Yes, well, Popes make mistakes, and St John Paul II made a big one. Morrison of The Remnant did the homework.
...We can begin with the words of John Paul II about the Old Covenant, which many Catholics naturally believe to be representative of the Catholic position:
November 17, 1980: “The first dimension of this dialogue, that is, the encounter between the people of God of the Old Covenant, never denounced by God (cf. Rom 11:29), and that of the New Covenant, is at the same time a dialogue within our Church, so to speak between the first and second parts of her Bible.”
September 11, 1987: “It is fitting at the beginning of our meeting to emphasize our faith in the One God, who chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and made with them a Covenant of eternal love, which was never revoked (Cfr. Gen. 27, 12; Rom. 11, 29).”
April 28, 1999: “A few great feasts like Easter and Pentecost recall the Jewish liturgical year and are excellent occasions for remembering in prayer the people God chose and loves (cf. Rom 11:2). Today dialogue means that Christians should be more aware of these elements which bring us closer together. Just as we take note of the ‘covenant never revoked by God’ (cf. Insegnamenti, 1980, [III/2], pp. 1272-1276), so we should consider the intrinsic value of the Old Testament (cf. Dei Verbum, n. 3), even if this only acquires its full meaning in the light of the New Testament and contains promises that are fulfilled in Jesus.”...
The problem? That's not the teaching of the Church.
The architect of Nostra Aetate--the Vat II document on the Jews--was Cdl. Bea. While +Bea has some problems in other areas, we can take his word on N.A. as the best interpretation. He wrote:
"... it is true that the Jewish people is no longer the people of God in the sense of an institution for the salvation of mankind. The reason for this, however, is not that it has been rejected, but simply that its function in preparing the kingdom of God finished with the advent of Christ and the founding of the Church. From then on, the nature of the people of God and the way of becoming incorporated into it changed completely: the ‘people of God’ of the New Testament is no longer confined to a single nation and is no longer propagated by descent according to the flesh but by faith.”...
Morrison reaches the logical conclusion:
... Cardinal Bea’s message was clear: the Old Covenant is no longer in effect, but Jews can be saved if they follow the religion of the New Covenant. If it had been possible for Nostra Aetate to have been more favorable to the Jewish religion, it would have been. But we can conclude from Cardinal Bea’s words that there was no way the Catholic religion could accommodate the position that the Old Covenant remains in effect. As such, John Paul II’s position was clearly opposed to Catholicism and Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate....
The term used by Churchmen is "fulfilled." The Old Covenant was FULFILLED by Christ and His New and eternal covenant. He said "No one can come to the Father except through Me," and that is precisely why he 'harrowed Hell' on Holy Saturday, bringing Abraham, Moses, and certain other O.T. figures to heaven with Him. That is to say, unless Christ had done that, those men and women would NOT be enjoying the Beatific Vision.
You're either with Christ or against him (with the usual caveats.)
That's the hard truth which some are afraid to say--even Saints.
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