U.S. Catholic Bishops on Holy Week Preaching - 2026

Holy Week, the holiest week on the Christian liturgical calendar, commemorates the events of Jesus's last supper (Holy or Maundy Thursday), his crucifixion (Good Friday), and his resurrection (Easter Vigil Service and Easter Sunday). 

From the early centuries of the Common Era onward, these days of Holy Week have regularly witnessed violence, both verbal and physical, against Jewish communities. In our own day, antisemitic speech and action have multiplied globally. In the United States so-called "social influencers" have distorted Catholic teachings and manipulated anti-Jewish sentiments for their own political ideologies and self-interest. 

Therefore, leaders of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued the following three texts or videos for Holy Week 2026: 

1. On March 13th, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, chair of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, sent a memorandum to all Catholic Bishops in the nation, about "Catholic Preaching on Jews Judaism in Holy Week and Easter."  It included a list of four "essential teachings" that he hoped his brother bishops would reemphasize during Holy Week. 
 

2. Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop of the diocese of Winona-Rochester, posted to his "X" account on March 20th a statement on "The Catholic position on matters of 'Zionism.'" He succinctly stated: "all forms of antisemitism are to be unequivocally condemned; the state of Israel has a right to exist; but the modern nation of Israel does not represent the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and hence does not stand beyond criticism."
 

3. On March 23rd, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, chair of the U.S. Bishops' Committee on Religious Liberty, posted to Facebook a video message, "Catholics Must Reject Antisemitism," in which he declared: "As Catholics, we are called to walk in the truth and so to reject the conspiracies and lies that lead to harassment and even violence against our Jewish brothers and sisters. There is a strong connection between religious freedom and working to counter antisemitism."