Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

July 23, 2025

The Church Has a Long History of Condemning Anti-Semitism

Vatican II was a change for the better—but not a U-turn.

In the series of doctrinal reforms known as Vatican II, the Catholic Church clarified its views towards Jews and Judaism, rejecting anti-Semitism and standing against the attitudes adopted by a few popes, and many churchmen, over the centuries. Gavin D’Costa—who laid out a persuasive case for Catholic Zionism a few years ago in Mosaic—argues that, when it comes to the Jews, Vatican II was much less of a “doctrinal U-turn” than many Jews and Catholics believe:

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