Question:
Answer:
Replacement Theology essentially claims that the Jewish people were the chosen people of God and that due to their rejection of the Christ they have been replaced as God’s chosen people by the Church. This replacement is then taken to mean that the Jewish people have been rejected or “accursed” by God for their rejection of the Gospel.
In Nostra Aetate the Church explicitly rejects replacement theology:
Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues. . . (4)
The Church rejects the idea that the covenant with Israel has been nullified or revoked.
The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, for the Old Covenant has never been revoked. (Catechism, 121)
While the role of preparing the world for the arrival of the messiah has been fulfilled by the Jewish people, they still are God’s chosen people whose fidelity to God remains a light to the nations. The Jewish people were called to a unique and special relationship to God that included preparing for the messiah but was not limited to that one role.
Recommended reading: The Corporate Conversion of Israel by Jimmy Akin