Four male students at Benedictine College of Atchison, Kansas have been suspended from the school and campus for a year following a flyer they authored and distributed in response to an event the college hosted. The event was titled “Shoulder to Shoulder Conference: Strengthening Jewish-Catholic Friendship at a Moment of Crisis.” Benedictine College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college.
The letter distributed by the four students, reposted here by the Catholic commentator The Catholic State who seems to be the first to report this story, was not in protest of the event itself, but of several apparent theological errors made during the event. A video of the conference was made available to the public via the school’s YouTube page.
The Catholic State had already published a video describing 12 specific theological errors made by various speakers during the conference and grouped them into three categories: statements that contradicts defined dogma (a formal Council, Creed, or dogmatic definition); theological errors that are “contrary to the unanimous patristic/scholastic tradition or near-heresy;” and statements that were generally ambiguous or misleading. Statements in the last category were not necessarily heretical, according to The Catholic State, but could create “serious confusion.”
An example of one of the most serious statements contradicting defined dogma was when a speaker referred to the Torah as a “roadmap to heaven.”
The flyer which the students distributed touched on many of the same issues and cited Popes Gregory IX, St. Pius X, Pius XII, St. Barnabas, St. John Chrysostom, Peter the Venerable, and Scripture passages that reference the Jewish faith in relation to the Catholic Church.
As the host of The Catholic State argued, the overarching theological arguments made by the students were fundamentally correct, although they make errors or “imprecisions” at times. He also acknowledged that some of the rhetoric on the flyer was strong and even harsh.
One of the harsher statements included on the flyer was a quote from Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, written in the 1100s: “Yes, you Jews. I say, I do address you: you, who till this very day, deny the Son of God. How long, poor wretches, will ye not believe the truth? Truly I doubt whether a Jew can really be human…”
This statement was referenced by Sean Mulcahy, the Vice Provost of Student Affairs, in his letter affirming the Student Conduct Board’s decision to suspend the students.
Many statements written by the students themselves, however, express accurate theological belief. In referencing statements made by one of the conference speakers, the students wrote, “Dr. Matthew Ramage said we must not see the Old Law as completely replaced by the New, and taken away from the Jews, yet Pope Pius XII in Mystici Corporis Christi, ‘by the death of our Redeemer, the New Testament took place of the Old Testament which had been abolished…To such an extent then…was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church…”
The students continued: “From this logic, Ramage supports the faulty reasoning that because the Jews still have a covenantal relationship with God (which is blasphemy), that it is fitting that the political state of Israel exists.”
Speaking to the President of Catholics for Catholics, John Yep had this to say.
“This current controversy and reaction of the students who produced this flyer is a reflection of the national debate going on as more and more Americans wake up to the stranglehold that Israel has on our government. Zionism, which teaches we have a ‘Biblical Mandate’ to support the State of Israel is wrong and contrary to the teachings of the Church which is the new Israel.
Scores of Christian pastors have pushed this for decades and thousands of Americans, especially the younger demographic are now waking up to the errors of it. They are rightfully upset with the lie that has been pushed for decades resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Christians in Gaza and Lebanon paid for by American tax dollars.
That being said, the flyer itself showed a lack of prudence in how it was presented. The desire of the students to present another side of this debate is good. However, the way it was written with a barrage of inflammatory quotes taken out of context hurt the credibility of the endeavor.
Catholics for Catholics understands how important the debate of the relationship and difference between Judaism, Zionism, and the Catholic Church is for America today. We recently wrote an extensive statement on this topic to help teach the Catholic position on the matter. You can read it here. In the meantime, we pray that the efforts to combat Zionism and convert the Jewish people continue in earnest and with courage but also with the humility and meekness reflected in Christ the King.”
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