Rabbi Asks Pope Benedict Not to Wear Cross at Western Wall

[allhers]

I wonder what the Pope will do. I find it offensive that Pope John Paul kissed the Koran.
Scandalous really.

Sometimes pictures are not what they are cracked up to be.
In the case of the alleged “Hindu priestess” picture, the action in question is being misrepresented. The picture shows an Indian woman making a mark on the forehead of JP II. The thing is: This woman is not a Hindu nor a priestess. She is a Catholic, and she is performing a typical greeting ceremony used in India known as aarti. It is like getting lei when you visit Hawaii. It is also customary for Indian Catholics to greet the celebrant at Mass in this way. JP II was about to say Mass, so they did the usual local custom for him. The reports of her being a Hindu priestess are completely false. The picture is being misrepresented.

I suspect the same thing is going on in the case of the “kissing the Koran” photo. The picture shows the pope kissing an ornate book and standing next to a man of Middle Eastern descent. The man in question happens to be the Chaldean Patriarch–meaning he’s another, fellow Catholic. The book–to me at least–looks like a copy of the Gospels, and it is quite normal to kiss a book of the gospels during the course of some liturgies. I suspect that this is what is going on in the picture. I have seen press account saying otherwise, but no primary sources, and I already have learned not to trust secondary sources, as the “Hindu priestess” episode illustrates.
James Akin
Catholic Answers
source:
ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=324816&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2002&Author=&Keyword=Kissing+the+Koran&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=9&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=

Or it could have been this:
That gesture was a sign of the Holy Father’s respect for the billion and 34 million followers of Islam, as well as his eagerness to make a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Abraham, the common father of Christians, Jews and Muslims.
source:ewtn.com/vexperts/showresult.asp?RecNum=304721&Forums=0&Experts=0&Days=2002&Author=&Keyword=Kissing+the+Koran&pgnu=1&groupnum=0&record_bookmark=3&ORDER_BY_TXT=ORDER+BY+ReplyDate+DESC&start_at=

Also, at Assisi all he did was pray for peace. I sure don’t understand why people don’t have more respect for him and understand his love for all. He was everyone’s Holy Father, even if they, or you, don’t believe it.

As I said earlier, I think its rude that the Rabbi even asked him that! Very rude!

 

[bobzills]

Why do Jews think they can make the rules for everybody else?

The Jews are God’s chosen people.
However, although this has not occurred very often, I have seen Jews in Church, wearing a star of David or in one case a yarmulke.
Some Jews are more friendly toward Christians than others, so it might be better not to jump, but to wait and see if this order of this rabbi stands. I could be wrong, but I suspect he will be overruled in the interest of supporting good relations between Catholics and Jews.

 

[Don_L]

Apparently other than Satan and vampires fear that cross. Now if we can just get more Christians to embrace it…

 

[Trick]

In order to fully comply with the rabbi’s request, shouldn’t Pope Benedict XVI be clothed in perhaps a coat and tie, since the Pope’s regular garments clearly define him as the Pope, leader of the Catholic Church and believer in Jesus as God.

Trick

 

[Cecilcatholic]

Don L. and Trick : Excellent thoughts!

 

[PeterK]

What if the Pope were to say, ‘Fine, have it your way. But now I won’t be visiting the wall, because, with all due respect to your sense of decorum, my cross goes where I go.’

Rabbinical criticism of things Catholic seems to be a growing trend.

How true St. Paul’s words ring. It makes perfect sense that the Cross is the stumbling block to the Jews. It represents the greatest chagrin in all of human history. When God decided to actually come down and dwell among His chosen people, who had long anticipated this coming, they not only did not recognize Him but rejected Him.

Here is the crux of the Jewish dilemma in regards to Christ. What if messengers notified you that the King (or some notable sort) was going to visit your house. Yet when he arrived you shut the door in his face because you did not believe he was who he said he was - the King. Once word got out about this you would be the laughing stock of the community. Two courses of action would now be open to you. You could admit your mistake or continue in denying that the King ever arrived at your house and has yet to do so.

After attempting to understand the situation all we can do is pray and make sacrifices for unbelievers. God’s grace, not human arguments, converts hearts.

Pete

 

[Bubba_Switzler]

What if the Pope were to say, ‘Fine, have it your way. But now I won’t be visiting the wall, because, with all due respect to your sense of decorum, my cross goes where I go.’

This was my original thought. The whole point of the Pope going to the wall is as a symbolic gesture. It’s not as if the Pope needs to do this for himself or even for Christianity. What the Rabbi is essentially saying is, please don’t be Christian while demonstrating Christian respect for Judaism.

Rabbinical criticism of things Catholic seems to be a growing trend.

Personally, I’d rather see more, not less, criticism in both directions. Stop with the symbolic gestures and take off the gloves and debate like intellectual men.

But, of course, if Catholics wince at the idea of Jewish criticism, Jews are completely horrified by the reverse. (Mustn’t tell the Jews about Jesus.) So Catholics are told to bite their tongues and make nice. Blech!

 

[jamesneiman]

In my view it is simple: the Pope represents Christ on Earth, and his presence IS a sign of the cross, so his wearing the cross is part of who he really is. To ask him not to wear the cross is to ask him not to be there. Either the Pope is welcome as Pope, or he is not.

 

[srp643]

How horribly rude.

~Liza

And galactically insecure. If they don’t believe in Jesus, the Cross should mean nothing to them much like we would look at a statue of Buddha. but it does mean something to them…

 

[Tsuwano]

Though I think it is a bit obnoxious to ask the Pope (of all people) not to wear a cross when he visits the Wailing Wall, and though I think the Pope should not go to the Wailing Wall if he must remove his cross (after all, he represents more than himself in his capacity as Pontiff), I think the Rabbi does remind us that the cross is not an automatic sign of goodness or of God to many people. I think it is necessary for Christians to be sensitive to the fact that the cross has been a sign of terror and intolerance to various groups throughout history and we should constantly remind ourselves that our own lives lived in holiness is the most immediate sign of God’s presence in the world. We need not beat ourselves over the head for being Christians, but we should always atone for the times our behavior (both institutionally as Church and individually as believers) has made the cross a lie in the eyes of many who have suffered at the hands of Christians. Confidence as believers and humility as sinners are both part of what it means to identify ourselves as followers of the Lord.

 

[jamesneiman]

Though I think it is a bit obnoxious to ask the Pope (of all people) not to wear a cross when he visits the Wailing Wall, and though I think the Pope should not go to the Wailing Wall if he must remove his cross (after all, he represents more than himself in his capacity as Pontiff), I think the Rabbi does remind us that the cross is not an automatic sign of goodness or of God to many people. I think it is necessary for Christians to be sensitive to the fact that the cross has been a sign of terror and intolerance to various groups throughout history and we should constantly remind ourselves that our own lives lived in holiness is the most immediate sign of God’s presence in the world. We need not beat ourselves over the head for being Christians, but we should always atone for the times our behavior (both institutionally as Church and individually as believers) has made the cross a lie in the eyes of many who have suffered at the hands of Christians. Confidence as believers and humility as sinners are both part of what it means to identify ourselves as followers of the Lord.

I disagree. The cross is not a sign of terror - it is a sign of love. This quote sums up the misunderstanding: “There are not 100 people who hate the Catholic Church, yet there are millions who hate what they believe the Catholic Church to be.” --Archbishop Fulton Sheen

 

[bobzills]

Some Jews are more friendly toward Christians than others, so it might be better not to jump, but to wait and see if this order of this rabbi stands. I could be wrong, but I suspect he will be overruled in the interest of supporting good relations between Catholics and Jews.

As I indicated above, the declaration of the rabbi does not stand. In fact, a statement that has just been released reads: “The Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See, H.E. Mordechay Lewy, believes it necessary to clarify that during the next visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Western Wall, the same procedure that was applied in the Papal visit of the year 2000, will be valid. The Israeli host will respect, as a matter of course, the religious symbols of the Holy Father and of his entourage, as expected in accordance with rules of hospitality and dignity. This was confirmed to a high Official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Jerusalem personally by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, who is responsible for worship matters at the Western Wall. This clarification was deemed necessary as today - 17 March 2009 - the Israeli daily “Jerusalem Post” published a misleading quotation of the rabbi.”

agensir.it/pls/sir/V2_S2DOC_B.quotidiano?tema=Quot_english&argomento=dettaglio&sezione=&data_ora=17/03/2009&id_oggetto=169249

 

[Don_L]

This is good news and should finish most of our concerns.

The thing I’m left with though, is the irony as to how many Christians (and Catholics) also depise the cross. They devise in their minds a Church with only a risen Christ - even when the cross is displayed it is without Christ.

How many would join the Church if only it didn’t have this cross thing in their way?

Think about abortion and end of life suffering -not to mention that “one spouse only” problem -then there’s that confession thing -what a cross that is…

Keep Praying for them.

 

[MariaTheresa]

TO allhers:
you said-
“Also, at Assisi all he did was pray for peace. I sure don’t understand why people don’t have more respect for him and understand his love for all. He was everyone’s Holy Father, even if they, or you, don’t believe it.”

Where did I say he was not “everyone’s Holy Father” ?
I hope you are right and he didn’t kiss the Koran, but I think he did and I find that objectionable. Please don’t extrapolate that to mean anything else. You don’t know my personal feelings about the Pope without asking.

 

[chosen_people]

The two reasons that the Rabbi of the Western Wall could claim against wearing a cross at the Western Wall are:

a) the cross has been a symbol for persecution of the Jewish people for two thousand years

b) the pagan mythological connotations of the cross are inappropriate at the holiest place for monotheism

However, in this case, neither of these two claims are valid. The Pope has been welcomed on a visit to Israel with the hope of continuing and improving relations between the Vatican and Israel. In the framework of that visit it has been decided he should visit the Western Wall. It should also be noted that Israel is a democratic country that allows freedom of religion and freedom of expression to all. Given these circumstances it should be clear to everyone that despite the Rabbi’s objections the Pope will be wearing his cross or any other religious paraphernalia he deems fit when visiting the Western Wall

 

[Corki]

The two reasons that the Rabbi of the Western Wall could claim against wearing a cross at the Western Wall are:

a) the cross has been a symbol for persecution of the Jewish people for two thousand years

b) the pagan mythological connotations of the cross are inappropriate at the holiest place for monotheism

However, in this case, neither of these two claims are valid. The Pope has been welcomed on a visit to Israel with the hope of continuing and improving relations between the Vatican and Israel. In the framework of that visit it has been decided he should visit the Western Wall. It should also be noted that Israel is a democratic country that allows freedom of religion and freedom of expression to all. Given these circumstances it should be clear to everyone that despite the Rabbi’s objections the Pope will be wearing his cross or any other religious paraphernalia he deems fit when visiting the Western Wall

Thank you for that very reasoned response.

 

[bobzills]

The two reasons that the Rabbi of the Western Wall could claim against wearing a cross at the Western Wall are:

a) the cross has been a symbol for persecution of the Jewish people for two thousand years

b) the pagan mythological connotations of the cross are inappropriate at the holiest place for monotheism

However, in this case, neither of these two claims are valid. The Pope has been welcomed on a visit to Israel with the hope of continuing and improving relations between the Vatican and Israel. In the framework of that visit it has been decided he should visit the Western Wall. It should also be noted that Israel is a democratic country that allows freedom of religion and freedom of expression to all. Given these circumstances it should be clear to everyone that despite the Rabbi’s objections the Pope will be wearing his cross or any other religious paraphernalia he deems fit when visiting the Western Wall

At the local Church here, a Christian lady brought her Jewish friend to a service and no one objected to his wearing the star of david and a yarmulke during the service. After the service, we met in the Church hall for conversation and fellowship, and again there were no objections, as he was accepted and welcomed.

 

[redrosetea]

In a few weeks we will be celebrating the Passover with a Seder…We are instructed to keep it as reverent , respectful, and as authentic as we can possible make it

Fr even wears his beanie when he reads the Haggadah…We are told to be mindful of the people the Passover really belongs to…we strive to keep t as respectful of the Jews as possible

If the pope wears his pectoral cross, it is no differnt than a rabbi attending mass wearing his cap…No one would ever tell him to uncover his head in our church…Some people are big on making a big deal out of nothing

 

[Darryl1958]

I think it is necessary for Christians to be sensitive to the fact that the cross has been a sign of terror and intolerance to various groups throughout history…

Given that Jesus was nailed to a cross and crucified on one, it goes without saying that this is a sign of terror and violence. First and foremost amongst those groups are Christians themselves.

 

[JReducation]

Given the fact that the Rabbi seems to have been misquoted by the press and that the Rabbi himself and the government have clarified the statement, I don’t see why this conversation even continues.

My religious family has friars in Jerusalem. They run many parishes there and work very closely with the Jewish leaders in the Franciscan Family Ministry. When the heat allows it, the friars often wear their habit all around Jerusalem, even to go pray at the Western wall, which is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. No one ever stops them when they’re in their habit. Some of the friars have said that they do have a rule about the Western wall that seems to be a pracrtical one and this may have been the issue with the visiting clergy. Non residents of the city must have a pass to approach the wall. This has been in effect for a number of years to protect it from terrorists. Anyone dressed as a Jew, bishop or the Qeen of England can blow up what is left of one of Judeo-Chrstian-Islamic most important religious patrimonies.

I do bellieve that the first statement was a a typical attempt by the press to push its own agenda, which caused discomfort for Catholilcs and Jews alike. The best thing that both sides can do is ignore the press’ silly remarks.

Fraternally,

JR