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Pope Francis privately visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome this morning to pray and entrust to the Virgin Mary his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After 15 minutes of meditation and prayer before the image of Mary known as Salus Populi Romani, Pope Francis offered a bouquet of white and yellow roses at the feet of the Virgin. Since the beginning of his papal ministry in March 2013, this is the eighth visit Pope Francis has made to the Virgin Mary, under whose protection he has placed his pontificate. Speaking to Vatican Radio, the archpriest of the basilica,...

Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See Dr. Zion Evrony speaks with CNA on May 20, 2014 Credit: Andreas Dueren/CNA Vatican City, May 21, 2014 / 10:36 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In comments made to CNA, the Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See noted that the presence of both a rabbi and a Muslim in the Pope’s delegation to the Holy Land is a milestone in interreligious relations. “For the first time in history Rabbi Skorka from Argentina, who is a friend of Pope Francis, will accompany him but also a Muslim religious leader, Imam Abbud, also from Argentina,” Dr. Zion...

Some 2,300 Sudanese and Eritrean refugees seeking asylum in Israel, most of them Christian, are being detained at an asylum camp in the Israeli desert, according to Saint James Vicariate for Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel. “The grim surroundings, the heat and the overcrowded rooms created the impression of a prison,” according to the vicariate, which stated that most refugees arrived over two years ago. Pastoral visit to Holot (Saint James Vicariate For Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel)

Logo for Pope Francis' pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Rome, Italy, May 20, 2014 / 02:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Abraham Skorka, an Argentine rabbi who has long been a friend of Pope Francis, has told a Jesuit magazine of the background of their upcoming pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which will occur May 24-26. “We dreamt of being together in front of the Western Wall of the Temple of Jerusalem and to embrace … and that I would accompany him to Bethlehem, to be on his side in such a meaningful moment for him,” Skorka...

The Muslim world’s biggest lie is about to unravel because of a populist Knesset bill to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount but which has little of chance of becoming law – yet.

A plan by Pope Francis to celebrate mass in a Jerusalem room believed by Christians to have hosted the Last Supper has brought criticism, controversy and conspiracy theories worthy of a Dan Brown novel. The pope’s first official visit to the Holy Land this month was meant to showcase interfaith tolerance and the improved ties between Israel and the Holy See. But the plan to hold mass in the room, known as the Cenacle, has sparked an ugly disagreement that is threatening to undermine the visit. The Cenacle is on the upper floor of a Crusader-era building that is holy...

In an unprecedented session held earlier this week, members of the Israeli parliament praised St John XXIII for his efforts in improving Jewish-Christian relations, both before and during his pontificate. “John XXIII should serve as an example for all men of the need to bring together peoples of different races, faiths and beliefs,” former immigration and absorption minister Yair Tzeven voiced during the May 13 event, according to the Jerusalem Post. The paper reports in a May 13 article that during the encounter members of the parliament, known as the Knesset, gave special attention to the saint’s efforts in saving...

This coming Sunday, May 18, known in Hebrew as Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the omer (1), is the anniversary of the passing of one of the greatest sages and spiritual giants in Jewish history, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon, who lived in Israel under Roman occupation around 165 CE (approximately one hundred years after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.), was an extraordinary scholar (2) and author of the Zohar, the most basic Kabbalistic work. He was responsible for revealing to the world the wisdom of the Kabbalah, initiating a new era in the...

Thousands who were planning to go up to Mt. Meron Thursday night, in preparation for the Saturday night Lag Ba’omer celebration, were stuck at the bus stop in Har Chotzvim, Jerusalem, where every empty bus that showed up to pick up passengers was pursued by a wild, desperate Haredi mob.

When I ponder what it means for Mary to be the mother of God incarnate, one of the most astounding aspects is the role she played in shaping Jesus’s human prayer. Yes, in the heights of His soul Jesus beheld the Father as clearly as the angels in heaven; but as a child, “He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother. . .He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people” (CCC 2599). When Jesus entrusted the Church to Mary at the Cross (Jn. 19:26-27; Rev. 12:17), He extended her motherhood to...

Diego Tafiah, a convert from Colombia who now is a Haredi soldier, in the IDF, met his Catholic mother and sister for the first time in six years Wednesday night after they were flown in to Israel for a ceremony marking the end of his combat unit’s basic training course.

The day before her wedding, Florence Ofer, a blonde 27-year-old accountant, strolled out of the Shabbat service at Benei Tikva, a synagogue in Buenos Aires, praising the shul’s rabbi, Abraham Skorka, who was going to conduct her wedding. Though she isn’t a member of the congregation, Ofer is among Jews from across the Argentine capital drawn to celebrate weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other special occasions at Benei Tikva. “We chose to get married here because of him,” she told me. “He speaks from the heart.” Her father Leti, a local doctor, piped up to add that the...

Mark Rouk, a 16-year-old Christian Arab boy from east Jerusalem who suffers from a chronic illness, believes the only way for him to heal is with a blessing from the pope Chief Rabbi David Lau says he will invite Rouk to pope's reception ceremony. Photo credit: Courtesy of the Rouk family For one 16-year-old boy from east Jerusalem, Pope Francis' upcoming visit to Israel will be a dream come true. Mark Rouk, a Christian Arab youth who suffers from a chronic illness, approached Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and asked him to help him meet the pope. In addition to...

October 16, 1943, is engrained in Italy's history as a day of clear and direct anti-semitism. It's the day when Nazi soldiers evacuated Jews from the Roman Ghetto. Now, new details show Pius XII helped Jews in Rome, before the events of the so-called "Black Saturday.” Even before the arrival of the Nazis to the Eternal City. DOMINIEK OVERSTEYNS  L'Opera della Chiesa "By July 9th, a monastery was already taking in Jews, and on July 20, a letter from the Diocese arrived. It read: 'This is Papal territory, please do not enter.' And this happened seven weeks before the German...

The dramatic recent collapse of the Arab-Israeli peace talks and the ongoing political turmoil involving the Temple Mount have again focused world attention on the centuries-old struggle for that sacred site. Since antiquity, the roughly 37 acres of the Temple Mount and its immediate surroundings have frequently been the focus of interreligious strife. The destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans in A.D. 70 was a devastating event in the history of Judaism. It served as a transforming catalyst in both the origins of Christianity and the transition of Israelite religion from a priestly sacrifice-centered system to the legalistic...

UNBELIEVABLE Class on the Scroll of Ruth and its Jewish commentaries-- from the simple meaning to the poetic, to the mystical/esoteric. Did you know that Arpah (Ruth's sister) was the mother of Goliath? That Ruth was a reincarnation of the daughter of Lot (of Sodom fame or infamy) Learn about the incredible tapestry of this scroll. Don't fear, non-Hebrew speakers, the rabbi translates everything and only the actual verse is read in Hebrew. The class is given in English...

Father Giuseppe Girotti (1905-45), a Dominican exegete who was killed at the Dachau concentration camp because of his efforts to assist Jews, was beatified in Alba, Italy, according to the new English edition of L’Osservatore Romano. The April 26 beatification, conducted by Cardinal Severino Poletto, the retired archbishop of Turin, was overshadowed by the canonization of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II the following morning.

An Israeli lawmaker claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef about the possibility of ceding the Tomb of David— located in an old church building that is also revered by Christians as the site of the Last Supper—to the Vatican. The report—which has not been confirmed by the Israeli government—comes after earlier rumors that the government was engaged in secret negotiations with the Vatican about future control of the site.

Priest Seeks to Minister to Children of Migrant WorkersWith a formal Pontifical Mass the Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem inaugurated the first Catholic pastoral center for migrant workers in Israel on April 26 in Tel Aviv. Those present included the Apostolic Nuncio in Israel, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, and the Ambassador of the Philippines in Israel. Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, co-ordinator of the Patriarchate for migrants' pastoral care and initiator of the project, thanked charities including Aid to the Church in Need for support. "It would have been impossible to found the 'Our Lady of Valor' Pastoral Center without the...

"Draw Me; We Will Run After You" In the Song of Songs (1:4), there is a verse, "Draw me, we will run after you; the king has brought me into his chambers." The Kabbalists see these three phrases as references to the three stages of the departure from Egypt. "Draw me" is the Exodus. "We will run after you" is the counting of the omer. "The king has brought me into his chambers" is the giving of the Torah. "Draw me" is passive -- it refers to the Israelites being taken out by G-d. Also it is singular. Whereas "We...