Posted on 04/02/2005 8:13:30 PM PST by wagglebee
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mourns the passing of Pope John Paul II, whose compassion, leadership and understanding forever changed the history of the Catholic Church's relations with the Jewish people.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: Pope John Paul II's moral inspiration and leadership was a shining light to the world. Throughout his lifetime the Pontiff defended the Jewish people, both as a priest in his native Poland and for all the years of his Pontificate. In word and deed, John Paul II worked tirelessly to repair the Church's painful 2,000 year history with the Jewish people.
Pope John Paul II revolutionized Catholic-Jewish relations. He denounced anti-Semitism as a "sin against God and humanity." He was the first Pope in history to visit the central synagogue in Rome, where he recognized Jews as elder brothers, announcing to the Chief Rabbi of Rome and Jews around the world: "I am Joseph, your brother." He normalized relations with the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel, and then made his historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he visited Yad Vashem and prayed at the Western Wall.
In his exceptional teachings, writings and pronouncements, John Paul II has denounced the evils that led to the Holocaust and questioned whether the Church's attitudes provided an environment for the deadly anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.
Most importantly, the Pope rejected the destructive concept of supersessionism and has recognized the special relationship between Christianity and the Jewish people, while sharing his understanding of Judaism as a living heritage, of the permanent validity of God's covenant with the Jewish people. He was a man of God in every sense and a true friend whose visionary leadership will be sorely missed.
John-Paul II was a truly great man. I hope he gets canonized; he deserves it.
Bump!
Anti-Communist bump
Very nice statement by the ADL.
Let me preface this by saying I don't know that much about Judaism.
I saw a Rabbi tonight on television who said that in Judaism, there is a belief that there are 36 righteous men who keep the world going. He said the world lost one of the 36 righteous men with the death of JPII.
`
Farewell to a Remarkable, Remarkable, man.
.
abu afak
Yes, and it wasn't just words: it was magnificent actions!
This was the seminarian, Karol Wojtyla, who saved the life of Edith Zirer, a Jewish concentration camp survivor then 13 years old, by bringing her food and carrying her on his back to the railroad station and safety in February, 1945. An account of this can be found at
http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2000/may2000p13_58.html
This was the priest who refused to baptize a WWII Jewish orphan, Shachne Berger, but insisted that every effort was made to find the child's nearest Jewish relatives
who could raise him in the Jewish faith.
http://santificarnos.com/santiblog/index.php/english/2005/01/19/p3072
In all this, he was a true successor to the great Pope Pius XII, who at the time of his death was hailed as a friend of the Jewish people by Golda Meir and others, but was later slandered by the likes of Rolf Hochhuth (author of the defamatory and FICTIONAL play, "The Deputy.")
Jewish scholar Rabbi Pinchas Lapide credited Pope Pius XII with having quietly directed and coordinated the efforts that saved 860,000 Jews during the horror of the Holocaust.
(You can Google Pinchas Lapide and verify that figure yourself.)
Pope John Paul always resisted the voices of slander against his predecessor, as he himself took every opportunity to express profound respect for the Jewish people and the Jewish faith.
Mrs. Don-o
Rolf Hochhuth, a humble man, with MUCH to be humble about.
Well said. Thanks.
Ping!
The Pope’s Speech at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Ping!
I guess one R. Sungenis didn't get the memo:
http://www.catholicintl.com/qa/qa.htm
R. Sungenis: ...Considering that an average papal reign is between 10-20 years, I would say two more popes after John Paul II, as predicted by St. Malachy, is just about right. It is going to take about that long for Israel to confiscate the Middle East and set up their false worship, and from which the Antichrist will most likely appear, as the saints of old have prophesied. If St. Malachy is right, it will be Petrus Romanus who will be dealing with the Antichrist.
What an awful, cowardly concocted speech. Where is there one mention of Jesus Christ as the Messiah who died for all Men's sins? "Before Abraham was, I AM!"
John the Baptist--"Do not begin to say: We have Abraham for our father, for I say to you God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham."
Jesus did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, that is those sacred writings which He, no less than His Jewish contemporaries, distinctly recognized as inspired by the Holy Spirit; His mission, on the contrary, was to secure their fulfilment. Indeed, He would have destroyed the Law, if He had sided with the Scribes and the Pharisees who had raised a fence to the Law, which actually encroached upon the sacred territory of the Law itself; but He fulfilled it by proclaiming the new Law of perfect love of God and man, whereby all the precepts of the Old Law were brought to completion.--Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)
As a final point for now, JPII utterly failed to make the distinction between Churchmen doing evil things and Holy Mother Church herself who is without spot of wrinkle.
To all my Jewish family members and brethren, I humbly apologize for the misdirection that our late Pontiff gave. No malice was intended but Catholic truth is that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church.
"No malice was intended but Catholic truth is that there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church."
It strikes me that the kind of salvation talked about is a Christian concept. Judaism has its own strong validity and its own religious philosophies.
And Catholic teaching is that Judaism is now false. It's post Resurrection laws are invalid. It's philosophies that deny the Messianic reality of God become Man are false.
Catholics are forbidden to believe that there is any salvation of any kind outside of Jesus Christ through his Church.
If modern Judaism professes a salvation of its own, that is simply false according to Catholic teaching. It can be called "salvation" but the end result is burning in Hell for eternity and bening denied the Beatific vision.
Dogmatically Catholicism cannot bend on this issue. If it does, it is not Catholicism. It becomes the false One World Religion of the anti-Christ that Pope St. Pius X warned about.
It really feels as if one of our lights has left this world, and for us I'm sad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.