Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world with his announcement that he will step down at the end of February. Though resignations are permitted by a little known paragraph of canon law, no pope has submitted one in six centuries. Historians will now begin asking about Benedict’s legacy. In the field of Jewish-Christian relations he will…
There are indications that the Vatican and Israel may resolve outstanding bilateral issues and finalize the Fundamental Agreement governing relations between the two states. A joint communiqué following a meeting in Jerusalem Jan. 29 of the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and Israel said “significant progress” had been made. It said the…
Pope Benedict tweeted in Latin for the first time on Sunday, taking his mission to revive the Catholic Church’s official language to a very 21st-century medium. “Unitati christifidelium integre studentes quid iubet Dominus? Orare semper, iustitiam factitare, amare probitatem, humiles Secum ambulare,” the pontiff wrote. Baffled? So were many Twitter users. “Benny, nobody understands a…
Jews are “enemies of the Church,” the head of a radical Catholic sect said in Canada. Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, made the remark during a Dec. 28 address at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy in New Hamburg, Ontario, about 90 minutes’ drive west of Toronto. He…
Despite their differences in faith, Pope Benedict and a leading French rabbi see eye to eye on at least one thing: gay marriage. Pope Benedict, indicating the Vatican’s desire to forge alliances with other religions against gay marriage, on Friday said the family was threatened “to its foundations” by attempts to change its “true structure.”…
I teach my classes at Seton Hall University in a seminar room known as the Oesterreicher Suite, in which a photograph of Monsignor John M. Oesterreicher looks down on the class as it is being held. The room itself is comprised of glass cases with speeches and documents that track and illustrate the Monsignor’s path…
At the entrance to Yad Vashem, the visitor is greeted by an old clip of Jewish children in the Ukraine singing “Hatikva,” the national anthem. The visit ends with the establishment of the State of Israel. Still, one notable difference is that the Arabs are no longer presented as Nazis: the placing of the 1941…
The Vatican crackdown on nuns in America has provided a fascinating window on gender, religion, and power — specifically, on how groups of women become scapegoat for religious conflicts. Reuters reported: A prominent U.S. Catholic nuns group said Thursday that it was “stunned” that the Vatican reprimanded it for spending too much time on poverty…
אינעם שמועס באַטייליקן זיך יניבֿ גאָלדבערג, מיכל יאַשינסקי און חיים וואָלף.
