Cardinal Koch: opening to
others to curb anti-Semitism
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| cardinal Kurt Koch at the 5th World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem on January 23,2020 (ANSA) |
The Fifth World Holocaust Forum was held on Thursday at Yad
Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. The event, in commemoration of the 75th
anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland, was attended by more than 40 presidents, prime ministers and royal
families from Europe, North America and Australia.
By Robin Gomes
The Forum on the theme, “Remembering the Holocaust: Fighting
Antisemitism”, was organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation in
collaboration with Yad Vashem. The Holy See delegation was led by Cardinal Kurt
Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, within
which there is Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.
“I believe that the mere fact that so many representatives
of the States have come, also from a historical point of view, was meant to
send a strong signal against anti-Semitism,” the Swiss cardinal told Vatican
news, explaining the significance of the January 23 Forum.
He said, “it was evident, even in the many of the speeches,
that we must learn from history and that something like this must never happen
again.” He pointed out that anti-Semitism is not a chapter that has been
consigned to history books but is re-emerging even today, which should make us
think.
Speaking about the causes of antisemitism, Cardinal Koch
said they are many and cannot be summarized. “There are various reasons why
people are afraid of foreigners, of others, because of the many challenges they
face, and therefore this is transferred to Jews, for example.” He pointed out
that today we notice “strong nationalist tendencies, a new reappearance of
nationalism, which can also express itself in an anti-Semitic way”. Even though
the causes vary from country to country, he said that nationalism and populism
are the main causes.
In order to fight these trends, the cardinal said, one must
take seriously the fears of the people and help them overcome them. He cited
John's Gospel where Jesus tells his disciples they will have tribulations in
the world but they must have courage because He has conquered the world.
Catholics, the cardinal said, must take into account the fears of the people in
the certainty that “we can overcome these fears in faith by opening ourselves
to the other”.
“ To continue on this path,” Cardinal Koch said, “the
Catholic Church is called in a special way to deepen the common heritage with
Judaism - the common traditions, the shared values - and especially the
"Nostra Aetate", the great declaration of the Second Vatican Council
on Jewish-Christian dialogue.
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