The unique relationship between Jews and Christians simply cannot be discussed in the context of this document about Asian religions, said Cardinal Walter Casper in a May 2001 talk on Dominus Iesus, because "Catholic-Jewish relations are not a subset of interreligious relations in general, neither in theory or in practice." He quoted Pope John Paul II's remarks to a synagogue in Rome in 1986, "The Jewish religion is not ‘extrinsic’ to us, but in a certain way is ‘intrinsic’ to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers." Neither the Holy Father nor Cardinal Kasper is advocating a relativistic approach. This, he says, would put both Christianity and Judaism under the umbrella of world religions in general.
Because of its purpose, it does not deal with the question of the theology of Catholic-Jewish relations, proclaimed by Nostra Aetate, and of subsequent Church teaching. What the document tries to “correct” is another category, namely the attempts by some Christian theologians to find a kind of “universal theology” of interreligious relations, which, in some cases, has led to indifferentism, relativism and syncretism. Against such theories we, as Jews and Christians, are on the same side, sitting in the same boat; we have to fight, to argue and to bear witness together. Our common self-understanding is at stake.
He quotes Cardinal Ratzinger, who said in a December 29, 2000, article in L’Osservatore Romano, The Heritage of Abraham:
It is evident that dialogue of us Christians with the Jews stands on a different level with regard to the dialogue with the other religions. The faith witnessed in the Bible of the Jews, the Old Testament of Christians, is for us not a different religion but the foundation of our own faith.
Cardinal Kasper continues,
...Dominus Iesus does not state that everybody need to become a Catholic in order to be saved by God. On the contrary, it declares that God’s grace, which is the grace of Jesus Christ according to our faith, is available to all. Therefore, the Church believes that Judaism, i.e. the faithful response of the Jewish people to God’s irrevocable covenant, is salvific for them, because God is faithful to his promises.
Therefore, he says, though we may include Jews within the scope of evangelization, that is, witness to the kingdom of God, Catholics do not target them as the focus of mission; there is and there will be no "Catholic missionary organization for Jews." And this was the conclusion of Reflections on Covenant and Mission.
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