The Pope Benedict I knew: A keeper of his faith with a deep respect for Judaism
Benedict's tenure was marked by crises, but he was a personal friend to the Jews, writes the American Jewish Committee's international director of interreligious affairs
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Fast Forward Pope Benedict XVI, who went from Hitler Youth to advancing Catholic-Jewish relations, dies at 95
Benedict visited synagogues and condemned antisemitism. He also reintroduced liturgy praying for the conversion of Jews
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Books A new book explains Pope Pius XII’s silence during the Shoah — but does not excuse it
Using newly-opened Vatican archives, David Kertzer discovered the pope’s secret meetings with Nazis and refusal to confirm the mass murder of Jews to the Allies
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Culture Will Pope Pius’ archives shed light on his silence during the Shoah?
Over a 75 years after Nazis conducted mass deportations of Roman Jews to Auschwitz, we may finally learn why Pope Pius XII, heralded by some as a man who quietly saved Jewish lives and dubbed “Hitler’s Pope” by others, did not speak up on their behalf. On March 2 Pius XII’s archives will be made…
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Life Beneath The Met’s Dazzling Vatican Fashion Show, A Complex History Lurks
As a Jew who spent her formative years receiving a Jewish education, studying Jewish history in depth, my relationship with Catholicism is complicated. Jewish history is a trail of bloody tears — dotted with atrocities committed during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the countless pogroms instigated by the Catholic Church — marking the Jewish…
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Culture How To See The Vatican’s Hebrew Manuscripts Without Leaving Home
My first-ever trip to the Vatican took place after an exhausting overnight train ride to Rome from Paris with two friends — one deeply Catholic, the other Buddhist — when we were all 20 years old. We were exchange students with little cash but plenty of curiosity; we knew nothing about Rome and nothing about…
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Fast Forward Stunning Menorah Depictions Are On Display — At The Vatican
(JTA) — An unprecedented exhibit centered on the image, history and symbolism of the seven-branched menorah has opened in Rome. Titled “Menorah: Cult, History and Myth,” the exhibition is a joint project of the Vatican Museum and the Rome Jewish Museum — the first time the two museums have cooperated in this way. It will run…
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Fast Forward WATCH: Pope Francis Dances With Hasidic Jews At Vatican
A delegation of Hasidic Jews and discussed with them issues including the protection of Jewish cemeteries in Europe and combating child sex abuse. The pontiff held a 45-minute audience at the Vatican on Monday with the group, which was led by Rabbi Edgar Gluck. A video on the Yeshiva World News website and also posted to YouTube…
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