ABSTRACT
On December 10th, 2015, as this book appeared nearly ready to go to press, the Vatican released a statement to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, one of the most important documents to emerge from the second Vatican Council. This new document is called “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Though not a Papal encyclical, it is of considerable importance because it appears at a time of rapidly escalating anti-Semitism throughout Europe (and elsewhere), and was unveiled by Cardinal Kurt Koch, Father Norbert Hoffmann, and by Rabbi David Rosen and Dr. Edward Kessler, prominent representatives of the Jewish community. The document placed Nostra Aetate in historical context, emphasizing that section four, the heart of the document, signaled and helped to catalyze a dramatic shift in the Church’s attitude toward the Jewish people, which included ending what Jules Isaac called “the teaching of contempt,” and a historic decision to relinquish its mission to convert the Jews.
