Pope Benedict will make his first visit to Rome’s Jewish synagogue in January, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
From Haartez
Pope Benedict will make his first visit to Rome’s Jewish synagogue in January, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
Benedict, leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics, will be only the second pope in history to visit the synagogue. Pope John Paul visited in 1986.
Benedict’s visit on Jan. 17 will come almost exactly a year to the day after his decision to lift the excommunication of a bishop who denied the Holocaust, which brought Catholic-Jewish relations to one of their lowest points.
The German pope made a major trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories last May, during which he distanced himself from Holocaust deniers such as the ultra-traditionalist Bishop Richard Williamson.
Since his election in 2005 Benedict has visited synagogues in his native Germany and in the United States.
But his visit to the synagogue on the Tiber is significant because relations between the Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community – the oldest in the diaspora – have often been considered a bellwether of Catholic-Jewish relations worldwide.
If you have stumbled onto this blog and are not a Christian, get yourself a hot drink, pull up a comfy chair and then tuck into the following article written by one of the best in the business:- All Of Grace by Charles Spurgeon
Tags: Church Life