Recall analogy of Church as a large ocean liner. Over centuries, groups of people decide to mutiny for various reasons (heresy, apostasy and schism) and strike out on their own. Setting out in their lifeboats, they take various things they deem important. Agreement becomes norm of faith rather than obedience. One eviscerates Holy Scripture and takes a couple Sacraments, another takes Scripture but no Sacraments, another keeps Catholic teachings but disallows authority of Pope and yet another decides Christ is not God. And on and on...

All these little lifeboats are now out and away. All refuse to come back despite our pleas from railing. They choose to chart their own course, beholden to no apostolic authority. They craft their own religion or “spin” Christianity to their liking. Everything they have comes from mother ship - mere fragments of Catholicism ripped from tapestry of Tradition.

Given their separation, can we guarantee their "safety?" No. Can we assert that they have all means to salvation? No. Can we affirm that they are on right track? We cannot. By leaving bark of Peter, they trade fullness of faith for shadowy fragments and subjective interpretations.

Pope John Paul II reminds us that greatest sin of modern era is Christian disunity. He rightfully insists that we cannot change world if we do not speak with one voice and love with one heart. The Church is a multitude of interrelated parts. Remove some of parts and it is no longer able to function properly. The Catechism reminds us to pray for all who belong in any way to People of God. Especially those who have an “imperfect communion” with Catholic Church and those who “have not yet received Gospel.”

Though longing to be one body of believers, we are called to honor and preserve God’s revelation intact. We cannot abridge our Sacred Tradition. The cultural notion that prompts celebration on things we share in common can also dismiss things we do not. We must not sacrifice truth at altar of ecumenism. Our goal is to entice everyone to warmth and safety of mother ship, not to join them in lifeboats. Only when all are safely aboard will our task be complete.

Be proud to be a Catholic. Radiate that joy by encouraging others to discover majesty of Christ’s one true Church. Remember next time a challenge is issued, issue one of your own. Charitably respond by asking why anyone would be content with only a morsel of feast!

Caiaphas, Jewish High Priest, however, could and apparently did meet that night with an advisory body - a political sanhedrin, which had no legal or religious status. (Source: "Studies in History of Sanhedrin," by Hugo Mantel, and "Who Crucified Jesus?" by Solomon Zeitlin.)

What, then, caused distortion of these details, leading to such monumental, tragic consequences?

There was good reason for such caution in telling and writing of story. With death of Jesus, his followers had to convince Rome that they had no issues with Rome, and that they did not hold Rome or Pontius Pilate responsible for Jesus' death. Above all, they had to convince Rome that their "kingdom" was not of this world.

Even so, Jesus followers were persecuted for years. Christians faced horrible deaths by crucifixion or in Roman arenas where they were fed to lions for entertainment of emperors and public.

Some years after Jesus, Jews did revolt, but uprising was crushed and Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. Another revolt followed in 132 C.E., led by Bar Kokhba, who was declared Messiah by Rabbi Akiba, a leading rabbi. Three years later, Bar Kokhba and 580,000 Jews were killed in battle, while tens of thousands of Jewish men and women were sold into slavery. It was not a good time to be a Jew or a follower of Jesus, or to say or write anything that would have placed Pontius Pilate or Rome in a bad light. Those living around that time understood and knew how to read between lines. In time, however, full story was forgotten, lost or suppressed for ideological reasons, leading to formalization and institutionalization of perverse Christ-killer charge leveled against Jewish people.

We cannot change past. But we can avoid mistakes of past, now that we know better. It is time that we retire pernicious Christ-killer charge and bury it forever. It has no legitimate place any more in decent, knowledgeable, responsible Jewish-Christian relations, teachings, or story-telling.