“How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in
\nunity” (Ps 133)<\/p>\n
1. At the beginning of this encounter in the Great Synagogue first of all my sincere gratitude to you, Chief Rabbi, Doctor When he came among you for the first time, as a Christian 2. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council has Furthermore, the Church has not failed to deplore the 3. The passage of time allows us to recognize in the Here in this place, how could we not remember the Roman Jews The memory of these events compels us to strengthen the 4. Our closeness and spiritual fraternity find in the Holy 5. Many lessons may be learnt from our common heritage 6. In particular, the Decalogue – the “Ten Words” The “Ten Commandments” require that we recognize The “Ten Commandments” call us to respect life and The “Ten Commandments” ca<\/span>ll us to preserve and to 7. As Moses taught in the Shema (cf. Dt 6:5; Lev 19:34) – 8. On this path we can walk together, aware of the 9. Christians and Jews share to a great extent a common 10. Finally, I offer a particular reflection on this, our I beg from the Lord the precious gift of peace in the world, I give thanks and praise to God once again for this “O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him, all you peoples. Strong is his love for us, He is faithful forever. Alleluia” (Ps 117)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “What marvels the Lord worked for them! What marvels the Lord worked for us: Indeed we were glad” (Ps 126) “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in unity” (Ps 133) 1. At the beginning of this encounter in the Great Synagogue of the Jews of Rome, the Psalms which we have heard suggest … Continue reading Pope Benedict’s address at the Great Synagogue of the Jews of Rome<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[1973,32081],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nof the Jews of Rome, the Psalms which we have heard suggest to us the right
\nspiritual attitude in which to experience this particular and happy moment of
\ngrace: the praise of the Lord, who has worked marvels for us and has gathered
\nus in his Hèsed, his merciful love, and thanksgiving to him for granting us
\nthis opportunity to come together to strengthen the bonds which unite us and to
\ncontinue to travel together along the path of reconciliation and fraternity<\/i>. I
\nwish to express <\/p>\n![\"Benedict](\"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/b16gs3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nRiccardo Di Segni, for your invitation and for the thoughtful words which you
\nhave addressed to me. I wish to thank also the President of the Union of
\nItalian Jewish Communities, Mr Renzo Gattegna, and the President of the Jewish
\nCommunity of Rome, Mr Riccardo Pacifici, for their courteous greetings. My
\nthoughts go to the Authorities and to all present, and they extend in a special
\nway, to the entire Jewish Community of Rome and to all who have worked to bring
\nabout this moment of encounter and friendship which we now share.<\/p>\n
\nand as Pope, my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, almost 24 years ago, wanted
\nto make a decisive contribution to strengthening the good relations between our
\ntwo communities, so as to overcome every misconception and prejudice. My visit
\nforms a part of the journey already begun, to confirm and deepen it. With
\nsentiments of heartfelt appreciation, I come among you to express to you the
\nesteem and the affection which the Bishop and the Church of Rome, as well as
\nthe entire Catholic Church, have towards this Community and all Jewish
\ncommunities around the world<\/b><\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nrepresented for Catholics a clear landmark to which constant reference is made
\nin our attitude and our relations with the Jewish people, marking a new and
\nsignificant stage. The Council<\/span> gave a strong impetus to our irrevocable
\ncommitment to pursue the path of dialogue<\/span>, fraternity and friendship, a journey<\/span>
\nwhich has been deepened and developed in the last forty years, through
\nimportant steps and significant gestures. Among them, I should mention once
\nagain the historic visit by my Venerable Predecessor to this Synagogue on 13
\nApril 1986, the numerous meetings he had with Jewish representatives, both here
\nin Rome and during his Apostolic Visits throughout the world, the Jubilee
\nPilgrimage which he made to the Holy Land in the year 2000, the various
\ndocuments of the Holy See which, following the Second Vatican Council’s
\nDeclaration Nostra Aetate<\/i>, have made helpful contributions to the increasingly
\nclose relations between Catholics and Jews. I too, in the course of my
\nPontificate, have wanted to demonstrate my closeness to and my affection for
\nthe people of the Covenant<\/span>. I cherish in my heart each moment of the pilgrimage
\nthat I had the joy of making to the Holy Land in May of last year, along with
\nthe memories of numerous meetings with Jewish Communities and Organizations, in
\nparticular my visits to the Synagogues of Cologne and New York.
\nfailings of her sons and daughters, begging forgiveness for all that could in
\nany way have contributed to the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism<\/b> (cf.
\nCommission for Religious Relations with the Jews, We Remember: A Reflection on
\nthe Shoah, 16 March 1998). May these wounds be healed forever! The heartfelt
\nprayer which Pope John Paul II offered at the Western Wall on 26 March 2000
\ncomes back to my mind, and it calls forth a profound echo in our hearts:
\n“God of our Fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your
\nName to the nations: we are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in
\nthe course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking
\nyour forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the
\npeople of the Covenant<\/b>.”<\/p>\n
\nTwentieth Century a truly tragic period for humanity<\/i>: ferocious wars that sowed
\ndestruction, death and suffering like never before; frightening ideologies,
\nrooted in the idolatry of man, of race, and of the State, which led to brother
\nkilling brother<\/i>. The singular and deeply disturbing drama of the Shoah
\nrepresents, as it were, the most extreme point on the path of hatred that
\nbegins when man forgets his Creator and places himself at the centre of the
\nuniverse<\/b>. As I noted during my visit of 28 May 2006 to the Auschwitz
\nConcentration camp, which is still profoundly impressed upon my memory,
\n“the rulers of the Third Reich wanted to crush the entire Jewish
\npeople”, and, essentially, “by wiping out this people, they intended
\nto kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles
\nto serve as a guide for mankind, principles that remain eternally valid”
\n(Discourse at Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp: The Teachings of Pope
\nBenedict XVI, II, 1 [2006], p.727).<\/p>\n
\nwho were snatched from their homes, before these very walls, and who with
\ntremendous brutality were killed at Auschwitz? How could one ever forget their
\nfaces, their names, their tears, the desperation faced by these men, women and
\nchildren? The extermination of the people of the Covenant of Moses, at first
\nannounced, then systematically programmed and put into practice in Europe under
\nthe Nazi regime, on that day tragically reached as far as Rome. Unfortunately,
\nmany remained indifferent, but many, including Italian Catholics, sustained by
\ntheir faith and by Christian teaching, reacted with courage, often at risk of
\ntheir lives, opening their arms to assist the Jewish fugitives who were being
\nhunted down, and earning perennial gratitude. The Apostolic See itself provided
\nassistance, often in a hidden and discreet way<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\nbonds that unite us so that our mutual understanding, respect and acceptance
\nmay always increase.
\nBible – in Hebrew Sifre Qodesh or “Book of Holiness” – their most
\nstable and lasting foundation, which constantly reminds us of our common roots,
\nour history and the rich spiritual patrimony that we share. It is in pondering
\nher own mystery that the Church, the People of God of the New Covenant,
\ndiscovers her own profound bond with the Jews, who were chosen by the Lord
\nbefore all others to receive his word (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/i>,
\n839). “The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already
\na response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews ‘belong the
\nsonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
\nto them belong the patriarchs and of their race, according to the flesh is the
\nChrist’ (Rom 9:4-5), ‘for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable<\/b><\/span>!’ (Rom
\n11:29)” (Ibid).<\/p>\n
\nderived from the Law and the Prophets. I would like to recall some of them:
\nfirst of all, the solidarity which binds the Church to the Jewish people
\n“at the level of their spiritual identity<\/span>“, which offers Christians
\nthe opportunity to promote “a renewed respect for the Jewish interpretation
\nof the Old Testament” (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Jewish
\npeople and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, 2001, pp.12 and 55);
\nthe centrality of the Decalogue as a common ethical message of permanent value
\nfor Israel, for the Church, for non-believers and for all of humanity; the task
\nof preparing or ushering in the Kingdom of the Most High in the “care for
\ncreation” entrusted by God to man for him to cultivate and to care for
\nresponsibly (cf. Gen 2:15).<\/p>\n
\nor Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:1-17; Dt 5:1-21) – which comes from the Torah of
\nMoses, is a shining light for ethical principles, hope and dialogue, a guiding
\nstar of faith and morals for the people of God<\/span>, and it also enlightens and
\nguides the path of Christians. It constitutes a beacon and a norm of life in
\njustice and love, a “great ethical code” for all humanity. The
\n“Ten Commandments” shed light on good and evil, on truth and
\nfalsehood, on justice and injustice, and they match the criteria of every human
\nperson’s right conscience<\/span>. Jesus himself recalled this frequently, underlining
\nthe need for active commitment in living the way of the Commandments: “If
\nyou wish to enter into life, observe the Commandments” (Mt 19:17). From
\nthis perspective, there are several possible areas of cooperation and witness.
\nI would like to recall three that are especially important for our time.
\nthe one Lord, against the temptation to construct other idols, to make golden
\ncalves<\/span>. In our world there are many who do not know God or who consider him
\nsuperfluous, without relevance for their lives; hence, other new gods have been
\nfabricated to whom man bows down. Reawakening in our society openness to the
\ntranscendent dimension, witnessing to the one God, is a precious service which
\nJews and Christians can offer together.<\/p>\n
\nto protect it against every injustice and abuse, recognizing the worth of each
\nhuman person, created in the image and likeness of God<\/span>. How often, in every
\npart of the world, near and far, the dignity, the freedom and the rights of
\nhuman beings are trampled upon! Bearing witness together to the supreme value
\nof life against all selfishness, is an important contribution to a new world
\nwhere justice and peace reign, a world marked by that “shalom” which
\nthe lawgivers, the prophets and the sages of Israel longed to see.<\/p>\n
\npromote the sanctity of the family, in which the personal and reciprocal,
\nfaithful and definitive “Yes” of man and woman makes room for the
\nfuture, for the authentic humanity of each, and makes them open, at the same
\ntime, to the gift of new life<\/span>. To witness that the family continues to be the
\nessential cell of society and the basic environment in which human virtues are
\nlearned and practised is a precious service offered in the construction of a
\nworld with a more human face.<\/p>\n
\nand as Jesus reaffirms in the Gospel (cf. Mk 12:19-31), all of the Commandments
\nare summed up in the love of God and loving-kindness towards one’s neighbour.
\nThis Rule urges Jews and Christians to exercise, in our time, a special
\ngenerosity towards the poor, towards women and children, strangers, the sick,
\nthe weak and the needy<\/i>. In the Jewish tradition there is a wonderful saying of
\nthe Fathers of Israel: “Simon the Just often said: The world is founded on
\nthree things: the Torah, worship, and acts of mercy” (Avoth 1:2). In
\nexercising justice and mercy, Jews and Christians<\/b> are called to announce and to
\nbear witness to the coming Kingdom of the Most High, for which we pray and work
\nin hope each day<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\ndifferences that exist between us, but also aware of the fact that when we
\nsucceed in uniting our hearts and our hands in response to the Lord’s call, his
\nlight comes closer and shines on all the peoples of the world. The progress
\nmade in the last forty years by the International Committee for Catholic-Jewish
\nRelations and, in more recent years, by the Mixed Commission of the Chief
\nRabbinate of Israel and of the Holy See, are a sign of our common will to
\ncontinue an open and sincere dialogue. Tomorrow here in Rome, in fact, the
\nMixed Commission will hold its ninth meeting, on “Catholic and Jewish
\nTeaching on Creation and the Environment”; we wish them a profitable
\ndialogue on such a timely and important theme.<\/p>\n
\nspiritual patrimony, they pray to the same Lord, they have the same roots, and
\nyet they often remain unknown to each other<\/b>. It is our duty, in response to
\nGod’s call, to strive to keep open the space for dialogue, for reciprocal
\nrespect, for growth in friendship, for a common witness in the face of the
\nchallenges of our time, which invite us to cooperate for the good of humanity
\nin this world created by God, the Omnipotent and Merciful.<\/p>\n
\ncity of Rome, where, for nearly two millennia, as Pope John Paul II said, the
\nCatholic Community with its Bishop and the Jewish Community with its Chief
\nRabbi have lived side by side. May this proximity be animated by a growing
\nfraternal love, expressed also in closer cooperation, so that we may offer a
\nvalid contribution to solving the problems and difficulties that we still face.<\/p>\n
\nabove all in the Holy Land. During my pilgrimage there last May, at the Western
\nWall in Jerusalem, I prayed to Him who can do all things, asking: “Send
\nyour peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human
\nfamily; stir the hearts of those who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the
\npath of justice and compassion<\/b>” (Prayer at the Western Wall of Jerusalem,
\n12 May 2009).<\/p>\n
\nencounter, asking him to strengthen our fraternal bonds and to deepen our
\nmutual understanding.<\/p>\n