Pope Benedict invited to Rome synagogue
-16/01/05
Pope Benedict XVI met representative
Pope Benedict invited to Rome synagogue
-16/01/05
Pope Benedict XVI met representatives of Rome’s Jewish community in the Vatican this morning, and was invited to visit the city’s synagogue, reports Ansa International.
The new pontiff is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, John Paul II, who 20 years ago became the first pope to step inside a synagogue.
Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Segni, welcoming Benedict, told him that he was “always welcome”.
The rabbi observed that John Paul II had done more than any other to bring Jews and Catholics closer together after years of enmity.
“We know that your thoughts had a decisive role in the years of the last pontificate,” Segni declared, adding that his community was convinced Benedict would continue along lines of his predecessor.
Pope Benedict told the delegation Christians and Jews had a “common responsibility to cooperate for the good of all nations, in justice and peace”.
The new popeís commitment to Jewish-Catholic relations was apparent as soon as he was elected in April 2005. One of his first acts was to send a message to Rome’s Jewish community, saying he intended to continue John Paul II’s strategy of dialogue and respect.
John Paul, who also established full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel, entered the synagogue in Rome on 13 April 1986.
During that visit he referred to Jews as “our elder brothers”, vigorously condemned anti-Semitism and announced: “The Catholic Church is close to you and is your friend.”
Pope Benedict XVI told a high-level Jewish delegation to the Vatican in June 2005 that he wanted to take Catholic-Jewish dialogue forward without ever forgetting the horror of the Holocaust.
In August 2005, during a visit to the German city of Cologne for World Youth Day, he visited the synagogue in the German city of Cologne.
In a speech there, Benedict urged Christians and Jews to work together so that the world will never again witness the “insane racist ideology” which led to the Holocaust.
In relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Vatican has of late maintained a strictly bipartisan policy, calling for security for the Jewish people and justice for the Palestinians.
He recently received the first ëpassportí to Bethlehem, a beleaguered Arab Christian town cut off by the Israeli security wall.
[Also on Ekklesia: Pope urges more Christian-Jewish dialogue; Europe will be high on the new Popeís agenda;Pope puts his faith in world youth rally; Pope becomes first citizen of Bethlehem; Youth make a global appeal to Benedict XVI; Judas Iscariot to get Vatican makeover; Pope calls for peace among the faiths in Jerusalem; Catholics encouraged to give emphasis to the Bible; Christians urged to reject usury and injustice]
Pope Benedict invited to Rome synagogue
-16/01/05
Pope Benedict XVI met representatives of Rome’s Jewish community in the Vatican this morning, and was invited to visit the city’s synagogue, reports Ansa International.
The new pontiff is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, John Paul II, who 20 years ago became the first pope to step inside a synagogue.
Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Segni, welcoming Benedict, told him that he was “always welcome”.
The rabbi observed that John Paul II had done more than any other to bring Jews and Catholics closer together after years of enmity.
“We know that your thoughts had a decisive role in the years of the last pontificate,” Segni declared, adding that his community was convinced Benedict would continue along lines of his predecessor.
Pope Benedict told the delegation Christians and Jews had a “common responsibility to cooperate for the good of all nations, in justice and peace”.
The new pope’s commitment to Jewish-Catholic relations was apparent as soon as he was elected in April 2005. One of his first acts was to send a message to Rome’s Jewish community, saying he intended to continue John Paul II’s strategy of dialogue and respect.
John Paul, who also established full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Israel, entered the synagogue in Rome on 13 April 1986.
During that visit he referred to Jews as “our elder brothers”, vigorously condemned anti-Semitism and announced: “The Catholic Church is close to you and is your friend.”
Pope Benedict XVI told a high-level Jewish delegation to the Vatican in June 2005 that he wanted to take Catholic-Jewish dialogue forward without ever forgetting the horror of the Holocaust.
In August 2005, during a visit to the German city of Cologne for World Youth Day, he visited the synagogue in the German city of Cologne.
In a speech there, Benedict urged Christians and Jews to work together so that the world will never again witness the “insane racist ideology” which led to the Holocaust.
In relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Vatican has of late maintained a strictly bipartisan policy, calling for security for the Jewish people and justice for the Palestinians.
He recently received the first ëpassport’ to Bethlehem, a beleaguered Arab Christian town cut off by the Israeli security wall.
[Also on Ekklesia: Pope urges more Christian-Jewish dialogue; Europe will be high on the new Pope’s agenda;Pope puts his faith in world youth rally; Pope becomes first citizen of Bethlehem; Youth make a global appeal to Benedict XVI; Judas Iscariot to get Vatican makeover; Pope calls for peace among the faiths in Jerusalem; Catholics encouraged to give emphasis to the Bible; Christians urged to reject usury and injustice]