In order to reconcile, Christians have to do an accounting of what they have done wrong and what attitudes they have had that have been harmful to Jews. As they engage in these discussions they will find their way to a more profound understanding of their own faith. Only God can forgive the sins of the past. Jews need more time to see if Christian teshuvah is real. Father John Pawlikowski, a longtime leader in Catholic-Jewish dialogue and chair of the Church Relations Committee at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, notes the difficulty of conveying the complex truth about Christianity and the Holocaust in a brief statement.
People tend to grab on to first sentences.
While the paragraph on the Holocaust draws the most emotional responses, other points have also sparked criticism. Dabru Emet's statement that Jews and Christians worship the same God is problematic for many Jews, says Christopher Leighton, director of the Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies. In turn, some Christians are shocked by the reflection of their own tradition that they find in the document. But it invites Christians to think through what their religious claims really mean. Many Christians have stopped thinking theologically. . . .