Posted on 03/14/2013 1:17:30 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder congratulated Cardinal Jorge María Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, on his election as Pope Francis I on Wednesday.
"Pope Francis I is no stranger to us. In recent years he attended many interfaith events co-organized by the WJC and our regional affiliate, the Latin American Jewish Congress," Lauder wrote, adding he had met Bergoglio in Buenos Aires in 2008.
Lauder praised the new pope as "an experienced man, someone who is known for his open-mindedness ... a man of dialogue, a man who is able to build bridges with other faiths".
"We look forward to continuing the close relationship that has been fostered between the Catholic Church and the Jews over the past two decades."
After praising the work of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI for Catholic-Jewish relations, Lauder said, "We are convinced that new pontiff will continue on this path, that he will speak out against all forms of anti-Semitism both within and without the Catholic Church, that he will take action against clerics who deny or belittle the Holocaust and that he will strengthen the Vatican's relationship with Israel."
Rabbi David Rosen, the director of interfaith affairs for the American Jewish Committee, was quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency as saying the new pope is a "warm, sweet and modest man."
Rosen also told JTA that Bergoglio "showed solidarity with the Jewish community" following the bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994 in which 85 people were killed.
President Shimon Peres on Thursday conveyed his best wishes to the new pope and invited him to visit Israel.
At a meeting with Polish Catholic leaders in Jerusalem, Peres said that the ties between the Jewish people and the Vatican are better now than they have ever been in the past 2,000 years.
Peres said the pope is an important figure not just to Catholics, but to the entire world.
"The pope can carry with him a good spirit, a spirit of peace and hope," Peres said.
:o)
Of interest.
Here's the link - sorry but I am HTML challenged - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-pope-homilybre92d0wa-20130314,0,7879241.story?fb_action_ids=603574399670019&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%22603574399670019%22%3A569249523098759}&action_type_map={%22603574399670019%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map=[]
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LOL! Good point. :)
The First Reading was from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.”
The Responsorial Psalm was taken from Psalm 97: “Let us sing to the LORD a new song”.
The Second Reading was from the 1st Letter of St Peter: “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”
The Gospel reading was from St Matthew: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
In his Homily, Pope Francis noted the common theme of movement that ties the three readings together: moving forward, building, professing.
Here's Vatican Radio’s translation of the full text of his homily.
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In these three readings I see that there is something in common: it is movement. In the first reading, movement is the journey itself; in the second reading, movement is in the up-building of the Church. In the third, in the Gospel, the movement is in the act of professin: walking, building, professing.
Walking: the House of Jacob. “O house of Jacob, Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” This is the first thing God said to Abraham: “Walk in my presence and be blameless.” Walking: our life is a journey and when we stop, there is something wrong. Walking always, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, seeking to live with that blamelessness, which God asks of Abraham, in his promise.
Building: to build the Church. There is talk of stones: stones have consistency, but the stones spoken of are living stones, stones anointed by the Holy Spirit. Build up the Church, the Bride of Christ, the cornerstone of which is the same Lord. With every movement in our lives, let us build!
Third, professing: we can walk as much we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens?
What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without consistency. When one does not profess Jesus Christ - I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy – “Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.” When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil.
Walking, building-constructing, professing: the thing, however, is not so easy, because in walking, in building, in professing, there are sometimes shake-ups - there are movements that are not part of the path: there are movements that pull us back.
This Gospel continues with a special situation. The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, ways that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord.
I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage - the courage - to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward.
My hope for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, that the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother, might grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ Crucified. So be it.
Ronald Lauder is a billionaire heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune. Known to be ‘conservative’ and out of step with most American Jews, he backs mostly Republican political candidates and is close to Bibi Netanyahu.
Thanks! Good to know!
He has served as Ordinary of the Ordinariate for the Faithful of the Eastern Rites in Argentina. I dined with my pastor (Maronite & Melkite Rite) today. He has learned that Pope Francis is devoted to St. Charbel (a Maronite monastic saint) and carried his icon with him wherever he travels. His one disappointment? He noted that Pope Francis' name is "Jorge" and should have chosen Pope George instead of Francis. There is a tinge of prejudice in this pronouncement as my pastor is also named for St. George :-)
Thanks Mrs. Don-o. G’night all.
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