Posted on 05/30/2006 11:02:43 AM PDT by x5452
Pope offends Poland's Jews Correspondents in Warsaw May 27, 2006 THE Pope has upset the Jewish community in Poland by not stopping to pay tribute to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis. The heavily guarded Popemobile sped from Warsaw airport towards the Old Town district and the former ghetto area but barely slowed when it passed the memorial to the Jewish fighters.
Chief Rabbi of Warsaw Michael Schudrich, the Israeli ambassador and a handful of Jewish dignitaries were left standing as Benedict XVI flashed past with a wave.
Church officials said there had been no space in the schedule for a spontaneous stop.
Another consideration is that the ultra-nationalist Polish Government might have considered it a slight if the Pope had singled out slaughtered Jews rather than Polish partisans for special tribute on the first day of his visit.
Benedict, 79, has undertaken his four-day tour to honour his friend and mentor, the late John Paul, and build a rapport with Poland, a deeply Catholic country that both he and his Polish predecessor have said could help revive Christian beliefs and values in an increasingly secular Europe.
His visit is thought to also beaimed at breaking down lingering distrust in Poland towards him and Germany, which occupied the country during World War II and killed vast numbers of Poles and Jews.
In deference to Polish and Jewish sensitivities, Benedict will avoid speaking German except for when he prays tomorrow at the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, where 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, were killed in World War II.
The concentration camp trip is fraught with significance for Catholic-Jewish relations, a favourite cause of John Paul, who also visited there in 1979.
In his memoirs, Benedict described being enrolled in the Hitler Youth against his will, then risking execution by deserting the army as a draftee days before the war ended.
At the airport, Benedict said of his Auschwitz visit: "There I hope especially to meet the survivors of Nazi terror who come from different countries, all of whom suffered under that tragic tyranny.
"Together we will pray that thewounds of the past century will heal, thanks to the remedy that God in his mercy has prescribed for us by calling us to forgive each other."
He drew a roar of applause at the airport when he launched into his welcoming speech in Polish, later switching to Italian.
"I have very much wanted to make this visit to the native land and people of my beloved predecessor, the servant of God, John Paul II," he said. "I have come to follow in the footsteps of his life."
Poles like Benedict's emphasis on continuing John Paul's legacy, but on the streets yesterday the view was that he did not quite match up to his predecessor.
"It's not the same as with our pope," said 75-year-old Wanda Nowicka, who was waiting on a city street to watch Benedict pass by as the pontiff headed to his first stop at Warsaw's Cathedral of StJohn the Baptist.
Aniela Kalisz, a 72-year-old who carried a small Vatican flag bearing Benedict's photo, said: "I don't mind if he is German. He is very friendly and he's learning Polish and he was a friend of John Paul."
Thousands of people lined the motorcade route from the airport to central Warsaw - a large crowd by European standards for a visit by the Roman Catholic leader, but small compared with the hundreds of thousands who turned out when John Paul flew into Warsaw in 1979 for the first time since assuming the papacy.
And pilgrims in their thousands poured into Warsaw's Pilsudski Square yesterday for Benedict's first, huge open-air mass, due to be held there last night. It is the same square in which John Paul inspired the Solidarity movement with his landmark appearance in 1979 during communist rule.
What could possibly satisfy his critics?
I was watching Polish TV a lot during the visit - live coverage of the meetings, commentaries, etc.
I also read many newspapers.
And the funny thing is, that I've not seen any negative comment from the side of Jews living in Poland.
Whereas in online edtions of foreign media - I saw plenty of articles like this one.
I wonder how many of these people are "upset?" Few if any I bet. Most likely a figment of the writer's imagination.
Why would he say that when all the forgiving has to come from only one side? Doesn't it?
He's obviously saying that God wants individuals to forgive one another the injuries that they visit on each other as individuals - there's no way that this can be construed as somehow calling on Germany to forgive Poland.
I noticed they didn't actually print any quotes. Perhaps they can read minds.
He already visited Auschwitz. What more should he do?
Methinks the reporter wanted to create the "controversy" and then report on it; to "make the news" as it were.
I don't think this report is credible.
-Theo
He's got HUGE shoes to fill. I don't think I'd want to be the Pope that followed John Paul II.
The Holy See will never be accepted by his critics. They are looking for anything to claim as an offense.
Yet they don't actually quote a single "offended" Jew.
Looks like the writer took some liberties.
There's no way of satisfying the critics and the Pope really shouldn't be exerting himself to do so. If the visit was that important, the people involved should have informed him well in advance, and I have no doubt that he would have stopped to see them.
I like this pope--and I'm not Catholic.
You are SO untrusting of your fellow man. Repent before it is too late
In this specific instance, this is a "fault" I'll be willing to bear. :-D
-Theo
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