- CLARIN. Mutual Yearning for Peace by Catholics and Jews

On the occasion of a visit carried out by a delegation of the Casa Argentina in Israel headed by the organisation’s General Secretary, Mr. Baruch Tenembaum, to Cardinal Antonio Caggiano, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires made a declaration regarding the mutual yearning for peace of Catholics and Jews on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.

Baruch Tenembaum in the meeting with the then Cardinal of Argentina, Mons. Antonio Caggiano

The Declaration

The document, made public by Cardinal Caggiano, expresses the following:

"I deeply appreciate your visit and I assure you that I have been listening with real interest and much satisfaction to the words pronounced by your General Secretary, Mr. Baruch Tenembaum. He has emphasised the yearning for peace of your people, and the Church proclaims that peace is the most urgent of all needs."
"Hence, this is for me a reason for great happiness, and I congratulate you for that. This is the real great challenge of the world in this present day, and the responsibility to create an atmosphere of peace involves all of us and each one of the nations. Furthermore, in the Holy Books of the Old Testament your people have sanctified the word "Peace" as holy, a word that angels used to greet men before they revealed their message "Peace be with you". Jesus himself used it always and both before and after the supreme farewell to his disciples he left them a legacy of peace when he said, "My peace I leave you, my peace I give you".
"It is true that the obligation to search for peace does suppress the right of self-defence, neither for people nor for nations. But it is also a fact that Jesus recommended no resistance in opposition to "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as a way to banish the violent response that is the enemy of peace. It pleases me then to see in you the love for peace that is part of the tradition of your people, which you have learnt from the Old Testament, these Holy Books you love so deeply and for which you are trustworthy custodians. All this means you are witnesses of God's Word, revealed by Him to your Ancestors.
Israel has had the honour to suffer, like the Church has suffered also, because of its fidelity to the Word of God and because we fulfil our mission of transmitting it."
"I express my most fervent prayer that the spirit of Israel may be enlightened by God and will know how to find the path of Peace."
"The success of Israel in the fields of Culture and Science, deserving the undeniable admiration and prestige of the world, will surely contribute fundamentally to the finding of solutions to overcome all the obstacles in your way so that you may reach peace as a nation."
"The auspicious event that you have made come true in this meeting is that Casa Argentina in Israel, the Holy Land, will donate to a chapel of the Basilica of the Annunciation in the city of Nazareth a contribution painted by a renowned and talented Argentine artist."
"I congratulate you warmly and extend my best wishes of success to Mr. Soldi.
I ask God to confirm in us this mutual solidarity that already strongly unites Christians and Israelis."
"Let's be united in these ideals, going forward to keep the values of justice, peace and fraternity, the deepest meaning of which is found in God's Word in the Old Testament."