THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF NOSTRA AETATE was observed in a conference in Jerusalem last week:

Catholics Want Message of Respect for Jews to Continue
By Julie Stahl
CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief
November 04, 2005

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Catholic and Jewish scholars and theologians gathered in Jerusalem this week to mark the 40th anniversary of an important Catholic Church document acquitting the Jewish people of killing of Jesus Christ.

But scholars said they are concerned that the message of respect for the Jewish people could be forgotten by coming generations.

Blamed for the death of Jesus and considered rejected by God, the Jewish people suffered persecution, pogroms, torture and death at the hands of the Catholic Church, among others, for 1,900 years.

But a change in official Catholic doctrine came with the declaration of Nostra Aetate , a document accepted by the Second Vatican Council on October 28, 1965. It opened a door of friendship and diplomacy between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.

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