Jews pleased with Benedict XVI so far

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

I just saw this on the JTA wire:

BEHIND THE HEADLINES

As they look at his first few weeks,
Jews feel confident about the pope

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

ROME, May 5 (JTA) — As Pope Benedict XVI settles into his new role as leader of the world’s 1 billion Catholics, Jewish observers are watching keenly to see if he will continue the late Pope John Paul II’s groundbreaking policy of reaching out to Jews.

Evidence from the first two weeks of his papacy indicates that he at least intends to do so.

The former German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was elected to the papacy April 19. The next day, as one of his first acts as pope, he wrote to Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni and other Jewish leaders, pledging to further Jewish-Catholic relations.

He trusted, he said, “in the help of the Almighty to continue the dialogue already begun and to strengthen cooperation with the sons and the daughters of the Jewish people.”

Four days later, during the solemn mass that formally inaugurated his papacy, Benedict publicly singled out the Jews for recognition in front of 400,000 faithful and a worldwide television audience of millions.

During his homily, Benedict expressed greetings to the clergy and faithful who were following his inauguration. He then also greeted the non-Catholics among them.

“With great affection I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of baptism but are not yet in full communion with us,” he said, “and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God’s irrevocable promises.”

Jewish observers who follow papal policy or who have been active in Catholic-Jewish dialogue say these are good signs.

“Clearly Benedict has gone out of his way to demonstrate that his commitment to Catholic-Jewish relations is as strong if not stronger than his predecessor,” Rabbi David Rosen, director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, told JTA.

Rosen, who has met Benedict on a number of occasions over the years, was one of the recipients of the pope’s April 20 letter.

He said that during Benedict’s years as cardinal, when he served as the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, he had sought to make clear that he viewed the relationship with Judaism as totally different from relationships with other religions — and perhaps even from the church’s relations with other forms of Christianity. He sees Judaism as the authentic foundation of the church.

“As he once said to me,” Rosen recalled, “ ‘Anything that has religious meaning for you must have religious meaning for me, for you are our roots.’ ”

In his writings as Cardinal Ratzinger, Benedict also confronted the responsibility of Christians — if not the responsibility of the church itself — for anti-Semitism and the Holocaust.

David Kertzer of Brown University, an expert on papal policy toward the Jews, also said the fact that Benedict wrote to Jewish leaders as one of his first papal acts was “certainly a good sign that he sees continuation of his predecessor’s efforts to build good relations with the Jewish community to be a priority.”

“The speed with which he took this step,” Kertzer told JTA, “may also reflect the burden he feels as a German who grew up under Nazism and for whom questions had been raised as to what effects this may have had on his world view.”

Ratzinger, 78, grew up in a staunchly anti-Nazi Catholic family, but like nearly all German teenagers then he was obliged to join the Hitler Youth. He deserted the German army near the end of World War II.

Nonetheless, Kertzer noted that there still were issues clouding Jewish-Vatican relations.

“One of the main irritants preventing full reconciliation between the Holy See and the Jews has been the continuing unwillingness of the Vatican to come to terms with the role played by the church in fomenting modern anti-Semitism in the decades that led up to the Holocaust,” he said.

“As a scholar, Pope Ratzinger is in a position to know the historical truths that have thus far been not fully acknowledged,” he said. “I hope that he will be willing to take a new look at this history, and to face it unflinchingly.”

(cont.)

 

[stillsmallvoice]

(cont.)

A major opportunity to assess Jewish-Catholic relations will come this year, with the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, or In Our Time, a declaration promulgated by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 that repudiated all forms of anti-Semitism and rejected the charge that God punishes the Jewish people for the death of Jesus.

Observances marking the anniversary are planned for the fall. “I believe Benedict XVI will continue the extraordinary work in Catholic-Jewish relations that is the legacy of his teacher and mentor, John Paul II, but I hope he will do even more,” Rabbi A. James Rudin, a longtime activist in Catholic-Jewish relations, wrote in a recent column for the Religion News Service. The new pope, he wrote, “has talked the talk in Catholic-Jewish relations; hopefully he will now walk the walk.”

Link: jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Jews+hopeful+about+Benedict+&intcategoryid=2&SearchOptimize=Jewish+News

Be well!

ssv

 

[David_Paul]

This mean Mel Gibson can make another Christian movie and not face a year long campaign attacking it and the Roman Catholic church?

No more seminars and staged “debates” accusing Pope Pius XII of collaborating with the Nazis?

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

I should have explained that I posted the above article in continuation of the thread I started entitled Jews Wish Good Luck to Pope Benedict XVI (forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=50801) on the now closed Pope Benedict XVI thread.

David_Paul, I don’t know how The Passion is at all relevant to our good wishes for Pope Benedict XVI, but as far as my personal views on the film, see forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=384289&highlight=Passion#post384289 (posts #26 and #29 on that thread).

Be well!

ssv

 

[David_Paul]

stillsmallvoice…I hope for the best too. But the articles on Pope Benedict XVI published in the New York Times last month do not give me much hope. Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is not helping interfaith dialogue one iota. It is the most powerful newspaper in America, does reflect the views of many and when Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich or Paul Krugman goes off on the Pope and Catholics it is disheartening.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

David_Paul, you posted:

But the articles on Pope Benedict XVI published in the New York Times last month do not give me much hope. Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is not helping interfaith dialogue one iota. It is the most powerful newspaper in America, does reflect the views of many and when Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich or Paul Krugman goes off on the Pope and Catholics it is disheartening.

Ach, the liberal New York Times represents nobody but its owners & shareholders. It certainly cannot speak for the orthodox Jewish community. Rabbi David Rosen (who is mentioned in the above article & whom I know personally & esteem highly) is far more representative of the orthodox Jewish (i.e. my) community. (For what it’s worth, the coverage in the New York Post & the New York Daily News is more favorable.)

Be well!

ssv

 

[David_Paul]

Oh…Orthodox. My apologies. Wish Orthodox had more of a voice.

As you know, the attacks come from some in Reform and some who say they have left the faith but still identify themselves as Jewish. The New York Times does speak for more than itself. The attacks resonate in parts of NYC and across the country. And the paper is effective in propagating and creating an unfavorable view of not just Catholics but all Christians.

Not a fan of the New York Post. After John McCain attacked Christian evangelicals during the 2000 campaign, John Podhoretz at the NYP went on to endorse him for President. So did William Saffire and Bill Kristol. I do not think that was coincidence. They are not, of course, the only ones in the GOP who wish to marginalize evangelicals. And it is a two way street. There are Theocons who want Neocons marginalized. I want them all in the tent but not attacking each other.

Btw…if John McCain gets the GOP nomination in 2008, I’m casting a write-in ballot for Joe Lieberman.

 

[judicame]

During Europe’s Thirty Years War in the first half of the C20th approximately Eighty Mllion **European Christians **were starved to death, burned alive, rounded up or shot dead. Those that remained witnessed their Christian culture all but destroyed by a forced mass invasion of non-Christians into their once Christian lands and an unprecedented campaign of institutional intimidation.

I wonder if Christians can expect an apology from their avowed enemies any time soon.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

I saw this on the AP wire this morning:

Pope: Catholics, Jews Continue Dialogue

By AIDAN LEWIS, Associated Press Writer

Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that Roman Catholics and Jews can continue their dialogue and look with “confidence” toward the future.

Benedict made the comments in a note prepared for the 90th birthday of Elio Toaff, the former chief rabbi of Rome who welcomed Pope John Paul II on a historic visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1986.

The pope said Toaff’s birthday marked “a chance to renew the commitment to continue dialogue between us, looking with confidence to the future,” according to extracts of the text confirmed by officials from Rome’s Jewish community.

Benedict also thanked Toaff for his work toward good relations between Jews and Catholics, and said he remembered “with joy” Toaff’s reception of John Paul at Rome’s synagogue in 1986.

The pope’s note was delivered to Toaff at birthday celebrations in Rome by Cardinal Walter Kasper, who leads the Vatican’s office for relations with Jews, officials said.

Toaff said at the celebrations that he hoped ties between Roman Catholics and Jews would continue under the new pope, calling John Paul’s 1986 visit one of the “signals that have carried on reinforcing themselves, and that I hope will continue with his successor Benedict XVI.”

Toaff was one of only two living people mentioned in John Paul’s will, along with the late pope’s private secretary.

“I have always believed that I was an intermediary between the various religions because whoever believes in God has a relationship with all those who think in the same way,” Toaff was quoted as saying by the news agency Apcom.

Jews widely admired John Paul for his unstinting efforts to promote Jewish-Catholic reconciliation, including his groundbreaking visit to Rome’s synagogue in 1986 and his 2000 visit to Israel.

Benedict has reached out several times to Jews in the first weeks of his papacy. One of his first acts was to invite Rome’s chief rabbi to his April 24 installation Mass. During his homily that day, Benedict made specific mention of “a great shared spiritual heritage” with Jews.

Rome’s current chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, was unable to attend the Mass as the ceremony fell on the first day of Passover, but Jewish officials said they were surprised and pleased by Benedict’s gesture.

Benedict’s effort to reach out to Jews carries an added dimension because of his membership in the Hitler Youth and later as a conscript in the German army during World War II. He said he was forced into both roles.

Link: news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050508/ap_on_re_eu/italy_jews_catholics_1

See the photo: news.yahoo.com/photo/050508/481/rom10305081741

Be well!

ssv

 

[John_19_59]

So the Jews are pleased.

When can we expect them to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and God?