Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Bulletin of September 20, 2026 Message from Msgr. Schwanger

As our Jewish neighbors prepare to celebrate their High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year’s -September 11-12) and Yon Kippur (Day of Atonement -September 20-21, I urge all Catholics, and indeed all people of good will, to express solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters by standing firmly against anti-Semitism.

Jewish communities are facing rising, often violent, anti-Semitism and the profoundly real anguish of our Jewish brothers and sisters deserves to be taken seriously. The anxiety in Jewish communities and neighborhoods is palpable, and not irrational given recent events. Their concerns for security understandably rise during major holidays

The eruption of anti-Semitism, for example on many college campuses, and the increased incidences of violence directed at Jewish synagogues resulting in grave injuries and deaths have resulted in increased and very visible security measures outside of Jewish schools and temples.

Catholic teachings, as expressed in Vatican II documents such Nostra Aetate and in numerous declarations of recent popes, unequivocably condemn anti-Semitism as a sin against God and humanity. As Catholics we should not tolerate any racial slurs or bias thinking or actions against those whom St. Pope John Paul II famously referred to as “our elder brothers in the faith of Abraham”.

On October 7, 2023, a massive, coordinated cross-border assault led by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians including women and children. This attack triggered a devastating regional war which has yet to end.

To be sure, even if the “fog of war” creates confusion and uncertainty, it is clear that on both sides many innocents tragically died as “collateral damage”.

Yet. we recognize the real concern of Jewish communities for the survival and security of the State of Israel and the profoundly existential (and often religious) significance accorded to it.

In condemning any form of persecution against Jews (and therefore also of the desire to destroy the State of Israel) we affirm the right of Israel to exist, and to exist in peace and security with its neighbors.

While war is to be deplored and avoided whenever possible, states do have a legitimate right to defend themselves as Pope Leo XIV affirms in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitatis, #92. But, we continue to hope and pray for a peaceful solution in the land we call “Holy”.

For many years now, as our Jewish friends prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yon Kippur, I write to the Rabbis of South Florida on behalf of my fellow Catholics to wish them and their congregations: Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year).

May God hear our prayers for a New Year filled with health and the blessings of peace and atonement as we make our own the words of the Psalmist:

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.” (Psalm 122:6).

Archbishop of Miami
Most Reverend Thomas Wenski

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