Received the following through my Christian Newswire newsfeed: Pope Chooses ‘Political Correctness’ Over Christ

“In a very disturbing acquiescence to “political correctness,” the Pope Benedict XVI has chosen the approval of non- Christians and unbelievers over the truth of Christ,” said Dr. Gary L. Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. “Because Christians are commanded by Christ to demonstrate love, they must pray for conversion non-Christians which Christians believe are lost. Christians single out the Jews for prayer out of a genuine concern for their souls.”

The Catholic Church has announced that the Pope Benedict XVI will rewrite the Good Friday prayer to remove what some have claimed are negative references to Jews. The prayer reads, “Almighty and everlasting God, you do not refuse your mercy even to the Jews; hear the prayers which we offer for the blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ, and be delivered from their darkness.”

The references to the “blindness” and “darkness” of the Jews are to be stricken from the prayer because of the efforts of people like Abraham Foxman and organizations like the Jewish Anti-Defamation League.

“Christians have always believed that Jesus is the only Savior of mankind and the true Light of the world,” said Cass. “To not believe in Christ is to not see Him as the Savior and therefore to be spiritually blind. If you do not live in the light of Christ, you therefore live in spiritual darkness. This is biblical Christian truth, even if it is “politically incorrect.” ”

“The temerity of some Jews to demand that a prayer for the conversion of the Jews be stricken from the prayers of the church is astonishing,” said Cass. “For two thousand years Israeli Jews have renounced Christ and Christians. Jewish teachers have belittled Christ and Christians in the most strident terms in their sacred writings, the Talmud. I do not see these same Jews demanding anti-Christian texts be removed from their Talmud…”

A few thoughts on this. I think that this statement is lacking in mercy – and Christian charity. While I fully acknowledge that no other faith group can direct Christian prayer, I am perfectly willing to allow the Bishop of Rome to speak on the matter – to understand where he is coming from. Charity demands that we listen to our brother and think before rushing to condemnation.

It is also interesting that this group, which has made nary a statement about Catholicism or the Roman Catholic Church (per a search of their site using their search box – criteria included: ‘Catholic, Catholicism, Rome, bishop, and diocese), would choose this particular issue on which to opine. Further, I do not think that the roots of the organization lend themselves to ventures in Catholic liturgical criticism.

On the issue of the prayer itself – the Roman Church will pray what it prays, and it has that right. The Bishop of Rome, in the Roman Church’s understanding, has full, immediate, and universal jurisdiction, so he can rewrite things and he can use his office to make them stick (as long as they are not heretical). Does this surprise anyone anymore.

On this issue of language, it does evolve – especially in the sense of its common usage and understanding. Meanings change over the years. The same can be said of the term blindness. Do we want to take the time to help people understand the metaphorical and varied intellectual meanings of the word blindness – or do we want to be clear?

You could even make a technical argument by stating that blindness is an inability to see, something that is not true for the human heart. Do we as Christians believe that God created hearts that are unable to find Him? Not at all! So are the Jewish people spiritually blind? I think not. I do not think anyone is. If we fully acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and life – we must rely on God’s grace in moving hearts.