Not quite.
Certain Catholics who pride themselves on being 'in tune' with Vatican II and Nostra Aetate and (mis-use ) the statements of recent pontiffs claim that the Old Covenant has not been superceded or abrogated. Some have even caricaturized supercessionism:
... Christianity has replaced Judaism. The theological term for this, supercessionism, has been repudiated as untrue by any number of leading Protestant and Catholic theologians, as well as by Pope John Paul II!
Others make a distinction between the covenant made with Abraham and the covenant made with Moses. Why is this an important question? Because it deals with the economy of grace. Are we saved through Christ alone? And through grace? And by what ways is grace conveyed? Can we say that the sacraments, as the ordinary means of sanctification, are intended by God as such? Do works alone save? We can add the necessary qualifications to explain how a non-Christian is saved, but simply asserting that as long as "someone is good," he will go to heaven is misleading and potentially wrong.
Many Catholics have appealed to God's promise to Moses as a justification of the modern state of Israel. While the sovereignty of its government has been recognized (legitimized by time, if not anything else), this does not mean that everything the government does is necessarily just. Moreover, even if it has a right to defend the country, it does not get a green light to use whatever means it sees as appropriate.
Given the controversy surrounding Israel's response to the attacks by Hezbollah, it is not surprising that some have become angry with some reason. (Putting aside the moral questions, those who fail to understand 4GW do not see that Israel's response is woefully inadequate.) Is this what happened to Mel Gibson, in part? There are also rumors that he was depressed to the point of suicide.
Mel Gibson's second apology (Thanks to Amy Welborn.):
His first apology can be found here.There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.
I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.
The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise
charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God's child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.
I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one on one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through
recovery. Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.
This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is
about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. Its about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad.
Whatever financial and professional consequences there may be, we should be more concerned with his health and salvation. And we should be praying for peace in the Middle East.
Today it's supposed to get to 110 degrees. Or at least feel like it. I'm hiding out on campus again...
(I did take the Ted Williams tunnel on the way back from the airport; one lane was closed, so I'm guessing that's the reason why there were no tolls. The tunnel to I-90/Mass Pike was still closed--this is where the accident happened several weeks ago, I believe, when a 3-ton concrete panel fell on a car and killed a woman.)
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