Benedict on St. John Chrysostom

Papal audience: focus on Chrysostom, domestic Church

Vatican, Sep. 19, 2007 (CWNews.com) - At his regular weekly public audience on September 19, Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) resumed his series of talks on the key figures of the early Church, speaking about St. John Chrysostom.

The Holy Father reminded the 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square that this year the Church is commemorating the 1600th anniversary of the death of St. John Chrysostom, who is revered as a doctor of the Church by both Catholic and Orthodox believers. Because of the power and influence of his work, the Pope added, "it could be said that he is still alive today" ...

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=53615

If St. John Chrysostom is still "alive" today, there's no evidence of it in the Vatican.

One can only imagine the pity with which St. John Chrysostom looks down upon this man, Benedict XVI, and much more so, the many souls who are misled by him in precisely the area that the great Church Doctor preached so compellingly. What would that stalwart opponent of Judaizing errors say to Benedict of his contention that the Judaic wait for a messiah is not in vain; that rabbinic exegesis is of benefit to Christians, or his raising of the question of whether Christians even have a right to interpret Scripture after the Nazi persecutions?

Dear God in heaven, save us from the double-mindedness of this pope who lauds St. John Chrysostom in word and mocks him in deed to the extreme degree that he does. Would Benedict dare deny that today, St. John Chrysostom would likely be thrown out of any given Catholic seminary before completing his first day due to "antisemitism"?

Benedict repeatedly tells us that Christians have a special "common mission" with the rabbis who call themselves "Jews." He calls them our "elder brothers in the faith." He says that we need to increase our "religious relations" with them. Benedict prays with the rabbis, is pictured in their synagogues and presides over a virtual conga line of rabbis processing through the Vatican.

Benedict XVI in the Synagogue of Cologne

Let us hear from St. John Chrysostom on this topic:

So the godlessness of the Jews and the pagans is on a par. But the Jews practice a deceit which is more dangerous. In their synagogue stands an invisible altar of deceit on which they sacrifice not sheep and calves but the souls of men. (Adversus Judaeos, Homily I, St. John Chrysostom)

Good God! Talk about contrast. Is there any more contrast between black and white than exists between these two positions? I think not. It is plainly evident that these two positions cannot both be correct. Given that St. John Chrysostom is a Church Doctor and his position has the support of scripture and 1964 years of Church tradition, I'm going to have to side with him here.