grandmother did not want to speak about it prior to that.” Beth Shalom emerged from the reform con- gregation that grew up around the United States military base near Munich in the Cold War era. When the base was shut down there were enough resident believers to warrant a full-time rabbi. Dr Kucera, who left his native Czech Republic in 1989 at 19 and later earned a doctorate in biochemistry in Germany, entered the Abraham Geiger seminary in 2002 and by 2006 was one of the first three reform rabbis trained in a German rabbinical seminary since the closure of the last seminary by the Nazis. As the Jewish community in Germany increasingly feels more confident about its identity, that lends strength to Jews in neigh- bouring countries. According to Rabbi Kucera, who has spent years travelling one weekend or Shabbat in four to the Czech Republic to minister to a flock sometimes as small as six, for some there is “still a shyness and even a fear” about acknowledging their Jewishness, especially among the older generation. “Several times I’ve heard the question: ‘What if it hap- pens again?’,” he explained.
monotheistic belief in one God”, which he says is important for an increasingly secu- larised Europe. “Christianity and Jewish belief have many things in common and any mes- sage which brings us closer to peace and realising that there is one God is welcome”, he added. But there is also regret over the decision to lift the excommunication on the Society of St Pius X’s (SSPX) Richard Wil- liamson, who days later was revealed as denying the Holocaust. Rabbi Kucera, though acknowledging Pope Benedict is “very open towards Judaism”, says there was widespread disappointment at Williamson’s welcome back to the Catholic Church following overtures by the Vatican to the SSPX. “Everyone felt this decision threw us back
M
several decades,” Charlotte Knobloch told The Tablet. “I’m delighted that the Pope is coming to Germany. It means a great deal to the people of this country, especially of course to the Christians in Germany.” But she, too, under- lines that though the Jewish community “work very closely with the Churches” and “have excellent relations” with them, “in the past we have had problems with the Vatican, espe- cially their attitude towards the Holocaust denier Williamson”. She also cites the “revival of the Good Friday prayer for the Jews – refer- ring to the prayer contained within the Tridentine Rite Mass – as another bone of contention. As for her
fellow countryman, Mrs
Knobloch said she holds the Pope “in high regard as a Bavarian, and I’m delighted for him and the Catholic Church in Bavaria that he became Pope”. But she added: “Our biog- raphies, however, couldn’t be more different.”
■Sarah Mac Donald is a freelance journalist.
unich’s Jewish representatives welcome the papal visit. For Rabbi Dray, Pope Benedict is one who can “strengthen
CHRISTOPHER JAMISON
‘There are parallels between marriage and religious life as both diminish in number’
Bishops and cats both have an aversion to being herded. So it’s to the credit of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales that they have come together and formulated a common strategy for the Church in this country over the next three to five years.
During his visit to Britain last
year, Pope Benedict offered what they call a “Vision for the Church in Our Land”. They see this vision as comprising three parts: mission, teaching and witness. The first priority is the mission “to proclaim the universal call to holiness in Christ – by promoting a culture of vocation within the corporate identity of the Catholic Church”. The second priority is to teach “Christ and his Gospel as saving truth – by fostering and encouraging a culture of dialogue and solidarity”. The final priority is to witness to “the coming of the Kingdom of God – by serving … the whole community, especially by supporting marginalised and vulnerable people”. It’s striking that the first priority, the universal call to holiness, is to be achieved by promoting a culture of vocation. In addition this culture of vocation has to be accompanied by “a confident Catholic faith”. Giving this my own interpretation, I believe that if we do not give more energy to fostering vocations within the Church there will be nobody left to express the Church’s love to the world. This point is well illustrated for me by the current state of both marriage and the religious life. The social climate is such that couples who have children are under no pressure to marry, nor does the tax system encourage them to marry. Even when couples do marry, the wedding can be so enormous that it seems more important than the marriage. To marry in church with the intention of life-long union is on the way to becoming as much out of the social norm as becoming a priest or nun. We need a culture of vocation to support those whom God is calling to marriage so that they can see this as Christ calling them to a way of love within the Catholic Church. There are parallels between
marriage and religious life as both diminish in number. Some religious orders have been almost too successful in their desire to enter into the life of the world that they wish to serve. They have so identified themselves with their often heroic work that they are no longer seen as having a clear Catholic identity. This does not mean that to re-establish their identity they should abandon their work. But it does mean that this work must not only be a response to the call of Christ but must also be seen to be so, within the context of Catholic
faith.They can’t join what they can’t see. So promoting a culture of vocation is a vital expression of the universal call to holiness for the Church in this country. On this will depend our ability to be a Church that has stable families, consecrated women and men, as well as priests and deacons. One particular action that the bishops highlighted as helping to promote the culture of vocation is “creating a national vocations framework, offering discernment opportunities for all, not only to ecclesial vocations but also to marriage and other forms of lay witness”. The purpose of the framework is to focus our efforts on certain key actions. Nobody will be forced into anything but everybody will know that help is on offer. In its current draft form, the
National Vocations Framework comprises three areas of action. First, to increase the number of discernment opportunities, by, for example, creating more discernment groups. Secondly, to communicate the culture of vocation to a wider audience, trying, for example, to touch those on the fringe of the Church. Finally, to develop the theology and spirituality of vocation, looking at questions such as in what sense is the single life a vocation? I end where I began: with cats and bishops. Some critics see the Catholic Church and its institutions as a herd of stray cats, dying on their feet. I believe, however, that we are a variety of beautiful breeds, invited by our bishops to work together to ensure that all Catholics have the chance to discover their vocation within our Church’s wonderful diversity.
■Fr Christopher Jamison OSB is director of the National Office for Vocation of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. The National Office for Vocation is currently consulting the Church to develop the framework. Tablet readers can submit their views by emailing
framework@ukvocation.org
24 September 2011 | THE TABLET | 11
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