Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 10/02/2005 11:43:37 AM PDT by NYer
Israeli President Moshe Katsav has accepted an invitation from Pope Benedict XVI to make the first official visit to the Vatican by an Israeli head of state, officials said Sunday.
Katsav will visit Italy for about a week in mid-November, said Katsav's spokeswoman, Hagit Cohen. The Foreign Ministry said the visit was "unprecedented."
Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in the 1990s, and Pope John Paul II hosted Israeli prime ministers and other officials as part of his effort to build ties with the Jewish state.
The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial office, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the visit was "of great symbolic value."
"We have every reason to believe that the new pope is building on the foundation that the previous pope already built, and we will see a further strengthening of our relationship," Regev said.
Since becoming pope in April, Benedict has visited a synagogue in Germany, met Israeli chief rabbis and warned of a rise in anti-Semitism around the world. The synagogue visit was the second time a pope had entered a Jewish house of worship.
The visit follows a diplomatic spat that erupted in July when the pope did not include Israel in a list of countries that suffer from terrorism.
Israel complained about the omission, and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wrote a letter to the Vatican. Israel says the matter has been resolved.
I almost posted a version of this article (I think from a British newspaper) the other day, but there wasd a quote by some rabbi that I found to be extremely disturbing. He said that Catholics and Jews were the oldest enemies on the planet, etc.
The new Pontiff continues to impress with his astute statesmanship.
"I almost posted a version of this article (I think from a British newspaper) the other day, but there wasd a quote by some rabbi that I found to be extremely disturbing. He said that Catholics and Jews were the oldest enemies on the planet, etc."
Well, there is the little matter of the Vatican ordering the rulers of Europe to convert all Christians and Jews to Catholicism or exterminate them them, under pain of "interdict", by which the Pope would tell all the king's subjects not to obey him.
The history books have been pretty much sanitized to exclude these events, but they went on for about a thousand years. Yes, The Vatican and the Jews are age-old enemies.
To be fair, it could be seen as historically true. But the last 50 years have seen a big reversal. Especially under Pope John Paul II, G-d rest his soul. And Ratzinger looks like he is about healing the rifts too.
And seriously, when Christians and Jews face the kind of opposition we do nowadays, and push has come to shove, it seems we do have a lot more in common after all. Recent progress, and by recent I mean the last few decades, has been absolutely phenomenal, and very positive.
I don't understand that comment. Jesus, His mother and the Apostles were all Jews. It has always been my understanding that the Jews are our older brothers in the faith. That is how Pope Benedict XVI views it as well, as did JPII.
I don't know what the quote was, or who the Rabbi (there's lots of them) was. Whatever was said is as significant as the words from an individual Priest's mouth.
..........................................
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.