Jews and Catholics may have many things in common, but they do not accept the fundamentals of each other’s religions. In societies where religion rules all, such as most of the Islamic world, theological differences are just as much a matter of life and death as they were in Barcelona during the Disputation.
But in free societies such as our own, we can merely say, “vive la difference” and leave it at that, knowing none of us will be the worse for wear as a result of our contrasting views about the nature of eternity or divinity.
Genuine interfaith dialogue is not rooted in agreement, but rather on agreement to disagree. The trick is to do so in a civil manner, and to avoid public attacks on other faiths that can only lead to discord and prejudice.
So while it is all well and good for Jews to hope the Catholic Church never chooses to deviate from the path of John Paul II, it is not for Jews to tell Catholics what to say in their prayers, any more than it is legitimate for Catholics to try censoring the Jewish liturgy as they once did.
Rather than seek to turn Benedict’s revival of the Tridentine mass into a major issue, what we need to do is stop worrying about Catholic prayers and instead continue the work of bringing the two faiths closer together in defense of Western freedoms.
This a moment in history when the greatest challenge to religious freedom is not coming from the traditional sources of reaction within Christianity, such as those that sought to punish Nachmanides for defending Judaism at Barcelona. Instead, our challenge comes from forces within Islam that have already sought to censor the beliefs of Pope Benedict. Their goal is to dismantle the entire edifice of tolerance that Jews and Christians have worked so hard to create.
Given that reality, this is not the time to pick fights over other people’s prayers.