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POPE-JEWS Feb-5-2004 (720 words) xxxi
Pope says Vatican II's condemnation of anti-Semitism needed today
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II, meeting with the American Jewish Committee, said the Second Vatican Council's condemnation of anti-Semitism was still urgently needed in today's world.
At the same time, the pope deplored what he called an "alarming trend" toward violence in the name of religion and said greater efforts at religious education were the key to promoting tolerance.
The pope spoke to members of the Jewish organization Feb. 5 in a private audience, and he received a litany of thanks for his leadership over the last 25 years in forging bonds of Catholic-Jewish friendship.
"You, Your Holiness, have truly been a blessing to the Jewish community -- and for this we are truly grateful," Harold Tanner, the committee's president, said in a speech.
In his brief talk to the group, the pope recalled the importance of the landmark Vatican II document, "Nostra Aetate," which denounced anti-Semitism and all discrimination based on race or religion.
"As we now approach the 40th anniversary of this historic document, there is regrettably a great need to repeat our utter condemnation of racism and anti-Semitism," the pope said.
"Violence in the name of religion is always a desecration to religion. Countering this alarming trend requires that together we stress the importance of religious education which promotes respect and love toward others," he said.
The pope also called for a just solution in the Holy Land, one that respects the rights and security of Israelis and Palestinians.
Rabbi David Rosen of Jerusalem, the committee's director of interreligious affairs, said the meeting with the 83-year-old pontiff had gone very well and that the Jewish leaders especially appreciated the pope's call for vigilance against new forms of anti-Semitism.
Rabbi Rosen said the new Mel Gibson film, "The Passion of the Christ," had been raised for discussion not with the pope but with Cardinal Walter Kasper, who heads the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. Some Jewish and Catholic experts have warned that the film could be used to provoke anti-Semitic attitudes.
Rabbi Rosen said that Cardinal Kasper, who had not yet seen the film, told the Jewish leaders that he fully understands their concerns about avoiding any potential for anti-Semitism.
"He told us that, as affirmed in 'Nostra Aetate' and subsequent guidelines, the passion must not be presented in any way that is prejudicial to the Jewish community, that certainly it is against Catholic teaching to hold the Jews guilty, and that the suffering of Christ must be seen as an act of redemption and not an act for blame," Rabbi Rosen told Catholic News Service.
In his speech, Tanner praised the pope for his "remarkable good will and friendship toward the Jewish community at large." He cited the pope's unprecedented visit to the Rome synagogue in 1986, his visit to the Holy Land in 2000 and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See.
Tanner said the pope also has worked hard to make sure the lessons of the Holocaust are learned and remembered.
He said the group appreciated the Vatican's categorical statements against the "present wave of anti-Semitic expression and violence."
"In this regard, we are especially horrified by the way religion has been abused in the Middle East and around the world, to justify and even glorify the killing of innocents," he said.
"We are grateful for your powerful statements condemning violence in the name of religion, and we pray that the world at large will listen and recognize the truth of your words," Tanner said.
While Tanner was not explicit, he apparently was referring to terrorist attacks by extremist Muslim groups. The pope and his aides repeatedly have condemned international terrorism in recent months, especially when it is carried out in the name of a religious faith.
Tanner also thanked the pope for the openness and friendship shown to Jews by the Catholic Church in the United States.
"I believe it true to say that no Jewish community at any time and in any place has enjoyed the degree of warm friendship and collegial cooperation that we have enjoyed with the Catholic Church in America," he said.
He told the pope that was due "in no small part to your own courageous leadership."
END
Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service.
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