When Pope Benedict XV Reminded the Jews that Salvation is Found in the Gospels

Vatican Letter of Feb. 9, 1916

When Pope Benedict XV Reminded the Jews that Salvation is Found in the Gospels

Last week ‘Bishop’ Joseph Charles Bambera of Scranton, Pennsylvania, caused a ruckus when in his role as chairman of the USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, he posted the following video message for Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Talmudic Judaism:

.
Bambera began thus: “As our Jewish friends and neighbors observe Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, I want to extend my warmest wishes for a meaningful and a peaceful day.”

So far, so bad. Observing Yom Kippur is spiritually worthless, nay harmful, as what was once a day instituted by God in anticipation of the Atonement of the Redeemer Jesus Christ (see Lev 23:26-32), can now no longer be observed. The reason is that doing so would imply a rejection of the True Atonement of Christ, which Yom Kippur in the Mosaic Law merely prefigured: “For the Law, having but a shadow of the good things to come, and not the exact image of the objects, is never able by the sacrifices which they offer continually, year after year the same, to perfect those who draw near” (Heb 10:1; Confraternity).

Under a chapter heading of “On Superstition” and a section subtitle of “Wrong Ways of Worshipping God”, the Jesuit moral theologian Fr. Thomas Slater confirms this:

God may be wrongly worshipped either by false worship or by superfluous worship being paid him. … The ceremonies and practices of the Jewish religion signified that the Messiah was to come, and so now, after the coming of our Lord, they could not be employed without superstition [=false worship]. Inasmuch as falsehood in religion is a grave injury to God, this species of superstition is mortally sinful.

(Fr. Thomas Slater, S.J., A Manual of Moral Theology, vol. 1, 5th ed. [London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1925], p. 140; underlining added.)

Thus it is clear that one is not permitted to observe the Old Covenant rites or practices today, under pain of mortal sin. Hence the Council of Florence taught clearly that the rites of the Old Law,

although they were suited to the divine worship at that time, after our Lord’s coming had been signified by them, ceased, and the sacraments of the New Testament began; and that whoever, even after the passion, placed hope in these matters of the law and submitted himself to them as necessary for salvation, as if faith in Christ could not save without them, sinned mortally. Yet it does not deny that after the passion of Christ up to the promulgation of the Gospel they could have been observed until they were believed to be in no way necessary for salvation; but after the promulgation of the Gospel it asserts that they cannot be observed without the loss of eternal salvation.

(Council of Florence, Bull Cantate Domino; Denz. 712)

The Old Covenant was but meant to point to and foreshadow a greater reality, and because that reality has since been revealed and come to pass, it is now gravely sinful to turn back again, as though one would prefer the shadow to the reality of which it is but the sign. It would make no sense and constitute an absurd mockery of God, akin to preferring the Old Testament manna to the true Body and Blood of our Savior (cf. Jn 6:59; Mk 14:22), or to abandoning Christ in order to follow St. John the Baptist (cf. Mt 3:11; Jn 3:30).

In his message, Bp. Bambera makes reference to supposed “deep spiritual bonds” that he believes unite Jews and Catholics, and on account of which Catholics are allegedly called (by whom?) “to deepen our understanding of Judaism and of the Jewish people”.

He ends his spiritually harmful message with the Hebrew words “g’mar chatima tova“, which is a “greeting used between Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur meaning ‘a good ending of the sealing in the Book of Life'” (Jewish English Lexicon).

Although the idea of a Book of Life goes back to the Old Testament (see Ex 32:32-33; Ps 68:29; Ecclus 24:32) and is clearly taught in the New (see Phil 4:3; Apoc 20:15), the “sealing in the Book of Life” concept appears to stem from the Talmud, which is one of the main religious texts of apostate Judaism.

What Bambera did on behalf of the USCCB, the so-called United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is nothing short of giving an endorsement of Judaism. Certainly, he wasn’t saying he is Jewish, nor that any Catholic should become Jewish. But he did communicate between the lines that Judaism is pleasing to God, that it is a legitimate religion to embrace.

This is precisely the error condemned by Pope Pius XI, “that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule” (Encyclical Mortalium Animos, n. 2).

Whatever may be Bambera’s exact position on the Jewish religion, he was clearly indicating that it is good enough for God.

Celebrating Yom Kippur means still waiting for the first arrival of the Messiah. Why would a man who claims to be a Roman Catholic bishop send his “warmest wishes” for such an observance, hoping that the day is “meaningful” for those who celebrate it?

Our Blessed Lord foretold sternly: “I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive” (Jn 5:43); “For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, and they shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce (if it were possible) even the elect” (Mk 13:22).

Alas, the USCCB is doing exactly nothing to help Jewish people recognize the true Messiah. No, it is worse than nothing: They continually reaffirm today’s Jews in their unbelief. And they do this in spite of Our Lord’s warnings: “…if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin” (Jn 8:24); “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned” (Mk 16:16).

We can contrast the foregoing with how the Vatican reacted to a Jewish request for the intervention of the Pope on behalf of Jews in Poland during World War I (1914-1918).

On Dec. 30, 1915, the American Jewish Committee had sent a petition to Pope Benedict XV (r. 1914-1922) to use his moral and spiritual influence to ease the suffering of Jewish people in certain regions during the Great War. To that end, they included a copy of their book The Jews in the Eastern War Zone.

Their petition states:

New York, December 30, 1915.

Your Holiness:

The petitioners, who are citizens of the United States of America and adherents of the Jewish faith, have learned with increasing horror of the unspeakable cruelties and hardships visited upon their co-religionists in various belligerent lands since the outbreak of the present worldconflict. Far beyond the sufferings which this calamity has inflicted upon those of other faiths, and in addition to the ravages and destruction occasioned by the clash of the contending armies to all who come within the sphere of their hostilities, the Jews have been marked for especial persecution, and have been subjected to oppressive measures not borne by their compatriots of other creeds. Passion and prejudice have been fomented against our unhappy brethren, frequently by those who bear the same political allegiance, until their lot has ceased to be endurable. In some of the lands where they have long resided their very neighbors are bent upon their annihilation, practising against them the most refined cruelty, and in many instances by means of an economic boycott condemning them to literal starvation. We submit herewith ascertained facts which tell but in small part the hideous truth.

Fully persuaded that had Your Holiness been acquainted with these facts the Holy See would at once have exercised the profound moral, ethical, and religious influence with which the Roman Catholic Church is endowed, upon those who regard Your Holiness as their Shepherd, but who have unfortunately participated in this persecution, with all due veneration we now approach the Supreme Pontiff for succor in this the bitter hour of our need, knowing the exemplary humanity for which Your Holiness is justly distinguished. It is our sincere prayer that the occasion may be deemed a fitting one for resort to the authority vested in the Sovereign of the great Roman Catholic Hierarchy, to urge His Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and Priests to admonish their flocks to hold in abhorrence these acts of persecution, of prejudice and of cruelty, which have overwhelmed our unfortunate brethren.

We recall with admiration and gratitude that on many occasions in the past some of the revered predecessors of Your Holiness have under like conditions extended protection to those of the Jewish faith, in the interest of right and justice. Appreciating the transcendent importance which the entire civilized world attaches to any utterance from so exalted a source of morality and wisdom as that which Your Holiness represents, we confidently express the hope that timely action be taken by the Vatican, to the end that the sufferings under which millions of our brethren in faith are now weighed down may be terminated by an act of that humanity to which Your Holiness is so passionately devoted, and that the cruel intolerance and the unjust prejudice which have been aroused against them may forever vanish before this glorious exercise of Your Supreme Moral and Spiritual Power.

We beg Your Holiness to believe us to be,
Your most respectful petitioners,
THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE,

Louis Marshall, President.
[etc.]

(Source: Samson D. Oppenheim, ed., The American Jewish Year Book 5678 [Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917], pp. 453-456)

The Vatican’s reply, written by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Gasparri (1852-1934), came swiftly. We reproduce it below. Note in particular the portions we have underlined.

SECRETARY OF STATE TO HIS HOLINESS
FROM THE VATICAN,

No. 13,726

February 9, 1916.

Gentlemen:

The Supreme Pontiff has with interest taken notice of the letter bearing date December 30, 1915, which you have been pleased to address to him in the name of the three million Jewish citizens of the United States of America, in order to communicate to him generally the treatment to which your coreligionists complain that they have been exposed in various regions, and at the same time you have requested him to interpose the weight of his supreme moral and spiritual power, in order that these sufferings may be terminated by an act of that humanity to which the Holy Father is so passionately devoted.

The Supreme Pontiff is unable to express himself concerning the special facts referred to in the memorandum submitted with your letter, but in principle, as the head of the Catholic Church, which, faithful to its divine doctrine and to its most glorious traditions, considers all men as brethren and teaches them to love one another, he will not cease to inculcate the observance among individuals as among nations of the principles of natural right, and to reprove every violation of them. This right should be observed and respected in relation to the Children of Israel as it should be as to all men, for it would not conform to justice and to religion itself to derogate therefrom solely because of a difference of religious faith.

Moreover, in his paternal heart, pained by the spectacle of the existing horrible war, the Supreme Pontiff feels in this moment more deeply than ever the necessity that all men shall recollect that they are brothers and that their salvation lies in the return of the law of love, which is the law of the Gospels. He also desires to interest to this noble end all who, especially by reason of the sacred attributes of their pastoral ministrations, are able to bring efficient aid to this important result.

In the meantime His Holiness rejoices in the unity which in civil matters exists in the United States of America among the members of different faiths and which contributes so powerfully to the peaceful prosperity of your great country. He prays to God that peace may at length appear for the happiness of that humanity of which you truly say the Holy Father is the guardian.

Accept, gentlemen, the assurances of my most distinguished and devoted sentiments.

(Signed) P. Cardinal Gasparri

To Mr. Louis Marshall, President,
and to the Members of the Executive Committee
of The American Jewish Committee

(Source: Samson D. Oppenheim, ed., The American Jewish Year Book 5678 [Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1917], pp. 455-456; underlining added.)

This Vatican reply is masterful. Let’s take a closer look at it.

First, notice how Cardinal Gasparri (representing Pope Benedict XV) adeptly avoids taking sides. He does not accept as true the complaints being made, because he does not know them to be true; nor does he dismiss them, because he does not know them to be false. He simply remains on the level of what is objectively certain, namely, that some Jewish people are complaining about how their confreres are being treated in some parts of the world. Hence he refers to “the treatment to which your coreligionists complain that they have been exposed in various regions” and states explicitly that the Pope “is unable to express himself concerning the special facts referred to in the memorandum submitted with your letter.”

At the same time, His Eminence hastens to add what can be affirmed in principle, namely, that all people are naturally brethren (since they all descend from the same set of parents, Adam and Eve) and that we have an obligation to love everyone without exception, even our enemies: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mt 22:39); “Love your enemies” (Mt 5:44); “Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood, with honour preventing one another” (Rom 12:9-10); “Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal 6:10); “And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ: and love one another, as he hath given commandment unto us” (1 Jn 3:23).

Justice and charity are a matter of natural law, and the natural law applies equally to all members of the human race. Hence, whether someone be Jewish or Christian, Hindu or atheist, justice must be done and injustice avoided/condemned. This is Catholic doctrine; it is what the Pope himself teaches.

Next, Pope Benedict, by the pen of Cardinal Gasparri, uses the opportunity to elevate the minds of the Jewish interlocutors from the level of natural brotherhood to that of supernatural realities. He reminds them that not only is the human race one in terms of its origin but also in terms of its end. The Creator who made humanity is also its Redeemer, and He wishes to see all arrive at the same heavenly destination, to which he has gratuitously called them, and which is the purpose of their existence: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).

Pope Benedict XV’s immediate predecessor, St. Pius X, had underscored this in his letter suppressing the Sillonist movement in France: “No, Venerable Brethren, there is no genuine fraternity outside Christian charity. Through the love of God and His Son Jesus Christ Our Saviour, Christian charity embraces all men, comforts all, and leads all to the same faith and same heavenly happiness” (Apostolic Letter Notre Charge Apostolique).

Thus Cardinal Gasparri reminds the Jews that above and beyond their legitimate temporal concerns, there is still the question of eternal salvation, which is infinitely more important; and that to attain it, they must convert from the Mosaic Law to the “law of love, which is the law of the Gospels” (see Jn 13:34).

This goes to show that, contrary to what is frequently suggested in our present time, one can be cordial and kind in one’s dealings with Jewish people and denounce injustices committed against them, and still preach the Gospel to them, reminding them that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. These are not mutually exclusive endeavors.

We can contrast all this with what a few years back the false pope Francis (r. 2013-2025) told the Jews, via his chief ecumenist ‘Cardinal’ Kurt Koch, namely, that the way of salvation for the Jews even today is the Law of Moses: “The abiding Christian conviction is that Jesus Christ is the new way of salvation. However, this does not mean that the Torah is diminished or no longer recognized as the ‘way of salvation for Jews'” (Letter to Rabbi Rasson Arussi, Sep. 3, 2021).

It is clear that before the public manifestation of the Messiah, salvation could only be found in Judaism, for that was the religion that had been revealed by God to the people he had chosen, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to prepare the world for the Savior. Hence our Blessed Lord declared to the Samaritan woman at the well that “salvation is of the Jews” (Jn 4:22).

However, this was merely the preparatory stage for the great drama of Redemption and sanctification. Once the Messiah had come and sealed the New and Eternal Covenant in His Blood, had established His Church and sent His ministers to preach the Gospel and sanctify souls, salvation could no longer be had by clinging to the Mosaic Law that had merely anticipated, and prepared people for, the Redeemer. Now it was necessary to cling to the Redeemer Himself through Faith, hope, and charity: “Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn 3:5); “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me” (Jn 14:6); “Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12); “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. He that confesseth the Son, hath the Father also” (1 Jn 2:23).

It is extremely tragic that the people in charge of the Vatican II Church do not preach the Gospel to the Jews. It is not, however, surprising, for it seems clear that they themselves do not believe in it.

Image source: composite with elements from Wikimedia Commons and Shutterstock (artaxerxes_photo/Denis—S)
Licenses: public domain and paid