Pope Francis, in an October address, declared not only that the “state of Israel has every right to exist in safety and prosperity” but that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-Semitism. In doing so, writes Kevin Madigan, he has reversed a longstanding tradition of Catholic opposition to Jewish statehood:
What had been the authoritative Catholic view on Zionism reaches back to the 5th century and to the church father Augustine of Hippo. For Augustine, Jews had been exiled from their land and dispersed among the Gentiles for their guilt in the death of Jesus. There they would be condemned to wander and to live, until the end of time, in a state of anxiety, misery, and servitude to Gentile emperors and kings. . . .
This Augustinian “theology of the Jews” was . . . the dogmatic ground for Catholic opposition to Zionism. Indeed, the Vatican did not recognize the state of Israel until December 1993. When Theodor Herzl, perhaps the most important father of modern Zionism, asked Pope Pius X to lend his support to the establishment of a Jewish homeland, the pontiff infamously responded, “Non possumus” (“We cannot”). This was the beginning of what seemed, until Francis’ historic remarks, to be indefinite papal opposition to Zionism. . . .
In historical context, Francis’ statement must be perceived for the welcome and fundamental reversal it is.
Read more on Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/12/28/zionism-christian-history-and-pope/igt5VHIwh8WiQ9gx1Uv3NI/story.html