Pope urges more Christian-Jewish dialogue
-16/11/05
Pope Benedict XVI has declared tha
Pope urges more Christian-Jewish dialogue
-16/11/05
Pope Benedict XVI has declared that Christians and Jews must develop their dialogue ìbecause they can make an important contribution to the creation of a fairer world,î reports the European Jewish Press review.
Receiving a delegation of 45 members of the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre in a private audience in the Vatican at the beginning of the week, the Pope said: ìAfter a difficult and painful history, relations between our two communities are presently taking a new, more positive, direction.î
ìWe must continue to advance along the path of mutual respect and dialogue, inspired by our shared spiritual heritage and committed to an ever more effective cooperation in the service of the human family,î Benedict XVI stated.
He continued: ìChristians and Jews can do much to enable coming generations to live in harmony and respect for the dignity with which every human being has been endowed by the Creator.î
ìI express the hope, shared by men and women of good will everywhere, that this century will see our world emerge from the web of conflict and violence, and sow the seeds for a future of reconciliation, justice and peace. Upon all of you I invoke an abundance of divine blessings,î the Pope added.
He recalled to the Jewish delegation the fact that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the ëNostra Aetateí declaration of the Second Vatican Council which is considered the turning point in the dialogue between Christians and Jews after years of anti-Judaism within the Church.
This landmark declaration condemned ìanti-Semitism directed against the Jews at whatever time and by whomsoever.î
In his address to the Pope, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which hunts Nazi war criminals, stressed that ìin our time the greatest threat to [hu]mankind comes not from secularists and atheists, but from religious fanatics and zealots.î
ìToday, those who help recruit and inspire terrorists to murder innocent civilians by promising them a place in heaven are not ungodly political leaders, but fundamentalist Imams and Mullahs who claim obedience to their Creator,î Hier said.
[Also on Ekklesia: Pope calls for peace among the faiths in Jerusalem (article) ; Christian Zionism – Road map to Armageddon? (book)]
Pope urges more Christian-Jewish dialogue
-16/11/05
Pope Benedict XVI has declared that Christians and Jews must develop their dialogue ‘because they can make an important contribution to the creation of a fairer world,’ reports the European Jewish Press review.
Receiving a delegation of 45 members of the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre in a private audience in the Vatican at the beginning of the week, the Pope said: ‘After a difficult and painful history, relations between our two communities are presently taking a new, more positive, direction.’
‘We must continue to advance along the path of mutual respect and dialogue, inspired by our shared spiritual heritage and committed to an ever more effective cooperation in the service of the human family,’ Benedict XVI stated.
He continued: ‘Christians and Jews can do much to enable coming generations to live in harmony and respect for the dignity with which every human being has been endowed by the Creator.’
‘I express the hope, shared by men and women of good will everywhere, that this century will see our world emerge from the web of conflict and violence, and sow the seeds for a future of reconciliation, justice and peace. Upon all of you I invoke an abundance of divine blessings,’ the Pope added.
He recalled to the Jewish delegation the fact that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the ëNostra Aetate’ declaration of the Second Vatican Council which is considered the turning point in the dialogue between Christians and Jews after years of anti-Judaism within the Church.
This landmark declaration condemned ‘anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at whatever time and by whomsoever.’
In his address to the Pope, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which hunts Nazi war criminals, stressed that ‘in our time the greatest threat to [hu]mankind comes not from secularists and atheists, but from religious fanatics and zealots.’
‘Today, those who help recruit and inspire terrorists to murder innocent civilians by promising them a place in heaven are not ungodly political leaders, but fundamentalist Imams and Mullahs who claim obedience to their Creator,’ Hier said.
[Also on Ekklesia: Pope calls for peace among the faiths in Jerusalem (article) ; Christian Zionism – Road map to Armageddon? (book)]