As antisemitism surges across Western discourse, a senior American Catholic leader is drawing a clear line: hostility toward Jews is not merely immoral, it is a betrayal of the Church’s own teachings. In a message released ahead of Easter, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample invoked a foundational Vatican document to call Catholics back to a theological position that rejects centuries of anti-Jewish accusation and violence.
Speaking on March 18, Archbishop Sample cited Nostra Aetate, the 1965 declaration of the Second Vatican Council, emphasizing that antisemitism is “foreign to the mind of Christ.” He stated plainly that “the Jewish community is attacked at a far higher rate than any other religious group in the United States,” adding that Catholics must “clearly speak out against antisemitism” if they are to defend religious freedom with integrity.
The initiative comes amid growing concern within Catholic leadership over the spread of antisemitic rhetoric by high-profile figures who identify as Catholic or appeal to Catholic audiences. Media personality Candace Owens has repeatedly used her platform to criticize Israel in sweeping terms that critics say echo classic anti-Jewish tropes. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has hosted discussions amplifying claims of undue Jewish or Israeli influence over U.S. policy. Political figures such as Joe Biden and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have drawn criticism from pro-Israel advocates for policies and rhetoric seen as hostile to the Jewish state. Even figures historically associated with moral leadership, such as Desmond Tutu, have been cited for statements widely condemned as antisemitic.
At the center of the Church’s renewed message is a direct rejection of the doctrine of deicide, the claim that the Jewish people bear collective responsibility for the death of Jesus. Sample called this belief “a profound misunderstanding,” noting that it fueled centuries of persecution, including pogroms and forced conversions. He warned that theological error has real-world consequences, pointing to the long history of violence justified by such claims.
Last month, Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from a U.S. Religious Liberty Commission hearing after pressing anti-Zionist views, later receiving recognition from a group aligned with anti-Israel activism. At the same time, former national security official Joe Kent, in a conversation with Tucker Carlson, promoted the claim that Israel exerts control over American foreign policy, an assertion that mirrors longstanding antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Catholic leaders are now drawing a distinction between mainstream Church teaching and what they describe as a fringe ideological current sometimes labeled “integralism,” which seeks to fuse religion and state power and has, in some circles, adopted openly hostile positions toward Jews and Israel.
For Jewish observers, the statements from Church leadership have been welcomed. Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union said the message “could not come at a more important time,” warning that “bad actors” are exploiting religious language to spread hatred.
The Bible itself frames the treatment of the Jewish people as a test of moral clarity among the nations. As it is written: “I will bless those who bless you, and he who curses you I will curse; and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
The Sages understood this verse as a statement of reality governing history. Nations and movements rise when they align themselves with the people of Israel and fall when they turn against them. The reassertion of this principle within segments of the Catholic world reflects a recognition that theological integrity and moral responsibility cannot be separated from the treatment of the Jewish people.
The interpretation of this principle expressed in this verse became the focus of a heated debate between Tucker Carlson and Senator Ted Cruz in June, when Cruz accused Carlson of antisemitism for his claim that the pro-Israel lobby controlled US foreign policy. Cruz cited Genesis 12 as the Biblical basis for supporting Israel. Carlson expressed skepticism that the Jews of today are indeed the descendants of the Biblical patriarchs. Many Christians and Catholics adhere to replacement theology and believe that followers of their respective churches are the true descendants of the Biblical patriarchs and heirs to a new covenant and the blessings God made to the Children of Israel.
Archbishop Sample’s message is a direct challenge to voices within the Catholic sphere who traffic in conspiracy and hostility toward Jews and the Jewish state. At a moment when those voices are growing louder, the Church’s leadership has chosen to answer them clearly and publicly.
