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From Archbishop Marino

Address at The Temple, Atlanta
November 5, 1988
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Dear Friends,

Just as it is an honor to be invited to attend this Shabbat service in this sacred place, it is even more a profound privilege to be asked to address this assembly. On such an occasion many thoughts race through my mind and many deep feelings well up in my heart. The long and distinguished history of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation with its inception in 1867 comes immediately to mind. This very temple building, one of the most beautiful of its kind in the south, and its better than half a century of service to the Jewish Community is a beloved landmark in the city of Atlanta and a source of pride to all.

On October 12, 1958, this sacred place was the victim of deranged minds who sought to stay the flow of modern history by the use of bombs. This event was probably the most dramatic occurrence during the entire early Civil Rights period in Atlanta. Much to the consternation of the reactionary racists of the time, the hearts and minds of the always progressive citizens of Atlanta were shocked into the reality that this must be a city for all races and all creeds. The terrible sacrifice endured by the members of The Temple stirred the consciences of the entrenched culture; in the future, Jews, Blacks and Catholics all would invoke the memory of this bombing in their efforts to uproot prejudice and its violent consequences.

As we come together for this service of prayer and praise of God our Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I am reminded of those deep bonds to unite us. Coming from the Christian tradition as I do, I cannot help but recall that the roots of that tradition go back to the Law and the Prophets. Our principle daily prayers come almost exclusively from the psalms. As one of our Popes has remarked in recent years, "spiritually we are all Semites." Focusing on all that we share as part of a common sacred heritage, we pray in the words from the Prelude of your morning Synagogue prayer:

Blessed are we, how good is our portion,
How lovely our lot, how beautiful our inheritance!
Blessed are we, that we may speak in love early and late,
In the evening and in the morning:
Hear, Israel, the Eternal, our God, The Eternal is the Only One.

A spiritual bond exists between Judaism and Christianity, manifest in different historical, biblical, liturgical and doctrinal aspects.

The Old Testament (or Hebrew Scripture) has not been superseded by the New; it is always the true Word of God and belongs to the integrity of the Bible and thus of divine Revelation.

Jews are "dear to God" because of their fathers; their election and mission has a permanent validity and they play a decisive role in the religious history of mankind.

The Church, in the course of ages, and today with the emerging of various principles and avenues of research, has felt and feels towards the Jews a variety of attitudes: respect for their mission, desire to find common forms of testifying to the divine Name in the world, particularly in the modern world that is losing every feeling of the divine and of transcendence.

The Church has always proclaimed to the world the God she worships, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, the God of David, the God of the Suffering Servant, the God of Jesus Christ. He is the hidden Lord, the Lord of Israel, the Savior (Is 45:15). He is the Lord Creator, Provider, Father, compassionate and gracious (Exodus) . He gives food to all His creatures; His love endures forever, who maintains his promise to the fathers in a continuous divine memorial, perpetually realizing it for his people and extending it to the Gentiles.

Today we have to realize and continually remind all Christians, that it is the faithful Jews, who "sanctify the divine Name" in the world, living in justice and holiness and causing the divine gifts to bear fruit, who are a true witness to the whole world to the destiny of the Jewish people. Hence today in the Church deep research is being done on the permanence of the Jewish people according to the divine plan.

Jewish and Christian tradition, founded on the Word of God, is aware of the value of the human person, the image of God. Love of the same God must show itself in effective action for the good of mankind. In the spirit of the prophets, Jews and Christians will work willingly together, seeking social justice and peace at every level -- local, national, and international. At the same time, such collaboration can do much to foster mutual understanding and esteem.

With the Jewish Community, we of the Christian faith must always remember and never let be forgotten the grim reality of the shoah. As our Holy Father Pope John Paul II reminded his hearers this year when he was received by the Jewish Community of Vienna:

You (Jews) and we (Christians) are still weighed down by memories of Shoah, the Murder of millions of Jews in camps of destruction.. .An adequate consideration of the suffering and martyrdom of the Jewish people is impossible without relating it in its deepest dimension to the experience of faith that has characterized Jewish history, from the faith of Abraham to the Exodus to the covenant on Mount Sinai. It is a constant progression in faith and obedience in response to the loving call of God.... from these cruel sufferings may arise even deeper hope, a warning call to all of humanity that may serve to save us all. Remembering Shoah means hoping that it will never happen again, and working to ensure that it does not. Faced with this immeasurable suffering we cannot remain cold. But faith teaches us that God never forsakes those who suffer persecution but reveals himself to them and enlightens through them all peoples on the road to salvation. Our (Christian) faith does not prevent us from feeling solidarity with the deep wounds that have been inflicted on the Jewish people by prescription, especially in this century, by contemporary anti-Semitism. On the contrary, it makes this solidarity a bounden duty... Cooperation and joint studies should be undertaken at all levels in order to inquire into the significance of the Shoah. We have to trace, and wherever possible, eliminate, the causes of anti-Semitism...

May our common prayer today continue to focus our attention on that common heritage that we cherish in the Word and worship of God. May it continue to provide the energy, direction, and determination to build and renew the human community.

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