Anti-Semitic Church ?

 Reading David LaFleche 's crudely anti-Catholic letter ( " Anti-

    Semitic Church "   , July 1 ) , I must ask : Just where is he coming

    from ? Has been living under the  Rock of Ages for too long ? The

    name does not sound Jewish; indeed most Jews today do not, nor have

    they any reason to, perceive  the Catholic Church as an implacable

    foe of Jews and of the Jewish State of Israel.

        He refers us to some obscure book in which the Church's abominable

    Anti-Semitism is " fully documented ". I must point  out that Hitler

    himself " fully documented " his case against the Jews in " Mein Kampf ".

    So much for " fully documented " books !

        I am not a practicing Catholic feeling a moral obligation to defend

    the Church against its numerous religious enemies. But malicious nonsense

    is just that !

         I attended parochial school for two critical years - 7th and 8th

    grade- in the early 60s. I recall no systematic indoctrination in Anti-

    Semitism.


             The bigoted individual Catholic is a stock character of

    realistic fiction. The the best parody of this type can be found in

    the novels and short stories of James T. Farrell.

          I believe that the Catholic Church is honestly trying to undo

    the damage done by the anti-Semitism generally characteristic of

    Dark Age  ignorance.

          What was does not have to be forever. This is true of all

    institutions, human or " divine ".


           Does Israel need friends like Mr. David LaFleche ?