Last week, the Vatican edged close to formal recognition of a Palestinian state, finalizing a treaty in which for the first time, the Holy See makes explicit reference to a “state of Palestine.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry, while voicing disappointment at the move, was unusually circumspect in its initial response, stating that the use of the…
(Reuters) — The Vatican’s decision to recognize the state of Palestine in a treaty for the first time has drawn a stern response from Israel, but it may usher in a freer debate in Europe about how to proceed on the vexed Palestinian question. The Holy See has referred to Palestine since 2012, but the…
The Vatican concluded its first treaty that formally recognizes the State of Palestine, with an agreement on Catholic Church activities in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, the Holy See said on Wednesday. The agreement “aims to enhance the life and activities of the Catholic Church and its recognition at the judicial level,” said Monsignor…
ROME (JTA) — A new movie depicting Pope Pius XII as a savior of Jews was slammed by an Italian Jewish publication as “fiction.” “Shades of Truth,” featuring international stars Christopher Lambert and Giancarlo Giannini, had its premiere on Monday in Vatican City. The movie attempts to prove that Pius XII was not “Hitler’s Pope,”…
Pope Francis received Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, Bar-Ilan University of Israel’s president, at the Vatican. During the audience on Monday, the university bestowed its highest Award of Distinction upon the Pope in recognition of his lifelong efforts promoting peace and fighting for human rights. “We are the sons of Abraham and we have the privilege…
The Vatican has joined 30 other states in contributing funding to help preserve the site of the former Auschwitz death camp. An announcement Monday on the website of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum said the Vatican will contribute $135,000 to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, which aims to raise $162 million to preserve the authentic remains of the…
Ancestral Torpor: Jews and Christians in the Sistine Chapel By Giovanni Careri Editions de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 325 pages, $36 The American Jewish writer Irving Stone (born Tannenbaum) aptly titled his 1961 novel about Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings “The Agony and the Ecstasy.” For centuries, ecstatic tourists have admired the…
Pope Francis has strongly defended his wartime predecessor Pius XII against accusations he turned a blind eye to the Holocaust, saying the opening of Vatican archives will shed light on the controversy. In an interview published on Friday in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, Francis condemned anti-Semitism, saying it was a “continuing” problem that was…
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