LETTERS
Jesus and the Jews Pope Benedict, in his latest book (“Pilate’s ques- tion answered”, 5 March), addresses that shocking verse in which St Matthew makes “the Jews” themselves take responsibility for the Crucifixion: “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” By seeing Christ’s blood as redemptive rather than retributive, Benedict succeeds in reading that verse against the grain of the Evangelist’s intention. This, however, raises questions about biblical authority and interpretation, which you explore in your leader “Dangerous days for the Jews” (5 March). What appears to bother you is that Pope Benedict recognises Matthew’s bias here in the light of the struggles between orthodox Jews and Christians of the period when he was writ- ing, not long after the destruction of the Temple and the exclusion of early Jewish Christians from the synagogues. What bothers me is Benedict’s claim to have provided the “correct meaning” of that verse as a blessing rather than a curse. Wouldn’t it be more “truthful” in terms of Aquinas’ adequacy to “the thing”, i.e. his- torical reality, to admit here to having to “correct” St Matthew’s hostility towards those Jews who had failed to accept Jesus as Messiah? That is not quite the same thing as claiming to provide the “correct meaning” to this gospel, is it? (Emeritus Professor) Terry Wright Newcastle upon Tyne
Your editorial comment that Pope Benedict “simply rejects Matthew’s historical accuracy” seems quite breathtaking. So, too, your suggestion of a mandatory health warning to the Lenten liturgy. It raises the perpetual problem of how to believe and trust biblical texts and yet remain truly Christian in our thoughts and actions towards minorities in modern-day life. If we are now to take exception to the anti- Semitic message in some of the gospels, where do we stand on all the other biblical passages that conflict with our progressive, car- ing attitudes to certain groups or themes? Can we now hope that Benedict will reflect on the difficulties other minority groups find them- selves in, in common with Jewish people, when trying to live their modern-day lives accord- ing to their consciences, when those consciences are at odds with historic biblical teaching? Jeremy D. Lampitt Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Stand up for the homeless In your report about the by-law proposing to ban rough sleeping and the “free distribution of food” in the area around Westminster Cathedral and a large part of central London (News from Britain and Ireland, 5 March), the council spokesman speaks of up to 100 people congregating on the piazza. Housing
The Editor of The Tablet 1 King Street Cloisters, Clifton Walk, London W6 0GY
Fax 020 8748 1550 Email
thetablet@thetablet.co.uk All correspondence, including email, must give a full postal address and contact telephone number. The Editor reserves the right to shorten letters.
the cathedral – yet the council persists in using outdated descriptions of the problem to whip up feeling against homeless people. We have tried hard to work with the council to nego- tiate better places for the soup runs to go, but have met with intransigence and resistance at every step. We urge them to abandon this draconian by-law proposal that flies in the face of common sense and common decency and come back to the negotiating table. I encour- age Tablet readers to express their feelings through the consultation (link from
www.housingjustice.org.uk). Alison Gelder Director, Housing Justice, London EC2
Homeless people are fed in an Islington church. Photo: Housing Justice
Justice leads a forum for soup runs and we have worked with the providers of free food over the last four years to reduce duplication, improve their practice (in terms of hygiene, rubbish disposal and crowd control) and to encourage people to offer food indoors rather than on the street. So there are now no regu - lar soup runs that distribute food in front of
Eric Gill’s Stations of the Cross Unlike many less fortunate victims of cleri- cal sexual abuse, I am able to live my life mostly without revisiting those hellish days, but occa- sionally I read or see something that brings back to me the awful pain. Your cover picture last week (5 March) of the Eric Gill Crucifixion and the inside illustrations of the rest of his Stations did just that. I was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral
12 March 2011 | THE TABLET | 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40