- Title: JERUSALEM: Pope on peace mission to Middle east say Jewish and Catholic leaders
- Date: 5th May 2009
- Summary: JERUSALEM (MAY 4, 2009) (REUTERS) WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE IN ISRAEL MONSIGNOR ANTONIO FRANCO SAYING: "The aim for the Holy Father coming is to pray - to pray for peace, to pray for unity." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) VATICAN REPRESENTATIVE IN ISRAEL MONSIGNOR ANTONIO FRANCO SAYING: "In this land, we are continuously, in a sense, pushed, or thrown, in a sense, into the mystery of God. We cannot speak of the Holy Land, we can not speak of Israel and this land without crossing the way of God, and in a sense, confronting." WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE AND MONSIGNOR FRANCE TALKING CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL JEWISH COMMITTEE ON INTER-RELIGIOUS CONSULTATION RABBI DAVID ROSEN MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL JEWISH COMMITTEE ON INTER-RELIGIOUS CONSULTATION, RABBI DAVID ROSEN, SAYING: "The Williamson affair has been to the advantage of Catholic-Jewish relations in certain respects. It's re-intensified the Vatican's commitment to this dialogue." ROSEN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL JEWISH COMMITTEE ON INTER-RELIGIOUS CONSULTATION RABBI DAVID ROSEN SAYING: "I don't think any fair person thinks the inscription at Yad Vashem is by definition without foundation. The question is simply, however, if you do start off by saying that somebody's record is controversial, then I think you have a responsibility to explain what the controversy is and not only to then decide according to one particular viewpoint." MORE OF RABBI ROSEN SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL JEWISH COMMITTEE ON INTER-RELIGIOUS CONSULTATION RABBI DAVID ROSEN SAYING: "Most people think that we have been through a rough patch and there are some kind of problems in Jewish-Catholic relations. In that sense Pope Benedict XVI's visit is going to be very important to make perfectly clear that if there was any problem, those problems have been resolved, and the commitment on his part towards advancing the Catholic-Jewish relationship from, undeniably his very conservative theological position which is a very different motive from those who are motivated by more liberal impulses, is nevertheless a very sincere and genuine commitment." RABBI ROSEN SPEAKING ON CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS
- Embargoed: 20th May 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Religion
- Reuters ID: LVA9L90E9A7IEXH03R2XJGKMKSPU
- Story Text: The Vatican's representative in Israel said Monday (May 4) Pope Benedict would encourage peace efforts in the Middle East during his upcoming visit to the region, while a leading rabbi played down recent controversy over a catholic bishop who denies the holocaust.
In his first trip as Pope to the Holy Land, the 82-year-old Pope Benedict XVI will first visit Jordan before heading for Jerusalem and Nazareth in Israel and the Palestinian administered town of Bethlehem.
Monsignor Antonio Franco, the Vatican's representative to Israel, said the main purpose of the Pope's visit is religious pilgrimage.
"The aim for the Holy Father coming is to pray - to pray for peace, to pray for unity."
Franco added that the Pope's visit to the region was particularly significant for Catholics.
"In this land, we are continuously, in a sense, pushed, or thrown, in a sense, into the mystery of God. We cannot speak of the Holy Land, we can not speak of Israel and this land without crossing the way of God, and in a sense, confronting," Franco told reporters The May 11-15 trip will be the first by a pope to the Holy Land since Pope John Paul visited in 2000. The visit follows the worst crisis in Catholic-Jewish relations in half a century after Benedict lifted the excommunication of British Bishop Richard Williamson, who said in January no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, rather than the six million figure widely accepted by historians.
In a separate meeting, Chairman of International Jewish Committee on Inter-religious Consultation Rabbi David Rosen told journalists that, contrary to common media coverage and popular belief, the Richard Williamson affair has not been as detrimental to Catholic-Jewish relations as many think.
"Williamson affair has been to the advantage of Catholic-Jewish relations in certain respects. It's re-intensified the Vatican's commitment to this dialogue," Rosen said.
Controversy has also surrounded an inscription at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, where an inscription with the image of Pope Pius XII is on display. The inscription asserts that Pope Pius XII had failed to raise his voice against the extermination of Europe's Jews during the Holocaust.
Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit Yad Vashem, but not the memorial's museum where the inscription is located.
Rabbi Rosen explained that the matter should be looked at from multiple perspectives.
"I don't think any fair person thinks the inscription at Yad Vashem is by definition without foundation. The question is simply, however, if you do start off by saying that somebody's record is controversial, then I think you have a responsibility to explain what the controversy is and not only to then decide according to one particular viewpoint," said Rosen.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Rosen asserted that the Pope Benedict XVI's visit will foster Catholic-Jewish relations.
"Most people think that we have been through a rough patch and there are some kind of problems in Jewish-Catholic relations. In that sense Pope Benedict XVI's visit is going to be very important to make perfectly clear that if there was any problem, those problems have been resolved, and the commitment on his part towards advancing the Catholic-Jewish relationship from, undeniably his very conservative theological position which is a very different motive from those who are motivated by more liberal impulses, is nevertheless a very sincere and genuine commitment," Rosen said.
During his stay, the Pope is scheduled to hold meetings with Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, and hold several masses in Israel, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. On May 13th, the Pope is scheduled to visit Bethlehem, where he will be greeted with a state reception by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and later will visit the Church of Nativity, one of the holiest sites for Christians in the world. Later in the day, the Pope will tour a children's hospital and the nearby Aida refugee camp. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None