At Meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, B'nai B'rith Looks to New Era in Catholic-Jewish Relations

ROME, Dec. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- Senior B’nai B’rith International leaders and supporters met today in a private session with Pope Benedict XVI. B’nai B’rith President Moishe Smith delivered a message of cooperation and shared values, stressing the common interests and concerns that both communities share.

During the private audience – on the third day of Chanukah, and one week before Christmas – the B’nai B’rith contingent urged the Pope to lead “an urgent and unwavering moral response” to global extremists, such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who hosted a Holocaust-denial conference last week.

Smith thanked the Pope for the meaningful steps he has taken in the last year – his pilgrimage to Auschwitz, his visit to an historic synagogue in Germany, and his warm reception of the leaders of the State of Israel, including, most recently, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He congratulated the Pope for his principled religious calls for reason when some corrupt religion into serving as “a tool and cover” for hatred. And, Smith invited the Pope to work together with B’nai B’rith International and the Jewish community of the world to address “poverty and disease, as well as injustice and ignorance, in light of the timeless vision and sacred values” that both religions share.

The B’nai B’rith leaders also marked the significant recent deepening of Catholic-Jewish relations. B’nai B’rith’s establishment of a new Office of Intercommunal Affairs at the world’s oldest Jewish humanitarian, advocacy, and social action agency is an indication of a commitment to the furtherance of this friendship.

During the BBI delegation’s trip to Rome, the group also met with other high-level Vatican officials, Italian government leaders, and members of the Italian Jewish community.

The visiting delegation was led by President Moishe Smith of Ottawa, Canada, and by Daniel S. Mariaschin of Washington, D.C., the organization’s executive vice president. The delegation included William Bram, member, Board of Governors, New York, N.Y.; Sandro Di Castro, president, B’nai B’rith of Rome, Italy; Paolo Foa, member, Board of Governors, Milan, Italy; Ambassador Joseph Harari, chairman, BBI Council on United Nations Affairs, Panama City, Panama; Daniele Leoni, president, B'nai B'rith of Milan, Italy; Bruce Pascal, development chairman, Washington, D.C.; Ruth Resnikoff, board member, BBI Center for Human Rights and Public Policy, Boca Raton, Fla.; and David Michaels, director of Intercommunal Affairs, New York, N.Y.

With members throughout the United States and more than 50 countries worldwide, B’nai B’rith International is a national and global leader in the area of United Nations reform, international affairs, domestic policy, senior services, and Jewish identity. As the oldest and most widely known and respected Jewish organization, B’nai B’rith advocates for Jewish unity, security, and continuity in the United States and worldwide. Visit www.bnaibrith.org for more information.

Date: 2006-12-18

Benedict XVI's Address to B'nai B'rith Delegation

"Our Troubled World Needs the Witness of People of Good Will"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today to members of a delegation from B'nai B'rith International.

* * *

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to greet this delegation from B'nai B'rith International on the occasion of your visit to the Vatican. Following the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration "Nostra Aetate" in 1965, leaders of B'nai B'rith have visited the Holy See on numerous occasions. Today, in the spirit of understanding, respect and mutual appreciation which is developing between our communities, I welcome you, and through you, all those whom you represent.

Much has been achieved in the past four decades of Jewish-Catholic relations, and we must be grateful to God for the remarkable transformation that has taken place on the basis of our common spiritual patrimony. It is this rich heritage of faith which enables our communities not only to enter into dialogue, but also to be partners in working together for the good of the human family. Our troubled world needs the witness of people of good will inspired by the truth, revealed on the first page of the Scriptures, that all men and women are created in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:26-27), and thus possess an inalienable dignity and worth.

Jews and Christians are called to work together for the healing of the world by promoting the spiritual and moral values grounded in our faith convictions. If we give a clear example of fruitful cooperation, our voice in responding to the needs of the human family will be all the more convincing.

On the occasion of your visit, I reiterate my unfailing hope and prayer for peace in the Holy Land. Peace can only come about if it is the concern of Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, expressed in genuine interreligious dialogue and concrete gestures of reconciliation. All believers are challenged to show that it is not hatred and violence, but understanding and peaceful cooperation which open the door to that future of justice and peace which is God's promise and gift.

During this holy season, I cordially invoke upon you and your families an abundance of divine blessings. Shalom alechem!

[Original text: English]

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