Pope: Cardinal Bea a model
and inspiration for dialogue
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| Pope Francis meets participants commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Augustin Bea (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis addresses participants from a meeting
commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Augustin Bea.
By Lydia O'Kane
Cardinal Augustin Bea was the first President of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and worked tirelessly in the
field of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Cardinal’s death, the
Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies in collaboration with the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and
the Center for the Study of Christianity in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,
have been holding a series of scholarly lectures.
Addressing participants on Thursday, Pope Francis called
Cardinal Bea, “an outstanding figure”, who should not only be remembered for
what he did, but also the way he did it. “He remains”, the Pope said, “a model
and a source of inspiration for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and in
an eminent way for the “intra-familial” dialogue with Judaism.” Pope Francis
recalled that Nahum Goldmann, then President of the World Jewish Congress, used
three words to describe Bea: ‘understanding, good and courageous’
Love and respect, primary principles of dialogue
The Pope said that, “Cardinal Bea was convinced that love
and respect are the primary principles of dialogue.” But the Pontiff also noted
that the Cardinal did not always have it easy and “faced a number of obstacles
in his efforts on behalf of dialogue.”
“Although accused and maligned” commented the Pope, “he
moved forward with the perseverance of one who never stops loving. When told
that the times were not ripe for what the then Secretariat for Promoting
Christian Unity was proposing, he responded spiritedly: ‘Then we have to make
them ripe’.”
Pope Francis continued, “neither an optimist nor a
pessimist, he was a realist about the future of unity: on the one hand,
conscious of the difficulties, on the other convinced of the need to respond to
the heartfelt desire of the Lord that his disciples be ‘one’”.
“As Cardinal Bea put it”, emphasized Pope Francis, ‘the
Council should not be a goal but rather a point of departure’”. The Pope
underlined that, “dialogue calls for hearing two voices, and the witness of Jewish
and Catholic instructors who teach together is worth more than many speeches.”
Pass beyond boundaries
“Up to now”, he pointed out, “Jewish-Christian dialogue has
often taken place in settings for the most part reserved to specialists.” The
Pope then added that, “friendship and dialogue between Jews and Christians need
to pass beyond the boundaries of the scientific community. It would be
wonderful, for example, if in the same city rabbis and parish priests could
work, together with their respective communities, in service to those in need
and by promoting paths of peace and dialogue with all.”
Pope Francis concluded by expressing the hope that this
commemoration of the person and work of Cardinal Bea would be a stimulus to
strengthening the irreversible commitment to the quest for unity between
Christians, and to promoting in concrete ways renewed Jewish, Christian
friendship.
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