On Fri, 11 Jul 1997 [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Date: Fri, 11 Jul 1997 22:57:23 -0400 (EDT)
> From: [log in to unmask]
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Status of Jews in Middle Ages
>
> Tom Izbicki,
>
> I'm so glad to meet(?) someone who knows canon law.
Pat,
I'll try to answer as best I can. My background in canon law is
primarily in medieval sources, but these tend to be based on patristic
texts and older canons.
tom
>
> As you know, it's never clear whether anti-Semitism welled up from the masses
> with the church trying its best to control it or, contrariwise, whether it
> came down from above--from the church or from kings. I assume, from Vatican
> 2, that the Pope wanted to admit some complicity, or disassociate the Church,
> in future, from some of the things that occurred in the past. The Society of
> Jesus may have begun with the best of intentions. But one wouldn't want to
> encourage continuation of some of its excesses.
I am not sure which "excesses" of the Jesuits you mean. But they have
their own "black legend," which Dumas played off in making Aramis (Man in
the Iron Mask) a Jesuit in disguise. The question of the origin of
Antisemitism is tangled. Both learned and unlearned played their part.
Chazan's paper for the Innocent III conference described Christian
opinion in the early 13th century as balancing restrictions upon and
protection of the Jews. He argued that Innocent helped tip the balance
away from tolerance. Jeremy Cohen argues that the friars (Friars and the
Jews) were the first to understand that Talmudic Judaism was not just the
Judaism of the time of Jesus. Thus the occasional burnings of the Talmud
recorded by Kedar. The extent to which the restrictive viewpoint
prevailed can be seen not just in expulsions but in the suspicion with
which converts were greeted in late medieval Spain. (This is part of
the learned rejection of the Jews, though there were pro-converso
apologists in the same period.) The ecclesiastical authorities sometimes
protected the Jews, but popular preachers often helped raise the
emotional temperature by their denunciations of the Jews. Again, the
picture is a complex one.
>
> Also, I read what I could on the Vatican website, while admiring the courage
> of the Church in exposing material so freely. My conclusion was that the
> Church certainly did have some complicity, probably more under some popes
> than others, and more in some countries than others. It seems to me that the
> two architects of anti-Semitism in the Church are Augustine and Bernard. Or
> their words and ideas were used, whether or not this was their intention, to
> support anti-semitism.
>
Augustine's works are copious, and they were read - whole or in excerpt
- everywhere. Whether he was more influential than others who expressed
negative views of the Jews I cannot say without reading more of the
fathers than I have time to do just now. Although Mary Stroll has made
much of Bernard's anti-Jewish remarks in connection with Anacletus II, I
believe that his most widely read works (like De consideratione) were
not on that topic.
> I've heard there were canon laws to protect Jews, and I'd very much like to
> read them. I couldn't see what benefit would accrue to the Church from >
having such laws, except for one item. The eschatological idea that the end
> of time would be heralded by the conversion of the Jews. Obviously you >
couldn't kill them all off if they were needed to put in an appearance at the
> end of time. Other motivations might be humanitarianism, and maybe you
know > of others. You make a good point about laws not necessarily being
enforced. > Cars regularly run through red lights near my house, though
there's a law > requiring cars to stop at red lights. I try to focus first
on the law > itself, what it was meant to accomplish and why it was put on
the books. Is > there much in canon law regulating treatment of Jews, or
just a small bit? > Also, who drafts it? The Pope's advisors? >
There is a certain amount of canon law concerning Jews & Muslims. Some of it
can be found in Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, 2 vols. (1990) and in N.
Zacour, Jews and Saracens in the Consilia of Oldradus de Ponte (1990).
Individual documents issued by the popes can be found in S. Simonsohn, The
Apostolic See and the Jews (1988-91). There are 19 chapter in the title De
Iudaeis, Sarracenis et eorum servis in bk. V of the Gregorian decretals.
Besides trying to prevent Jews from having Christian servants/slaves, there
are chapters on the Jews keeping doors & windows closed on Good Friday and on
the ownership of synagogues. There is one canon, from the Council of Vienne,
under the same title in the Clementines; and there is a canon of John XXII
protecting converts in the Extravagantes communes.
Who makes the laws? Local bishops & synods, for local practice. The
universal canon law as a science taught in the schools is founded on
Gratian's Decretum, supplements & updated by the decrees of popes and
general councils. It is hard to see behind the name on the decree to the
exact persons who did the drafting. Major pronouncements would have been
considered by the popes and their advisors, including legal experts. The
average decretal, a reply to a request or a complaint, probably was
drafted in a more routine way. there is a copious literature on the
curia which could be cited here, but most decretals were rescripts -
replying to requests very much in terms of the requests.
> On Vatican 2, I was very curious about the Pope's rationale in deploring
> expressions of hatred towards Jews. I don't think he meant to be casual,
> humanitarian, or politically correct. I'm assuming, instead, that a great
> deal of thought went into the matter on whether to say this and exactly what
> to say. Is there any place I can read this material (in English)? I'd be
> interested in knowing his reasoning.
>
John XXIII, as a papal diplomat, had a role (I recall from past reading)
in smuggling Jews away from the Germans. In fact, many priests & nuns in
Italy played similar roles. This even made it onto film (The Assisi
Connection.) I recall how moved the family & friends of my old friend
Howie were when the pope came out with his pronouncement on this topic.
> Also, where does one find canon law in a library? I asked my local
> archdiocese and they had no idea.
I cannot tell from your e-mail address where you are. I could make some
recommendations based on geography. On the whole, a seminary library
(if not gutted to make room for purely modern works or the library of a
major catholic university should have a collection.
Much also will be available on interlibrary loan, once titles have been
identified.
tom
> > Thanks for any information or suggestions, and for the references you've
> given already.
> Also for your patience with my ignorance. This is an area I know not at all,
> so welcome the opportunity to be cured of what is undoubtedly a mass of
> misconceptions.
>
> pat sloane
>
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