[Bishop Joseph C. Bambera is chair of the US Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs]
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. Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year. For Jewish communities around the world, it is marked by prayer, fasting, and repentance, and by seeking reconciliation with God and with one another. Following on the joy of renewal of Rosh Hashanah just a few days before, Yom Kippur invites a searching examination of the year that has passed and a commitment to the year ahead. At the heart of this observance is the recognition that our relationship with God and with one another call us continually to reflection, repentance, and renewal. To consider how we can live more faithfully and more generously.
These themes also resonate deeply with us as Catholics. And our relationship with the Jewish people is not simply a matter of dialogue between two religious communities. It is rooted in the deep spiritual bonds that unite us, including our shared patrimony and the scriptural heritage from which both our traditions draw. That is why building genuine friendship and understanding between Jews and Catholics matters so deeply. It is also why we must reject antisemitism in all its forms and work together to ensure that the Jewish people can live and worship free from hatred and fear.
As Catholics, we are called not only to oppose antisemitism when it appears, but also to deepen our understanding of Judaism and of the Jewish people. The relationships that have grown between our communities, particularly through the promulgation of Nostra Aetate, remind us that dialogue is not merely an exchange of ideas. At its best, it creates friendships, builds trust, and helps us recognize our responsibilities toward one another.
On this Yom Kippur, may the year ahead bring greater understanding, friendship, and peace among our communities.
G’mar Chatimah Tovah.
