Catholicism and Judaism” at their semi-annual consultation in New York City on May 17. Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Chairman of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, and Rabbi Alvin Berkun of Pittsburgh, Chairman of the National Council of Synagogues, presided.
Father James Massa, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, spoke on the “sources of authority” in the Catholic theological tradition. He noted both similarities and differences between Catholic and Jewish ways to interpret sacred texts and pass on religious beliefs and practices.
“One of the obvious differences between our two faith communities is that while no one rabbi or religious body can speak for all Jews, the Church has a ‘Magisterium’ made of bishops in communion with the pope, whose interpretation and application of the word of God can be binding on all Catholic believers,” Father Massa said.
His presentation highlighted the levels of authoritative teaching in the Church, to which are owed corresponding degrees of assent. Father Massa noted that some teachings on Jews and Judaism found in Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Non-Christian Religions, reaches the level of dogma or defined doctrine. “One cannot hold to the charge that the Jewish people, either in the first century or at any other time, are responsible for the death of Jesus (the so-called charge of deicide) without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church. It contradicts both Vatican II (1962-1965) and the Council of Trent (1548-1563), not to mention a proper reading of the New Testament,” Father Massa stated.
Father Massa suggested that when Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that for Catholics the Jewish covenant remains a living and positive reality today, they were not speaking on the same level as an ecumenical council like Vatican II. “However, their teaching reflects the deeper impulses of the council, which were directed at laying to rest the teaching of contempt (that God had rejected the Jewish people) and at putting Jewish-Catholic relations on a new course of friendship and shared commitment to healing the world. Such authentic teaching could achieve—God willing—an even more authoritative and solemn expression by some future pope or council,” he noted.
Rabbi Avram Reisner, professor of ethics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, presented on sources of religious authority in Judaism. “Everything begins with the Torah, viewed as the revealed word of God,” Reisner said. When it comes to normative religious practice, the interpretations of prophets, sages, and rabbis whose judgments gave rise to the Mishnah (2nd century C.E.), and later the Talmud (completed in the 7th century C.E.), would be decisive in mediating the word to subsequent generations, he said.
At only one point in Jewish history did Judaism ever have a body of authoritative teachers that approximates what Catholics mean by a Magisterium. Reisner pointed out that this was the period of the Sanhedrin (200 B.C.E.—70 C.E), the Pharisaical council that ruled on matters of the Torah from Jerusalem. “Is it any coincidence that the Christian community emerges from Judaism precisely at the time when such a body of authoritative teachers is in place for the parent religion?” Reisner asked.
Throughout the medieval period and into the modern age, authority in Judaism resides in majority practice and in the judiciary. Reisner spoke about the importance of the responsa in forming schools of interpretation. Local rabbis would make a ruling on a particular religious ritual or obligation, and then solicit a confirmation of the ruling or a better opinion from other legal scholars. Over time the “responses” to these inquires were collected and formed the great legal codes of Maimonides (d. 1204) and Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (d. 1575), which remain classic sources of religious rulings till this day.
Reisner also examined different contemporary approaches to religious law and ethics within the various denominations of Jewry. The Orthodox view the first five books of Moses as “God’s literal word” having divine authority, he noted; whereas the Conservatives place the Torah within a tradition of unfolding interpretation that includes modern historical perspectives. For the Reform and Reconstructionists, Jewish history and law inform religious practice but in a manner that allows for a wide degree of interpretation based on contemporary needs.
The group also discussed recent uprisings in the Middle East. Members expressed concern for the large Christian minorities in Egypt and Syria, where the situation is volatile. Regime change in many of these countries poses particular challenges for Israeli security and peace efforts with Palestinians, they noted.
The beatification of the late Pope John Paul II on May 1 was acknowledged as a cause for celebration for both Catholics and Jews. The late pope made extraordinary gestures of friendship, culminating in the historic visit to the Wall in Jerusalem where he asked pardon of God for past sins committed by Catholics against Jews.
Catholic participants at the consultation also included Bishop Basil H. Losten, former bishop of Stamford for Ukrainians; Auxiliary Bishop Denis Madden of Baltimore; Christian Brother David Carroll, former associate director at Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Atonement Father James Loughran, Graymoor Ecumenical Institute; Msgr. Guy Massie, Ecumenical Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York; Father Dennis McManus, special assistant to Archbishop Dolan; Father Robert Robbins, Ecumenical Office of the Archdiocese of New York; and Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen,America Magazine.
Jewish participants included Rabbi Jerome Davidson, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth El, Great Neck, New York; Rabbi Lewis Eron, Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Judith Hertz, NCS Advisor; Rabbi Richard Marker, chairman of the International Committee for Jewish-Christian Consultation; Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice-president emeritus of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Mark Pelavin of the Reform Action Center, Washington; Rabbi Jonathan Waxman, Temple Beth Sholom, Smithtown, New York; Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, past president of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Rabbi David Straus, Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal, National Council of Synagogues; Jack Fein, United Synagogue ofConservative Judaism; Rabbi Richard Hirsh, Reconstrucionist Rabbinical Association; Rabbi Moshe Birnbaum, Rabbinical Assembly.
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Keywords: National Council of Synagogues, Commission on Relations with the Jewish People, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, “Sources of Authority in Catholicism and Judaismm,” dialogue, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Alvin Berkun, Father James Massa, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Avram Reisner
Father James Massa, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, spoke on the “sources of authority” in the Catholic theological tradition. He noted both similarities and differences between Catholic and Jewish ways to interpret sacred texts and pass on religious beliefs and practices.
“One of the obvious differences between our two faith communities is that while no one rabbi or religious body can speak for all Jews, the Church has a ‘Magisterium’ made of bishops in communion with the pope, whose interpretation and application of the word of God can be binding on all Catholic believers,” Father Massa said.
His presentation highlighted the levels of authoritative teaching in the Church, to which are owed corresponding degrees of assent. Father Massa noted that some teachings on Jews and Judaism found in Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Non-Christian Religions, reaches the level of dogma or defined doctrine. “One cannot hold to the charge that the Jewish people, either in the first century or at any other time, are responsible for the death of Jesus (the so-called charge of deicide) without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church. It contradicts both Vatican II (1962-1965) and the Council of Trent (1548-1563), not to mention a proper reading of the New Testament,” Father Massa stated.
Father Massa suggested that when Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI affirmed that for Catholics the Jewish covenant remains a living and positive reality today, they were not speaking on the same level as an ecumenical council like Vatican II. “However, their teaching reflects the deeper impulses of the council, which were directed at laying to rest the teaching of contempt (that God had rejected the Jewish people) and at putting Jewish-Catholic relations on a new course of friendship and shared commitment to healing the world. Such authentic teaching could achieve—God willing—an even more authoritative and solemn expression by some future pope or council,” he noted.
Rabbi Avram Reisner, professor of ethics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, presented on sources of religious authority in Judaism. “Everything begins with the Torah, viewed as the revealed word of God,” Reisner said. When it comes to normative religious practice, the interpretations of prophets, sages, and rabbis whose judgments gave rise to the Mishnah (2nd century C.E.), and later the Talmud (completed in the 7th century C.E.), would be decisive in mediating the word to subsequent generations, he said.
At only one point in Jewish history did Judaism ever have a body of authoritative teachers that approximates what Catholics mean by a Magisterium. Reisner pointed out that this was the period of the Sanhedrin (200 B.C.E.—70 C.E), the Pharisaical council that ruled on matters of the Torah from Jerusalem. “Is it any coincidence that the Christian community emerges from Judaism precisely at the time when such a body of authoritative teachers is in place for the parent religion?” Reisner asked.
Throughout the medieval period and into the modern age, authority in Judaism resides in majority practice and in the judiciary. Reisner spoke about the importance of the responsa in forming schools of interpretation. Local rabbis would make a ruling on a particular religious ritual or obligation, and then solicit a confirmation of the ruling or a better opinion from other legal scholars. Over time the “responses” to these inquires were collected and formed the great legal codes of Maimonides (d. 1204) and Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (d. 1575), which remain classic sources of religious rulings till this day.
Reisner also examined different contemporary approaches to religious law and ethics within the various denominations of Jewry. The Orthodox view the first five books of Moses as “God’s literal word” having divine authority, he noted; whereas the Conservatives place the Torah within a tradition of unfolding interpretation that includes modern historical perspectives. For the Reform and Reconstructionists, Jewish history and law inform religious practice but in a manner that allows for a wide degree of interpretation based on contemporary needs.
The group also discussed recent uprisings in the Middle East. Members expressed concern for the large Christian minorities in Egypt and Syria, where the situation is volatile. Regime change in many of these countries poses particular challenges for Israeli security and peace efforts with Palestinians, they noted.
The beatification of the late Pope John Paul II on May 1 was acknowledged as a cause for celebration for both Catholics and Jews. The late pope made extraordinary gestures of friendship, culminating in the historic visit to the Wall in Jerusalem where he asked pardon of God for past sins committed by Catholics against Jews.
Catholic participants at the consultation also included Bishop Basil H. Losten, former bishop of Stamford for Ukrainians; Auxiliary Bishop Denis Madden of Baltimore; Christian Brother David Carroll, former associate director at Catholic Near East Welfare Association; Atonement Father James Loughran, Graymoor Ecumenical Institute; Msgr. Guy Massie, Ecumenical Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York; Father Dennis McManus, special assistant to Archbishop Dolan; Father Robert Robbins, Ecumenical Office of the Archdiocese of New York; and Jesuit Father Drew Christiansen,America Magazine.
Jewish participants included Rabbi Jerome Davidson, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth El, Great Neck, New York; Rabbi Lewis Eron, Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Judith Hertz, NCS Advisor; Rabbi Richard Marker, chairman of the International Committee for Jewish-Christian Consultation; Rabbi Joel Meyers, executive vice-president emeritus of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Mark Pelavin of the Reform Action Center, Washington; Rabbi Jonathan Waxman, Temple Beth Sholom, Smithtown, New York; Rabbi Jeffrey Wohlberg, past president of the (Conservative) Rabbinical Assembly; Rabbi David Straus, Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi Gilbert Rosenthal, National Council of Synagogues; Jack Fein, United Synagogue ofConservative Judaism; Rabbi Richard Hirsh, Reconstrucionist Rabbinical Association; Rabbi Moshe Birnbaum, Rabbinical Assembly.
---
Keywords: National Council of Synagogues, Commission on Relations with the Jewish People, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, “Sources of Authority in Catholicism and Judaismm,” dialogue, Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Alvin Berkun, Father James Massa, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Rabbi Avram Reisner
(End quote from the USCCB. Emphasis supplied)
The following New Testament Scripture has been nullified by the the Second Vatican Council, two popes (one "Blessed" and the other still reigning), and the current bishops of the United States, in a manner similar to the way in which the rabbis have nullified the Old Testament: "...the interpretations of prophets, sages, and rabbis whose judgments gave rise to the Mishnah (2nd century C.E.), and later the Talmud (completed in the 7th century C.E.), would be decisive in mediating the word to subsequent generations."
1 Thessalonians 2: 14-16
Well Mr. Hoffman, what do you expect? The blind leaders of the blind wallowing around in the sewage ditch, making pious pronouncements that only the ignorant listen to. Does Rev. 18:4-5 ring a bell?
ReplyDeleteI thought St. Paul was already condemned. I was told to my face by a priest and another, the head of the Catholic education in the city, that St. Paul was a misogynist! At that point, I left the Church for the Greek Orthodox Church.
ReplyDeleteOrdering women to wear scarves in church, commanded a woman to obey her husband and females have to be trained to be submissive--is the grounds on which St. Paul is a misogynist.
St. Paul is a very evil creature in the sight of the JudeoRomanCatholicChurch.
Boy, they hate St. Paul, don't they? I had one priest even tell me, "St. Paul can go jump in a lake!" Maybe this is explanatory: "Therefore God is sending upon them a spirit which leads them to give credence to falsehood, so that all who have not believed in the truth but have delighted in evildoing will be condemned." 2 Thess 11-12
ReplyDeleteBackground - Who are the players?
ReplyDeleteA. The United Religions Initiative (URI) is an interfaith movement founded in 1995 by William Swing, the bishop of the Episcopal Church's diocese in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has expanded worldwide, with over 200 chapters - the majority of which are outside the affluent nations of North America, Western Europe, and the Pacific Rim.
The URI works closely with the United Nations, and it has received funding from many sources. Among them are wealthy donors (including foundations headed by George Soros and Bill Gates), a Federal agency (the United States Institute of Peace), and organizations (the Rudolf Steiner Foundation and the Lucis Trust World Service Fund) that promote various forms of Theosophy, an anti-Christian, New Age spiritual movement.
The URI supports the Earth Charter, a radical environmental manifesto promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev. President Bush, a neo-conservative Republican, and Grey Davis, the embattled liberal Democratic governor of California, have both commended the interfaith work of the URI and Bishop Swing.
URI leaders repeatedly equate evangelism to manipulative "proselytizing" and violence. As Bishop Swing has said, "In order for a United Religions to come about and for religions to pursue peace among each other, there will have to be a godly cease-fire, a temporary truce where the absolute exclusive claims of each will be honored, but an agreed-upon neutrality will be exercised in terms of proselytizing, condemning, murdering or dominating. These will not be tolerated in the United Religions zone" (1) - which evidently covers the whole world.
URI leaders say "proselytizing" is the work of "fundamentalists," and Paul Chafee (who was then a URI board member) said at a URI forum in 1997, "We can't afford fundamentalists in a world this small." (2) If the URI vision prevails, Christian evangelism based on the unique, saving identity and acts of Christ would be ruled out.
SOURCE: http://www.mgr.org/MoonieCrossURI.html
Ohhh, and another reason that St. Paul is condemned.....
ReplyDeleteHe returned a slave to his master!
That is outrageous. The Greek Orthodox Church has never condemned slavery.
Secondly, one of the canons approved by the Ecumenical councils is that it anathemitized anyone who taught a slave to run away from its master. It kinda of puts all those abolitionists in hot water. That canon has never been rescinded.
St. Paul is very very evil.
St Paul is truly a great hero of the RCC and Bible. Anyone who talks against him is a false prophet and a wolf in sheep's clothing. The New Church of Vatican II is leading catholics into the apostasy of the one world church of antichrist. I follow the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church before Vatican II.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wonder is why a group of rabbis is involved in Roman Catholic tenets.
ReplyDeleteMaybe my uneducated self is missing some salient point(s) but it seems to me a tad late in the game to be mucking around with all of this. But then of course, Catholic writings have been mucked around with and rewritten ever since they were first recorded.
Paul is disliked because he cuts it to the quick concerning the identity of the enemy of the Church....and all that come to God (should)become aware of His (their?) enemy. They would like many of the things Paul says to be normative, even to the point of psychoanalyzing him in sexually abnormal terms, but it's just ad hominem desperation from folks that stumble at the teachings of the most vital expository analyst of God's Word
ReplyDelete.....seems that Hoffman's book Judaism Discovered says it best on the top of page 405..."Those who claim the mantle of Christ and then give the deceptions of the rabbis the benefit of the doubt, are a type of Judas, which is to say, a type of satan (John 13:27). This deception finds its climax in the work of the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2: 3-12), which is the nature of the religion of Orthodox Judaism since its inception in the first century A.D., to personify Antichrist. The witness of Christianity challenges this personification. But what happens to that challenge, when there no longer is a faithful witness?"
What indeed. And how does this attitude creep in? Seems to me it's universalism. When a man's individual culture is allowed/promoted to override the reason of particular and absolute faith. (not to be confused with Augustine's insidious Neoplatonic "Reason")
Felipe Fernandez Armesto drives it home best....."Man is not an economic animal. Enlightened self-interest does not always guide our decisions, especially when we make them collectively. Idleness and willfulness are more generalized human characteristics than enlightened self-interest, and people rarely opt, in search for long term gains, for solutions which involve an immediate sacrifice of time and liberty."
I think if an historian could have ever encapsulated the idea of Satan inadvertently striving for preeminence throughout the Bible, then Armesto's statement, conjoined with Hoffman's, takes the prize...
(Our)"Culture is more important than Reason"
See the article by Bp. Richard Williamson at http://revisionistreview.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-can-pope-benedict-let-go-of-ancient.html where he courageously states what we see in Mr. Hoffman's above article, "Worse, on May 17 the executive director of the US Bishops’ Conference’s Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs said that one cannot charge the Jewish people with deicide at any time in history without falling out of communion with the Catholic Church."
ReplyDeleteJames B. Phillips
Has anyone heard of the "Palace of Religions" that a Roman politician presented and that the present Pope liked. It would be in Rome and on the premise of the U.N. Also, the Vatican has a non-voting seat in the U.N. and Rome has control of two U.N. entities which concerns the world food supply.
ReplyDeleteIt should be noted that the crypto-rabbi James Massa was for years assigned to offer the Latin Mass for one of the larger Indult/Motu traditionalist groups at NYC.
ReplyDelete