Pope Francis reaches out to Jews
2013-03-15 20:01
Vatican City - Like his predecessor, Pope Francis reached
out to Rome's Jewish community at the very start of his pontificate, pledging
to continue to strengthen the increasingly close ties between Catholics and
Jews.
Just hours after he was elected the first non-European
pope in history, Francis sent a letter to Rome's chief Rabbi Riccardo di Segni,
saying he hoped to "contribute to the progress that relations between Jews
and Catholics" have seen since the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council.
Jewish leaders welcomed the election of a pontiff seen as
an ally when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said Francis would be a
"welcome guest in the Holy Land" while Ronald Lauder, the president
of the World Jewish Congress, said the new pope "always had an open ear
for our concerns”.
"By choosing such an experienced man, someone who is
known for his open-mindedness, the cardinals have sent an important signal to
the world," Lauder said.
"I am sure that Pope Francis I will continue to be a
man of dialogue, a man who is able to build bridges with other faiths."
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, as he was known before he
became pope, showed as Buenos Aires archbishop an inclination to expand
interfaith outreach to Islam and Judaism, and made efforts to further close the
nearly 1 000-year estrangement with the orthodox churches.
He was widely praised for his aid to Buenos Aires' Jewish
community following the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Centre that killed 85 people.
Iran has been blamed for the attack, but denied any
links. A joint Argentine-Iranian "truth commission" is studying the
evidence.
"We hope that his word and his example contribute to
the achievement of harmony brotherhood and peace among all peoples," the
Italian Rabbinical Assembly said, pledging to do its part to foster dialogue
between Jews and Catholics "with mutual respect for their respective
identities”.
Francis' predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI,
worked toward reconciliation between Catholics and Jews during their papacies.
Benedict's first official act as pope was a letter to
Rome's Jewish community and he became the second pope in history, after John
Paul, to enter a synagogue.
However, he met harsh criticism when he lifted the
excommunication of a bishop who turned out to be a Holocaust-denier.
Lauder said the World Jewish Congress, which represents
Jewish communities in 100 countries, is convinced that Francis will "speak
out against all forms of anti-Semitism both within and without the Catholic
Church, that he will take action against clerics who deny or belittle the
Holocaust and that he will strengthen the Vatican's relations with
Israel."
- AP
