French bishops issue declaration against antisemitism

Leading Catholic bishops in France have issued a declaration to combat what they call the “worrying resurgence of antisemitism in France.”

The declaration,  signed by the President of the Conference of Bishops of France, Monseigneur Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, and four senior bishops, was unveiled at a short ceremony on 8th February at which French Jewish leaders were present.

The text said that the brutal murders of four people last year at the hands of Islamist assailants had confronted the French people with basic questions of mutual respect and called for “special attention to be paid to the worrying resurgence of antisemitism in France.” 

The Bishops said that they “strongly reiterate how much the fight against antisemitism must be everybody’s business” and affirm their “willingness to work with all those engaged in this struggle.”

Calling for “spiritual resistance against antisemitism,” the declaration said that, while “faith in Jesus distinguishes and separates us,” it obliges us to recognise that “ healing from antisemitism and anti-Judaism” was essential “for a genuine fraternity.”

The Chief Rabbi of France, Haim Korsia, praised what he called a “prophetic initiative,” while Francis Kalifat, President of Jewish communal body CRIF, compared its significance to the 1997 apology made to the Jewish community by the Catholic Church in France for its failings during the Nazi occupation of France.

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