On April 16, 2026, American Catholic and Jewish leaders gathered at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the visit of the antipope John Paul II to the Great Synagogue of Rome. The event, co-sponsored by the Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism and the St. John Paul II National Shrine, featured speeches by Eric Cohen, president and CEO of the Tikvah Fund, Catherine Szkop, director of public affairs at the Embassy of Israel to the United States, and George Weigel, a Catholic theologian and author. The speakers extolled the legacy of John Paul II as a philosopher, religious leader, and statesman, and promoted shared priorities between Catholics and Jews, including religious education, just war theory, and the idea of America as a “providential nation” modeled after Israel. The event exemplifies the post-conciliar Church’s embrace of religious indifferentism and its betrayal of the immutable Catholic doctrine on the unique and exclusive salvific mission of the Church.
The event at the St. John Paul II National Shrine, a monument erected to the memory of one of the most destructive figures in the history of the Catholic Church, serves as a grotesque celebration of the very errors that have led to the current apostasy. The gathering of Catholic and Jewish leaders to commemorate John Paul II’s 1986 visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome is not merely a historical remembrance; it is a liturgical act of the conciliar sect, a ritual reaffirmation of the apostate alliance that has supplanted the true faith with a syncretistic, naturalistic religiosity. The speakers’ effusive praise for John Paul II and their promotion of shared priorities between Catholics and Jews reveal the depth of the theological bankruptcy that has engulfed the post-conciliar institution.
The “Elder Brother” Heresy: A Dogmatic Betrayal
The central theological error pervading this event is the repeated invocation of John Paul II’s declaration that Jews are “our dearly beloved brothers” and “our elder brothers.” This statement, made during his 1986 synagogue visit, is not merely a diplomatic courtesy; it is a direct contradiction of the Catholic doctrine on the unique and exclusive role of the Church as the sole ark of salvation. The Church has always taught that the Old Covenant was fulfilled and superseded by the New Covenant in Christ, and that the Jewish people, by rejecting Christ, have lost their privileged status as God’s chosen people. The Council of Trent, in its Decree on Justification, anathematizes anyone who says that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation (Session VI, Canon 4). The First Vatican Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, declares that “there is no salvation outside of the Church” (Session III, Chapter 4). John Paul II’s assertion that Jews are “elder brothers” implies that they possess a valid covenant with God apart from Christ and the Church, a proposition that is tantamount to the heresy of indifferentism condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors (Proposition 16: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation”).
Eric Cohen’s description of antisemitism as “a perverse inversion of the election of the Jews to have a unique role in history” further reinforces this error. By affirming the continuing “election” of the Jewish people, Cohen denies the Catholic teaching that the Church is the new Israel, the true people of God. The Apostle Paul writes: “For he is not a Jew, who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter” (Romans 2:28-29). The “elder brother” heresy is a denial of the New Covenant and a return to the fleshly, carnal understanding of election that Christ came to abolish.
Religious Indifferentism and the “Covenantal Renewal of the West”
The event’s promotion of a shared “covenantal renewal of the West” between Jews and Catholics is a manifestation of the religious indifferentism that has been the hallmark of the post-conciliar Church. Eric Cohen’s assertion that “Jews and Christians have a summons and a calling to stand together against this revolt against the Bible” presupposes a common biblical foundation that transcends the fundamental disagreement between Judaism and Catholicism: the divinity of Christ and the truth of the Catholic Church. This is the very error condemned by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Immortale Dei (1885), where he writes: “The Almighty, therefore, has given the charge of the human race to two powers, the ecclesiastical and the civil, the one being set over divine, and the other over human, each the highest in its own kind, and each fixed within certain limits, defined by its own nature and special object.” The idea that Jews and Catholics can collaborate on a “covenantal renewal” without the conversion of the Jews to Catholicism is a denial of the Church’s exclusive claim to truth and a betrayal of her missionary mandate.
George Weigel’s statement that “the full meaning of that entanglement will only be revealed in the fullness of the kingdom of God, for which both Jews and Christians must hope” is a masterpiece of modernist ambiguity. It suggests that the differences between Judaism and Catholicism are merely provisional and will be resolved in some eschatological future, rather than insisting on the immediate necessity of conversion. This is the heresy of the “evolution of dogmas” condemned by Pope St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), where he writes: “If we do not proceed with prejudice, it is clear that Jesus either erroneously taught about the imminent reign of the Messiah, or that the greater part of His teaching contained in the Synoptic Gospels is not authentic” (Proposition 33). The conciliar sect’s embrace of Jewish-Catholic dialogue is not a sign of hope; it is a symptom of the loss of faith.
The Myth of America as a “Providential Nation”
Eric Cohen’s invocation of George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Jewish synagogue of Savannah, Georgia, and his assertion that America is “the almost chosen nation” modeled after Israel, is a prime example of the Americanist heresy condemned by Pope Leo XIII in his letter Testem Benevolentiae (1899). The idea that America is a “providential nation” with a special role in God’s plan is a form of civil religion that replaces the Catholic Church with a secular, democratic ideal. Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Quas Primas (1925), explicitly rejects the notion that any nation can claim a special providential status apart from the Kingship of Christ: “The Kingdom of our Redeemer encompasses all men… He is indeed the source of salvation for individuals and for the whole: And there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The consecration of America as a “Hebraic” nation is a blasphemous usurpation of the prerogatives of Christ the King.
The Silence on Conversion: The Gravest Omission
Perhaps the most striking feature of the commemorative event is the complete silence on the conversion of the Jews to Catholicism. Not a single speaker mentioned the Church’s traditional prayer for the conversion of the Jews, the Ordo Conversionis Iudaeorum, which was part of the pre-conciliar liturgy. This silence is not accidental; it is a deliberate omission that reveals the true nature of the post-conciliar Church’s relationship with Judaism. The Church has always prayed for the conversion of the Jews, recognizing that their rejection of Christ is a scandal and a source of spiritual blindness. The Apostle Paul writes: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved” (Romans 10:1). The conciliar sect’s refusal to pray for the conversion of the Jews is a denial of the Church’s missionary mandate and a betrayal of the Apostle’s example.
The “Just War” Distraction
Eric Cohen’s invocation of “just war theory” as a shared priority between Jews and Catholics is a cynical distraction from the real issues at hand. The Church’s just war doctrine, articulated by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, is based on the premise that war is a last resort to restore justice and protect the innocent. However, the post-conciliar Church has abandoned this doctrine in favor of a pacifist, humanitarian ideology that is incompatible with the Catholic tradition. The conciliar sect’s embrace of “just war theory” is a rhetorical device to justify its alliance with the Zionist state and its support for American imperialism, not a genuine return to the Catholic tradition.
Conclusion: The Abomination of Desolation
The commemorative event at the St. John Paul II National Shrine is a microcosm of the post-conciliar apostasy. It celebrates the “elder brother” heresy, promotes religious indifferentism, consecrates America as a “providential nation,” and omits any mention of the conversion of the Jews. It is a liturgical act of the conciliar sect, a ritual reaffirmation of the apostate alliance that has supplanted the true faith with a syncretistic, naturalistic religiosity. The faithful must reject this abomination and return to the immutable Catholic tradition, which teaches that there is no salvation outside of the Church, that Christ the King must reign over all nations, and that the conversion of the Jews is a duty of charity and justice. As Pope Pius XI wrote in Quas Primas: “The annual celebration of this solemnity will also remind states that not only private individuals, but also rulers and governments have the duty to publicly honor Christ and obey Him.” The conciliar sect has betrayed this duty, and the faithful must resist its errors with all their strength.
Source:
American Jewish Leaders Extol Pope John Paul II’s Legacy on Historic Synagogue Visit Anniversary (ncregister.com)
Date: 20.04.2026