Cardinal Lustiger in his own words
Aug 09, 2007
Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, the only Jewish-born bishop in France in modern times, died on Sunday, aged 80. He converted to Catholicism during the German occupation of France in the Second World War when he was 14.
(Times Online, August 7, 2007) Having read the Bible in secret as a child he later said it felt as if he was "reading something he already knew". As a high-profile Jewish convert he faced opposition from Israel's Chief Rabbi who said he had betrayed his people and his religion, but he held firm to the belief that his conversion was not a rebellion but a fulfilment of his calling as a Jew. The Pope praised the Cardinal, who was Archbishop of Paris for 25 years, yesterday saying he was a "great figure" who spent his life trying to improve relations between Catholics and Jews.
On his conversion
“I was born Jewish and so I remain, even if that's unacceptable for many. For me, the vocation of Israel is bringing light to the goyim. That's my hope and I believe that Christianity is the means for achieving it.”
Related Links
* Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger
"I am not leaving you. I am not passing into the enemy camp. I'm becoming what I am. I am not stopping being a Jew -- just the opposite. I'm discovering a way of living it."
"I am a Cardinal, a Jew and the son of a immigrant”
On being appointed Archbishop of Paris
“For me, this nomination was as if all of a sudden the crucifix began to wear a yellow star.”
On the Holocaust
"The silence of Auschwitz-Birkenau's victims impels us to uphold and order the upholding of the dignity of each human being."
On Jewish and Christian relations
"It is impossible for a Christian to be a Christian ... without the Jewish people."
"What Christians believe, they got through the Jews.”
“Jews and Christians are the guardians of the revelation of the Only One God and of his design to bring all humans together one day.”
“Christianity is the fruit of Judaism."
On inter-religious dialogue
“All around the world, the intermixing of various populations now brings side by side very different religious faiths, and this leads to unprecedented confrontations.”
“This question is how to articulate the history and geography of our communities with the history and geography of modernity. Nowhere else perhaps than here in New York has a better answer been experienced.”
On love
“The strength of evil can only be answered with an even greater strength of love,”
Cardinal Lustiger in his own words