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A sampling of reaction to the pope's synagogue visit
by John L Allen Jr on Jan. 18, 2010
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Printer-friendly versionSend to friendPDF versionSunday Pope Benedict XVI visited the Great Synagogue of Rome, marking only the second time that a pope has crossed the Tiber River to enter the primary Jewish place of worship in Rome. The event offered a strong signal of commitment to Jewish/Christian dialogue, but also a reminder of the tensions in the relationship – including, most recently, possible sainthood for Pope Pius XII, the wartime pontiff whose alleged “silence” on the Holocaust remains the object of fierce historical debate.
The visit sparked a variety of reactions, ranging from traditionalist Catholics who celebrated a “Mass of reparation” to atone for what they called the “insult” of the pope’s synagogue visit, to prominent rabbis who hailed the pope’s commitment to dialogue and to fighting anti-Semitism.
The following is a sampling of commentary on the day after Benedict’s visit to the synagogue – the third time Benedict has met Jews on their own turf, so to speak, after trips to the Cologne Synagogue in 2005 and the Park East Synagogue in New York in April 2008.
Rabbi Alfonso Arbib, Chief Rabbi of Milan
“The pope’s speech was important, because he confirmed some fundamental concepts – for example the irreversibility of the divine covenant with the Jewish people. That’s an important concept for Catholics, because for several centuries in Catholicism there was the ideology, or the idea, of substitution, that the Catholic church substitutes for the Jewish people.”
A Jewish restaurant owner in Rome (not identified by name on Italian television)
“Before the meeting, everyone was skeptical. Why do we have to have this meeting? What’s the point? Who will benefit from it, and what will it produce? But after the meeting, I have the impression that most of those who were against it changed their mind.”
Organizers of a traditionalist “Mass of reparation” held in Verona
“The premises of the synagogue visit on the part of Benedict XVI do not appear in any way to be in continuity with those of the first pontificate of St. Peter.” The visit “follows in the relativistic footsteps of ‘dialogue’ inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council and beyond, which aims at maintaining non-Catholics in the errors of their respective religions.”
A Jewish woman who took part in the synagogue event (not identified by name on Italian television)
“The silence of Pope Pacelli [Pope Pius XII] hurt us very much. It was correct to talk about that with the pope, because it's what was in all of our hearts."
Giancarlo Zizola, veteran Catholic journalist and Vatican expert
“Many Catholics should be grateful to the Jewish world, because sometimes they can give voice to sources of discontent within the church which the Catholic world isn’t able to express, often for institutional reasons. For example, the penitential attitude of the church with regard to the Shoah, which the dialogue with Judaism keeps alive, makes us better aware of the necessity to integrate our profession of faith as Christians with the actual conduct of members of the church, both at the top and at the base."
Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, President of the Assembly of Italian Rabbis
[Note: Laras chose to boycott the papal visit in protest of what he described as ‘deterioration’ in Jewish/Catholic relations under Pope Benedict XVI]
“In the speech of the pope, we heard several things that are encouraging, important and positive, but also, I would say, largely predictable … The question is whether some new impulse or reinforcement of the dialogue in concrete terms will result from this summit. The danger is exaggerating the importance of the event and undervaluing the real problems in the dialogue.”
“What we have to avoid is that the dialogue is exclusively an affair at the top. It has to make its way down to the base, such as the local parish community. That’s where the success of the dialogue should be measured, and where it can produce better understanding and important steps in the fight against anti-Semitism. Involving famous personalities is important, but they don’t necessarily have the pulse of the real situation. If the pope wants to make a strong contribution to fighting anti-Semitism, then we would expect that he become a motor force for driving this dialogue down to the base.”
Riccardo Pacifici, President of the Jewish Community of Rome
“The most beautiful thing about this event was the sincerity, the truth on all sides. The risk would have been to manufacture a feel-good appointment, full of hypocrisy, pretending that everything is fine. Some said that the Vatican should have waited until after the visit to say anything about Pius XII, but in reality the fact that they did it beforehand allowed us to deal with it with greater clarity. Everything was on the table.”
“Beatification would be seen as a judgment on Pius XII, not just an absolution but a declaration of heroism – not ‘heroic virtue,’ but moral heroism – which in our view wasn’t there. … The moment that struck me more than anything else during the ceremony was when the pontiff stood up and gave a small bow to the [Holocaust] survivors. We owe a huge debt to them … Someone told me a few months ago that the beatification of Pius XII would never happen during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. Perhaps his signature on the decree of heroic virtue was simply a symbolic act, and we can hope that in concrete terms, [the beatification] will not happen, at least until after we have had a chance to consult the archives.”
“The paradox of all this is that since it wasn’t just any pope [who came to the synagogue], but a German pope, it’s possible that he will feel a special responsibility upon his shoulders. Everyone forgets today, but I remember very well that at the beginning, the election of a Polish pope was not viewed with great enthusiasm by Jews, because the Poles were more the accomplices of the Nazis rather than the victims of Nazism. They contributed in an aggressive manner to the final solution. With a few rare exceptions, such as Papa Wojtyla, they didn’t help anybody. Half of the six million Jews who died were Poles, as 98 or 99 percent of them just disappeared. So, we are hoping that Pope Ratzinger will likewise feel a special historical responsibility.”
“I can guarantee that things were said in the corridors, in private, and now we’re waiting to see results – not right away, but eventually. That’s the chance we took. For example, we need a sharper clarification, without any ambiguities, on the Lefebvrites. How is it possible to welcome them into the church when they hold a ‘Mass of reparation’ for the visit to the synagogue?
Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, President of the Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of the Italian bishops
“Yesterday not only confirmed the irreversibility of dialogue between Jews and Christians, but in my opinion, it also pointed the way to important steps forward … Yesterday, de facto, the pope and Rabbi Di Segni commented on the Scriptures together. That’s never been done before together. I saw the emotion in Pope Benedict XVI when Di Segni commented on the verses from Scripture about brotherhood. Knowing Pope Ratzinger very well, when he went to greet the rabbi, I thought it was a way of underlining these passages on brotherhood.”
“This pope knows how to weigh his words, so everyone was keenly awaiting his speech. His words were extraordinary, including a strong confirmation of the critically important concepts of the Second Vatican Council. I convinced that yesterday we began to walk together in a new way, focused more clearly on how we can continue to develop our sense of brotherhood with one another. It was an unforgettable event.”
“What’s important is that we cannot allow ourselves, living in a world like the one in which we find ourselves, to allow our sense of brotherhood and our common commitments to be corroded.”
Philip A. Cunningham, director of the Jewish-Catholic Institute at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia
"I was struck by how often the pope referred to Jews using the language of covenant, explicitly or implicitly; something which does not appear to have been very frequent earlier in his papacy ... Benedict's words are incompatible with recent efforts by some Catholics to argue that the Mosaic covenant was rendered obsolete or inert by Christ's coming, or that ongoing Jewish covenantal life can somehow be separated from the Torah. The pope could not [speak this way] if he endorsed such 'neo-supersessionist' arguments. It seems to me that those Catholics who like to assert there is a serious Catholic debate over the vitality of Torah covenantal life after Christ would do well to ponder today's papal address."
Fr. Floriano Abrhamowicz, a traditionalist priest who has been excommunicated by the Vatican and expelled by the Society of St. Pius X, the main Lefebvrite body, and who celebrated the “Mass of reparation” on Sunday
“The one missing in all of this is Jesus Christ.”
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Read John Allen's main story on Benedict's visit to the Rome synagogue here: Pope welcomed to Rome synagogue despite tensions
IS THERE ANY WAY TO
IS THERE ANY WAY TO RE-EXCOMMUNICATE THIS SCHISMATIC GROUP?!
Or is it automatic?
"Organizers of a traditionalist “Mass of reparation” held in Verona
“The premises of the synagogue visit on the part of Benedict XVI do not appear in any way to be in continuity with those of the first pontificate of St. Peter.” The visit “follows in the relativistic footsteps of ‘dialogue’ inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council and beyond, which aims at maintaining non-Catholics in the errors of their respective religions.”"
With my apologies for not
With my apologies for not reading all of the way to the end before jumping the gun and commenting, as we there reads:
"Fr. Floriano Abrhamowicz, a traditionalist priest who has been excommunicated by the Vatican and expelled by the Society of St. Pius X, the main Lefebvrite body, and who celebrated the “Mass of reparation” on Sunday"
It looks like they are in fact excommunicant, which was not clear in the earlier caption.
Please see here of greater interest the words of Cunningham regarding the supersessionist argument now rendered invalid. My surprise lies in hearing this opinion that the earlier covenant was superseded is "recent" as it one I heard from my earliest days.
Perhaps I am not grasping the finer points of the earlier nor the latest developments, suffering as I do from my severely limiting literacy and theological incapacities. Perhaps pete might explain it.
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)
For an analysis of "recent"
For an analysis of "recent" echoes of classic supersessionism see the article in "Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations" entitled, "Official Ecclesial Documents to Implement the Second Vatican Council on Relations with Jews: Study Them, Become Immersed in Them, and Put Them into Practice." It is available at:
http://escholarship.bc.edu/scjr/vol4/iss1/24/
Hopefully some clarification
Hopefully some clarification comes from the SSPX-Rome talks. Jesus Christ is the way to Salvation...period. Does that mean God has forgotten the Jews? No. Does that mean the Jews have no role to play in the Final Picture? No. But we have two errors here...the belligerent stance of the excommunicated priest, and those who would pretend that our differences don't matter. The Jews still reject Jesus Christ, and that is problematic.
I contend that Jews need Jesus Christ, and we shouldn't tip toe around that. Does that mean we condone violence against them or walling them up in Ghettos? No. But we can't ignore these issues.
Let Jesus Christ decide how
Let Jesus Christ decide how the Jews need him. The Covenent between God and the Jews trumps our understanding of how it works !
FWIW- This priest is not part
FWIW- This priest is not part of the SSPX, which are now in talks with Rome. He was kicked out a while ago for his over the top speeches etc. I do beleive he is still excommunicated.
God Bless the work of Pope
God Bless the work of Pope Benedict XVI. Let us all pray for peace and understanding between all religions of the world.
First off, let me agree with
First off, let me agree with this responder.
Next, while looking at the Catechism over the weekend on another matter, I happened on the role of the Pentateuch in our faith. It's very clear we should NOT deny the covenant God made with the Israelites, but we should embrace it.
If the Pope merely goes to a synagogue to reinforce this, the trip is worthwhile.
Re : "..because the Poles
Re : "..because the Poles were more the accomplices of the Nazis rather than the victims of Nazism."
This statement by Riccardo Pacifici, President of the Jewish community in Rome is reprehensible and incredibly ignorant of the horrors suffered by forgotten Poles, not only under the Nazi's but also the 1.2 million that went missing in Siberia after the Russian invasion of September 17, 1939.
Not only is the suffering not acknowledged but the fact the there are more Poles recognized as "Righteous Gentiles" than from any other group.
It was after all policy in the West to forget this suffering to help end the war.
What was the young Wojtyla's
What was the young Wojtyla's experience and acts under the occupation?
Let's see, from 1939 - 1944,
Let's see, from 1939 - 1944, Karol worked as a messenger in a restaurant, a manual laborer in a limestone quarry and at a chemical factory. Otherwise, he would have been deported to Germany. During this time, his father died so that, by the age of 20, he had lost his entire family. In 1942, he began studying for the priesthood at night, while continuing to work during the day, at a clandestine seminary run by Cardinal Sapieha. In February of 1944, he was hit, and nearly killed, by a German truck.
From July of 1944 until January of 1945, he hid from the Nazi roundup of 8,000 men and boys in Krakow by hiding in his uncle's basement, and then later by hiding in the Archbishop's Palace. In January of 1945, after the Germans fled the city of Krakow, Karol volunteered to clean out the frozen excrement of the old seminary building. Later that month, he aided a 14 year old girl named Edith Zierer who had away from a Nazi labor camp near Czestochowa. Karol, after encountering her collapsed at the train station, carried her to the train and personally escorted her to safety in Krakow. Edith credits him as saving her life that day. B'nai B'rith has said that Karol Wojtyla helped protect many Polish Jews from the Nazis.
I wonder if you or I would have been men of such heroic virtue in similar circumstances?
Trying not to be killed I
Trying not to be killed I imagine.
Pretty much what I expected:
Pretty much what I expected: Almost all preconceptions, both positive and negative, were confirmed by B16's visit, making it almost a non-event.
Insightful, Tony, your
Insightful, Tony, your expression of our relentlessly seeing as in a mirror only what we are prepared to see.
Yet this is not a "non-event" by any means; rather may it be an historic moment in the whole history of Faith.
It may be the same mystic mirror which the Reverend Father Ed Hays give us as gift this week, if we can only perceive it, if we can only see profoundly through it.
I do not believe GOD was
I do not believe GOD was making a covenant with the Jewish people when
he made a covenant with Abraham. I believe God was making a covenant with
all of humanity and left it up to the Jewish people to announce this
covenant. When the Jewish people insist that the covenant was with them, it
started a war between the Jews and all other people of the world.
God is not partial, God does not have preferences. Could we please see this.
Neither is there a covenant with the Catholic Church. All are included in
the Covenant. The part Jesus played in the world was to teach us how to
abide by that Covenant.
Interesting concept. Your
Interesting concept. Your opinion? Or can you back it up with official Church teaching?
I believe a more accurate statement would be, "all are called to participate in Christ's work of salvation, but not all choose to do so."
Does this bickering and
Does this bickering and in-fighting among religions and, indeed, within each one of them, indicate that believers are fooling themselves and that God cannot possibly exist if his sheer existence results in such bickering and in-fighting?
Thank you NCR for
Thank you NCR for highlighting the Pope's 2010 visit to the synagogue in Rome, particularly his remarks during the visit. May other publications do as much, so that Catholics and the entire world will know and understand the full import of what he said.
As one who was born in
As one who was born in Germany during the years of WWII, I am inclined to ask what better person to deal with the Jewish-Roman Catholic diialogue than a German Pope. Perhaps Pope Benedict XV will be humble enough to follow in the foot steps of another German theologian, Johannes Baptist Metz who has spent most of his life struggling with his Catholic faith, specifically who God is after Auschwitz. Metz states that he "came from a long way (theologically) from his southern German Catholicism". I'm afraid the present Pope, who also comes from the same southern German Catholicism hasn't quite come far enough and perhaps he will make some progress as he tackles this issue.
I am not much in favor of the present rush to make saints out of either Pope Pius XII or Pope John Paul II. Way too early from a historical perspective.
I also agree that the Jewish-Catholic dialogue needs to reach the roots of the base communities of Roman Catholics especially in Europe where the roots of anti-semitism go deep into history. Just this past year, my husband learned from another family member that there is strong evidence that his ancestors were Spanish Sephardic Jews who escaped to Italy during the Spanish Inquisition. We don't know whether they were forced to become Catholics or whether over the past 500 years they "converted" to Roman Catholicism. Perhaps we all should have our DNA tested to see what tribes we come from. Perhaps most of us are truly brothers and sisters regardless of our religious affiliations. Good thing to do in the countries of the Middle East as well.
"The silence of Pope Pacelli
"The silence of Pope Pacelli [Pope Pius XII] hurt us very much," said an unnamed Jewish woman. How sad that she, like so many, have fallen for the lies and the slander of revisionist "historians". In an effort to correct these lies, I will provide the following sources:
* According to Israeli consul Pinchas E. Lepide, in his book, "Three Popes and the Jews" (New York, Hawthorn Books, 1967), the Catholic Church under Pope Pius XII was responsible for saving 860,000 Jews from concentration camps.
* A jurist at the Nuremburg Trials stated on WNBC on Feb 28, 1964, "any words of Pius XII, directed against a madman like Hitler, would have brought on an even worse catastrophe... [and] accelerated the massacre of Jews and priests."
* Albert Einstein told Time Magazine on December 23, 1940:
"Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks...
"Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly."
* On September 20, 1938, Pope Pius XII told German pilgrims that no Christian can take part in anti-Semitism, since spiritually all Christians are Semites.
* On December 25, 1941, the New York Times wrote an editorial stating in part, "The voice of Pius XII is a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe this Christmas... he is about the only ruler left on the Continent of Europe who dares to raise his voice at all... the Pope put himself squarely against Hitlerism... he left no doubt that the Nazi aims are also irreconcilable with his own conception of a Christian peace."
* On December 25, 1942, the New York Times wrote, "This Christmas more than ever he is a lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent... Pope Pius expresses as passionately as any leader on our side the war aims of the struggle for freedom when he says that those who aim at building a new world must fight for free choice of government and religious order. They must refuse that the state should make of individuals a herd of whom the state disposes as if they were lifeless things".
* The work of Pope Pius XII so impressed, so moved, Israel Zolli, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, that in 1944, Rabbi Zolli was baptized Catholic, taking the name "Eugenio", the first name of Pope Pius XII, as his own.
* Finally, Pope Pius XII was a diplomat who recognized that his first priority must be to preserve his Church, the flock he was charged by Christ to shepherd. Secondly, he had to preserve the neutrality of the Vatican City State as a safe haven for war refugees. Finally, the Holy Father had no doubt witnessed the example of the Archbishop of Utrecht who issued a pastoral letter opposing the Nazi atrocities against Jews in Holland in 1942. As a result, the Nazis immediately rounded up as many Jews and Catholic non-Aryans as they could find and shipped them off to death camps. Pius knew that every time he spoke out, the Nazis would take vengeance by murdering even more Jews and Catholics.
I could go on and on, but I trust the point is made. Venerable Pope Pius XII has been slandered as much, if not more, than any pontiff in history. The fact that so many are so ready to buy into such obviously debunked lies is a sad testimony to the hatred for the Church that some in our society hold in their hearts.
Clint: Then this is why there
Clint: Then this is why there is such a push, in some circles, to see the Vatican documents that may support these viewpoints. That it is taking the Vatican so long to make them available (another 4 years as I understand it) has been and will continue to fuel this already hot debate. What you are writing about are various opinions and editorials: what is needed here is the presentation of facts in order to make what you write confirmed as true. I pray for that and for the tremendous good it would bring in this divided world.
do not the Christians(all)
do not the Christians(all) and the Jews, and even the Muslims believe in the SAME God and Creator??
Does not God expect all humanity to exist in harmony with each other??
If the Catholic Church feels that Pius XII is worthy of sainthood, why not, for if the Catholic church is in error, remember that GOD confers Sainthood, not man. Man proposes, but GOD disposes! Our Creator has made the Universe without error. Who then are we, no matter what faith, to make statements correcting GOD.
For if we do, then do we not attempt to lessen the Omnipotence of God?
Perhaps humankind should cease correcting God, and correct THEMSELVES as God intended.
It is Man's attempt to change the rules his liking that causes all our woes, and keeps us from living the life that God granted us!!
JVSAVaivil
No. Catholics profess a
No. Catholics profess a Triune God. Jews and Muslims do not.
Otherwise, I agree with the other statements.
Why is the Pope's visit to
Why is the Pope's visit to the Jewish synagogue so important, while attitudes towards fellow Christians seem to be so stand-offish ? B12 treats the Anglicans with scant courtesy, making an important announcement directed at the Anglicans with almost no notice. Does not Charity begin at home? Does Amos have no relevance to a modern papacy?
I would say it is not a
I would say it is not a 'non-event' by ANY means. But we should also not expect everybody to come together, hold hands, and sing 'we are the world' now either.
Remember, people, we have about 2000 years of history between the Church and the Jews. It will take more than one meeting to help heal the hurt (and yes, the blood). Let us pray, and pray often that we will soon all become one in Christ Jesus!
This is another good
This is another good opportinity to affirm that pope Benedict XVI is still continuing what the Whole World received from John Paul II.May his succesors continue this peace makers work.
In a radio interview just
In a radio interview just before Benedict's visit to the synogogue I am quite sure that I heard John Allan Jr defend the Vatican's persul of canonization for Pius XII. I will try to paraphrase what I heard. If I am wrong, I apologize. He seems to have said that in the canonization process the church's goal is to acknowledge holiness regardless of the circumstances or controversy it might incur.
It is my belief that this is misleading. Again, someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that there are multitudes of the faithful (protestant, Jew, Moslem, etc) in heaven. Many of these, like young Mattie Stepanek were heroic and exemplary in their goodness. The church canonizes to send a message.
I really think that this process for Pius XII has many messages:
1. To rebuff those who question his role with regard to the Holocaust;
2. To "clear the queue" to speed up the process for John Paul II;
3. To further the diminution of the impact of Vatican II and advance the conservative regression;
4. To send a message to the Jewish brothers and sisters that while dialogue continues, any "advances" will be based upon Jewish capitulation, as per the renewed Easter prayer that reflects and reminds us of the "old" notion of "perfidious"ness.
Some years ago , when
Some years ago , when visiting the Jewish Museum in Sydney ( a must see)my secretary, Barbara,saw this notice.
" We recognise today that many centuries of blindness have veiled our eyes, so that we no longer see the beauty of your chosen people and no longer recognise the features of our firstborn brother.
" We know now the mark of Cain is on our forehead. Over the course of centuries our brother Abel has lain in the blood we have spilled, and has wept tears which we have caused, because we forgot your love.
"Forgive us for the curse which we insidiously placed on the name of the Jews.
" Forgive usfor crucifing you a second time,for we knew not what we were doing."
(Pope John XX111- Prayer of Penance written shortly before his death on 3 June 1963.)
Regarding "recent efforts by
Regarding "recent efforts by some Catholics to argue that the Mosaic covenant was rendered obsolete or inert by Christ's coming", I don't know of anyone who considers God's covenant with Abraham to be nullified by His covenant through Moses. Indeed, we believe a covenant to be eternal, everlasting, unbreakable.
God's covenant through Christ (the New Testament) is God's grace to us, a further self-revelation of God to us so that we can know, love, and serve Him to a more fuller extent.
Just because our Jewish brethren do not accept the importance of the New Covenant/Testament that we put on it does not mean that we cannot joyfully praise God together based on God's self-revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures / Old Testament.
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