Bishops take stand against antisemitism in statement issued on major Catholic feast day

October 4, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CITYWIDE — TWO ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS IN NEW YORK ISSUED A JOINT STATEMENT on the Jewish High Holy Days amid the warfare in Israel and other parts of the Middle East.

Writing on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Bishop Robert J. Brennan of the Diocese of Brooklyn (which includes Queens) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of the New York Archdiocese, wrote, “These should be days of rejoicing as the Jewish community celebrates the beginning of a new year, but we know that there is a somber atmosphere as we mark the one-year anniversary of the evil, heinous terrorist attack against Israel last year on Oct. 7. Our hearts continue to break for those whose lives were lost that terrible day and for the innocent hostages still held in captivity in Gaza. In the year that has followed, we know that many more innocent people have been caught in the grips of war, and we mourn every life lost, of Israelis and Palestinians, of Jews, Christians, Muslims and others.”

The joint statement also expresses repentance for the Catholic Church’s failure to stand up against increasing anti-Semitism: “We join now with religious leaders from all faiths pledging that we will not tolerate anti-Semitism in any form.”

St. Francis of Assisi was a 12th century saint credited with the ability to renounce wealth and privilege and to find common ground on faith with a sultan during the 5th Crusade in the 13th century.

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