When the white smoke rose last week at the Vatican, signaling to the world that the College of Cardinals had chosen a new pope, Catholics weren’t the only ones waiting with bated breath. Jews, too, were eager to see whether the new pontiff would be someone familiar with their concerns. Would he be a non-European…
Pope Francis reached out on Thursday to Rome’s Jewish community, saying he hoped he would be able to contribute to furthering good relations between Catholics and Jews. The new pope sent a message to Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, inviting him to his inaugural Mass at the Vatican on March 19. “I sincerely hope…
The Vatican, an age-old institution used to having almost everything done by the book, is bracing for the unscripted papacy. In less than 24 hours after he became the first non-European pope in some 1,300 years, Francis seemed to break more rules than his predecessor did in eight years. “We are going to have to…
It’s been diverting this past week to join in the Popewatch brouhaha — who doesn’t like secretive meetings, signals and intrigue, not to mention red Prada shoes? But now that it’s over, the white smoke has risen, the habeus papams have been uttered and Francis has been chosen, let’s talk about a less-discussed but no…
Far be it from me, a Jew and a rabbi yet, to get involved in the internal decision making of the College of Cardinals as they ponder this most weighty decision of the election of a pope. But I do want to make a comment about the poignancy and power of names as well as…
Israeli chief rabbi Yona Metzger on Monday praised Pope Benedict’s inter-religious outreach and said relations between Israel and the Vatican had never been better. “During his period (as pope) there were the best relations ever between the church and the chief rabbinate and we hope that this trend will continue,” a spokesman quoted Metzger as…
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…
A leading Vatican official slammed breakaway traditionalist Catholics for anti-Semitic positions. Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, in an interview Tuesday with the Italian religious news agency SIR slammed the followers of the renegade Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X for rejecting the Vatican II policy on…
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