DOCSLIB.ORG

Brochure in English

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Brochure in English Pope John Paul II in the Synagogue of Rome with Rabbi Elio Toaff – 1986 CHRISTIANS: BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND CHRISTIANS MAY WALK CONFIDENTLY MANY OF US HAVE BEHAVED SHAMEFULLY. TOGETHER ON THE SHINING PATH THAT WE HAVE NOT REPLACED THE JEWISH LEADS US TO GOD, OUR COMMON PEOPLE WITH OUR NEW COVENANT. OUR FATHER. ON JUNE 6, 2005, SPEAKING “ELDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS” CONTINUE TO A DELEGATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TO OWN A SPECIAL BOND, A COVENANT JEWISH COMMITTEE FOR INTERRELIGIOUS WITH THE LORD. THE JEWS HAVE CONSULTATIONS, POPE BENEDICT XVI RETURNED TO ISRAEL, THEIR ANCESTRAL CONFIRMED HIS PREDECESSORS’ COURSE: HOME. WE HAVE SINNED BY PERSECUTING “IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE COUNCIL, THEM THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES.” MY PREDECESSORS POPE PAUL VI AND, THESE PROFOUND WORDS CONSTITUTE IN A PARTICULAR WAY, POPE JOHN PAUL ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL LEGACIES OF THIS II, TOOK SIGNIFICANT STEPS TOWARDS GREAT SOUL WHO WAS KAROL WOJTYLA, IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH THE JEWISH BELOVED POPE JOHN PAUL II. PEOPLE. IT IS MY INTENTION TO CONTINUE ON THIS PATH.” ON COUNTLESS OCCASIONS HE CON- DEMNED ANTI-SEMITISM AND AT A MAY JOHN PAUL II REST IN GLORY! MEETING WITH THE BISHOPS OF LATIN THE FOLLOWING BOOKS ARE RECOM- AMERICA HE CALLED ON THEM TO MENDED: COMBAT WITH VIGOR ANY VESTIGE OF THE HIDDEN POPE, DARCY O’BRIEN ANTI-SEMITISM. “ANTI-SEMITISM IS A A LETTER TO A JEWISH FRIEND, GIAN SIN; IT’S ANTI-CHRISTIAN.” FRANCO SVIDERCOSHI THANKS TO HIM TWO GREAT SPIRITUAL FAMILIES HAVE RECONCILED AND JEWS THE NCCJ OF MIAMI GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE FOLLOWING BENEFACTORS FOR THEIR HELP IN DEFRAYING THE PRINTING EXPENSE OF THE PRESENT BROCHURE: THE HAVENICK FAMILY FLAGLER DOG TRACK MR. RON BOOK FOR ADDITIONAL COPIES PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] Pope John Paul II praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel – 2000 and; Pope John Paul II greeting Rabbi Elio Toaff at the entrance to the Synagogue of Rome – 1986 23003 English9_7.indd 1 9/8/06 9:29:11 AM JOHN PAUL II IF WE TAKE THESE FACTS INTO CONSCIENCES” OF CHRISTIANS THAT BUILT BEAUTIFUL BRIDGES BETWEEN CONSIDERATION, WE SHOULD ASK ALL TOO MANY FAILED TO ACT AS CHRISTIANS AND THEIR SPIRITUAL and the jews OURSELVES: WHY HAS THERE BEEN THEY SHOULD WHEN THEIR JEWISH ANCESTORS, THE JEWISH PEOPLE. SUCH A LONG AND BLOODY HISTORY NEIGHBORS WERE BEING ROUNDED JOHN PAUL WAS THE FIRST POPE SINCE THE GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW BEGINS OF CONFRONTATIONS BETWEEN UP BY THE NAZIS TO BE SENT TO ST. PETER – WHO WAS OF COURSE JEWISH WITH THE FOLLOWING WORDS: “THE CHRISTIANS AND JEWS? WHY IS IT THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS DURING – TO VISIT A SYNAGOGUE DURING A BOOK OF THE GENERATION OF JESUS THAT SO MANY CHRISTIANS, DRIVEN WORLD WAR II. RELIGIOUS SERVICE. DURING HIS VISIT, CHRIST, SON OF DAVID, SON OF BY A SERIES OF COMPLEX MOTIVATIONS, JOHN PAUL TREATED THE CHIEF RAbbI KAROL WOJTYLA, LATER ELECTED TO ABRAHAM.” FURTHER ALONG, IN THE ALL TOO OFTEN HAVE PERSECUTED AND OF ROME AS AN EQUAL. JOHN PAUL BECOME POPE JOHN PAUL II, KNEW SAME TEXT, THE EVANGELIST INFORMS US MASSACRED A PEOPLE TO WHOM THEY ESTABLISHED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS THAT ENTIRE BLOODY AND SORROWFUL THAT JESUS WAS A DESCENDANT OF KING OWE NOT ONLY THEIR HOLY SCRIPTURES BETWEEN THE HOLY SEE AND THE STATE STORY PERSONALLY BECAUSE HE HAD DAVID, THE FOREMOST KING OF THE BUT THEIR VERY SAVIOR, AND DESPITE OF ISRAEL, WHICH HE PERSONALLY BEEN BORN AND RAISED IN THE CITY JEWS. STRANGE AS IT MAY SEEM, PROBABLY THE FACT THAT OffICIAL CHURCH LAW VISITED AS A PILGRIM. DURING THAT OF WADOWICE, POLAND, A COUNTRY MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS AROUND THE GAVE PROTECTION TO THE JEWS? MOVING VISIT, THE POPE VISITED YAD THAT HAD THE WORLD’S LARGEST JEWISH WORLD ARE UNAWARE OF THE EXTREMELY VASHEM, THE MONUMENT TO THE SIX THE SAME YEAR THAT COLUMBUS POPULATION UNTIL WORLD WAR II. CLOSE AND INTIMATE LINK BETWEEN THE MILLION JEWISH MARTYRS OF WORLD DISCOVERED AMERICA, 1492, THE KING HIS CLOSEST CHILDHOOD FRIEND WAS A HOLY FAMILY AND THE PEOPLE CHOSEN WAR II, AND PRAYED AT THE WESTERN AND QUEEN OF SPAIN BANISHED MANY JEWISH BOY, A NEIGHBOR OF THE YOUNG BY GOD TO RECEIVE HIS REVELATIONS WALL - THE LAST REMAINS OF THE THOUSANDS OF JEWS WHO HAD LIVED KAROL, WITH WHOM THE FUTURE POPE THROUGH THE BIBLE. TEMPLE OF SOLOMON - A SACRED PLACE PEACEFULLY IN SPAIN FOR CENTURIES PLAYED SOCCER IN THE CObbLED STREETS FOR BOTH JEWS AND CHRISTIANS. THE JESUS’ HEBREW NAME WAS “YESHUA,” BEFORE SPAIN ADOPTED THE CHRISTIAN OF HIS HOMETOWN. POPE HUMBLY ASKED FOR FORGIVENESS MARY’S WAS “MIRIAM,” AND JOSEPH’S WAS FAITH. A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF THE FUTURE POPE WAS AN EYEWITNESS FOR THE HORRORS WHICH CHRISTIANS “YOSEF.” THE BIRTH PLACE, BETHLEHEM, JEWS – MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN – TO THE HORRORS OF THE WAR, OF THE HAD INFLICTED ON THOSE HE CALLED IS CALLED “BET LEHEM” (THE HOUSE OF WERE MISTREATED OR DIED AS A RESULT PERSECUTIONS AND MASSACRES. HIS “OUR ELDER BROTHERS IN THE FAITH.” BREAD) IN HEBREW, AND NAZARETH, OF THE SPANISH INQUISITION. THE CHRISTIAN SOUL WAS DEEPLY MOVED WHERE JESUS LIVED MOST OF HIS LIFE, ANCIENT CHRISTIAN “TEACHING OF HE ALSO HELD A CONCERT AT THE AND SHAKEN BY THE HORRORS HE IS IN GALILEE, WHICH IS PART OF THE CONTEMPT” AGAINST JEWS AND JUDAISM, VATICAN IN MEMORY OF THE SIX LIVED. HE WAS AMONG THE BISHOPS MODERN JEWISH STATE OF ISRAEL. JOHN PAUL II SAID, “SO LULLED THE MILLION JEWS WHO WERE VICTIMS OF OF THE WORLD WHO VOTED IN FAVOR THE HOLOCAUST, AND VISITED THE Holocaust Memorial Concert at the Vatican in memory of the 6 million Jews exterminated by the Nazis – 1994 OF NOSTRA AETATE, THE HISTORIC CONCENTRATION CAMP AT AUSCHWITZ, DECLARATION ON THE JEWS FROM THE POLAND. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, NOSTRA AETATE. THE DEATH OF JOHN PAUL IN HIS PRAYER, JOHN PAUL SAID: II WAS A GREAT LOSS, NOT ONLY FOR “God of our fathers, You chose Abraham CHRISTIANITY BUT FOR ALL HUMANITY. and his descendants to bring the name of JOHN PAUL WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL God to all the nations. We are profoundly MAN: AN ACTOR, WRITER, ATHLETE, saddened by the behavior of those who, in PHILOSOPHER, POLITICIAN, MORALIST, the course of history, have caused suffering ECUMENICAL, AND MUCH MORE. EVERY to these, your children, and for this we HUMAN BEING, REGARDLESS OF RELIGION, ask Your forgiveness; we wish to commit WHO HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF ENCOUNT- ourselves to a genuine brotherhood ERING JOHN PAUL, WAS AWARE THAT with the people of the Covenant (the HE OR SHE WAS IN THE PRESENCE OF A Jewish people).” MAN OF GOD. THE IMPACT OF THESE WORDS, ONE OF THE POPE’S TITLES IS “SUPREME THE BRIDGE THEY BUILD BETWEEN PONTIff.” PONTIff MEANS “HE WHO CHRISTIANS AND JEWS, IS IMMENSE. BUILDS BRIDGES,” AND JOHN PAUL THIS MESSAGE IS ADDRESSED TO ALL 23003 English9_7.indd 2 9/8/06 9:29:19 AM.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO MEMBERS OF THE DELEGATION OF THE "CONFERENCE OF EUROPEAN RABBIS" Monday, 20 April 2015 [Multimedia] Dear Friends, I welcome you, members of the delegation of the Conference of European Rabbis, to the Vatican. I am especially pleased to do so, as this is the first visit by your Organization to Rome to meet with the Successor of Peter. I greet your President, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, and I thank him for his kind words. I wish to express my sincere condolences for the death last evening of Rabbi Elio Toaff, former Chief Rabbi of Rome. I am united in prayer with Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni – who would have been here with us – and with the entire Jewish Community in Rome. We gratefully remember this man of peace and dialogue who received Pope John Paul II during his historic visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome. For almost fifty years, the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community has progressed in a systematic way. Next 28 October we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, which is still the reference point for every effort we make in this regard. With gratitude to the Lord, may we recall these years, rejoicing in our progress and in the friendship which has grown between us. Today, in Europe, it is more important than ever to emphasise the spiritual and religious dimension of human life. In a society increasingly marked by secularism and threatened by atheism, we run the risk of living as if God did not exist.
    [Show full text]
  • SAMPLE His Priests from Ever Entering a Synagogue.” I Was Amazed and Crushed
    Introduction Gilbert S. Rosenthal I was a young and callow rabbi serving a congregation in New Jersey about forty miles from New York City. The year was 1960, and Thanks- giving was approaching. I had an inspirational idea: My synagogue was literally across the road from a Roman Catholic church. Why not invite the priest and his flock to join my congregation in a program—not a wor- ship service—of thanksgiving for the blessings of freedom in this blessed land? So I called the priest whom I had never met and enthusiastically told him of my idea, stressing that this would be a program without any liturgical content, confident that he would accept my invitation. I was quite wrong: The priest responded, “Rabbi, I should very much like to take you up on your offer but I cannot. You see, my bishop, Bishop Ahr of Trenton, prohibitsSAMPLE his priests from ever entering a synagogue.” I was amazed and crushed. The fact that I vividly remember that conversation after over fifty years have elapsed underscores my sense of despair and the lasting impression it made on me. Imagine that a scant fifteen years after the Shoah—the Holocaust that destroyed six million Jews in Christian Europe—and the Catholic Church would not even talk to Jews or enter their houses of worship! We were just across the road from each other, but we might as well have been on other sides of the world. Perhaps that episode was the catalyst of my commitment to interreligious dialogue throughout my long rabbinic career.
    [Show full text]
  • Spirit of Assisi”
    Sulle vie della pace nello “spirito di Assisi” On the paths of peace In the “Spirit of Assisi” !1 INTRODUCTION The photo of the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi on October 27, 1986, portraying Pope John Paul II with the leaders of religions in their colorful clothes, is one of the best-known religious images of the twentieth century. Assisi 1986: the leaders of religions with John Paul II In Assisi, various religious communities prayed in different places at the same time, affirming that only peace is holy and that at the heart of every religious tradition is the search for peace. It was a strong and unequivocal message that delegitimizes violence and war perpetrated in the name of religion. It was a simple and new reality: praying for peace, no longer against each other as it had been for centuries, perhaps millennia, but side by side.. This new image has become almost a modern icon: the leaders of the various world religions gathered together. That image had a beauty, almost an aesthetic of dialogue. Leaders joining together illustrated to their respective faithful that living together was possible and that all are part of one big family. John Paul II said: “Perhaps never before in the history of humanity, the intrinsic link between what is authentically religious and the great good of peace was made evident." Karol Wojtyla's dream was the birth of a movement of interreligious peace, which would flow from that day in Assisi. At the end of the day he said, "Peace is a building site open to everyone, not only to specialists, scholars and strategists.”1 !2 More than thirty years have passed.
    [Show full text]
  • Italy and the Vatican
    Italy and the Vatican National Affairs THEDEATH OF Pope John Paul II and the election of German- born Joseph Cardinal Ratzingeras his successor dominated the news. John Paul died April 2, aged 84, justover two months after falling ill with the flu. Ratzinger, 78, who had beena close aide and friend, was elected pope on April 19, taking the name Benedict XVI. Knownas a hard-line theologian, Ratzinger had served fortwo decades as the Vatican's doc- trinal watchdog in his capacityas head of the Congregation of the Doc- trine of the Faith. The papal transitionwas a worldwide media event and drew an unprecedented number of pilgrimsto Rome. Italian domestic politics centeredon preparations for the April 2006 general elections pitting Prime Minister SilvioBerlusconi's ruling center- right coalition against the center-leftopposition led by Romano Prodi,a former prime minister and former headof the European Commission. The center-left made sharp gains in regionalelections held in early April 2005. With voters in 13 of the country's 20regions going to the polls, the center-left rode to victory in 11 of them. Theresults prompted Berlus- coni to resign, reshuffle his cabinet, and forma new government. An opin- ion poll at the end of November indicatedthat Prodi's coalition would garner 52.7 percent of the vote against just 40.2percent for Berlusconi's bloc. But in December, Berlusconi'sallies pushed through a controver- sial electoral reform law that, accordingto the opposition, was intended tielp the center-right. The law restoreda completely proportional vot- system, replacing the mixed proportional and majoritysystem put in in 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • When the Rabbi's Soul Entered a Pig: Melchiorre Palontrotti and His
    Jewish History (2020) 33: 351–375 © The Author(s) 2020 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09367-y When the Rabbi’s Soul Entered a Pig: Melchiorre Palontrotti and His Giudiata against the Jews of Rome MARTINA MAMPIERI Lichtenberg-Kolleg, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This essay analyzes an unpublished manuscript of a giudiata, a poem mocking Jew- ish funerals that was written and performed in Rome in the mid-seventeenth century. Mel- chiorre Palontrotti, the author of the composition, was a Roman polemist and author of other published works against Italian Jews, including, among others, the Venetian rabbi Simone Luzzatto, between 1640 and 1649. After furnishing information on the author and the histor- ical background in which the song was written, and following an analysis of the origins of giudiate and their diffusion in early modern Rome, this paper explores the content, language, and style of the giudiata text. The appendix includes a bibliography of Palontrotti’s writings and a transcription of the manuscript. Keywords Jewish-Christian Relations · Jewish History · Anti-Jewish Polemics · Early Modern Polemics · Seventeenth Century · Rome In the rich manuscript collection belonging to Giovanni Pastrizio (ca. 1636– 1708),1 a lecturer in theology at the Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide and scriptor hebraicus at the Vatican Library from 1695, there is a brief but extremely interesting rhymed composition.2 This text, handwritten by Pas- trizio, consists of a canzone contro gli ebrei (“song against the Jews”) in 1On Pastrizio, also known as Ivan Paštric,ˇ and his activity in Rome from the first half of the seventeenth century until his death, see Notizie istoriche degli Arcadi morti, tomo secondo, in Roma, nella Stamperia di Antonio de Rossi, 1720, f.
    [Show full text]
  • Forty Years of Revolution
    Haaretz w w w . h a a r e t z . c o m Last update - 08:36 28/10/2005 Forty years of revolution By David Rosen On October 28, 1965, a declaration was published by the Catholic Synod of Bishops (known as Vatican II) that changed in a revolutionary way the attitude of the Catholic Church towards the Jewish people, Judaism and ultimately the state of Israel. This declaration is known by the name taken from the two Latin words with which it begins: "Nostra Aetate," which means "In our time." To appreciate the dimension of the change, it must be noted that the historical approach of Christianity, almost from its very beginnings, had been that because the Jews had failed by not recognizing the person whom Christianity had declared to be the Messiah, and were also responsible for the death of Jesus, their Temple was destroyed, they were expelled from their land and they were condemned to wander the earth until the end of days. Therefore the blessings and the destiny of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were taken from them and given to the Church, which since then was "the true new Israel." This traditional attitude towards Judaism and the Jews is known as the "teaching of contempt." By the first part of the 20th century in certain circles a reevaluation had begun of the Catholic doctrine with regard to the Jews, but a fundamental change took place only under the influence of the Holocaust. Although there is no basis to the argument that Christianity was directly responsible for the Holocaust, there is no doubt that the "Final Solution" would not have succeeded to the same extent had the ground in Europe not been prepared to absorb the seeds of hatred for Jews, in the wake of the "teaching of contempt" and many centuries during which the Church, actively or passively, had encouraged the demonization and dehumanization of the Jew.
    [Show full text]
  • The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965 Ii Introduction Introduction Iii
    Introduction i The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965 ii Introduction Introduction iii The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930 –1965 Michael Phayer INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington and Indianapolis iv Introduction This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://www.indiana.edu/~iupress Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail [email protected] © 2000 by John Michael Phayer All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and re- cording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of Ameri- can University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Perma- nence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phayer, Michael, date. The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965 / Michael Phayer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-33725-9 (alk. paper) 1. Pius XII, Pope, 1876–1958—Relations with Jews. 2. Judaism —Relations—Catholic Church. 3. Catholic Church—Relations— Judaism. 4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) 5. World War, 1939– 1945—Religious aspects—Catholic Church. 6. Christianity and an- tisemitism—History—20th century. I. Title. BX1378 .P49 2000 282'.09'044—dc21 99-087415 ISBN 0-253-21471-8 (pbk.) 2 3 4 5 6 05 04 03 02 01 Introduction v C O N T E N T S Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Embassy of Italy in Israel
    The Roman Aqueduct, Caesarea. photo by Duby Tal, Albatross Special Issue June, 2, 2005 The Embassy ofItalyinIsrael The Embassy ITALY IN ISRAEL TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Italy and Israel: a Longstanding Partnership with a Great Future Sandro De Bernardin, Ambassador of Italy in Israel 3 The Mediterranean Role of Italy A.B. Yehoshua THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN ISRAEL 6 The Relationship throughout History Simonetta Della Seta 8 The Holy Land through the Eyes of Italian Travellers Michele Piccirillo 11 Tracking Traces of Italy Eric Salerno 13 The Significant Presence of the Italian Jewish Community Sergio Della Pergola The Trade Tower In Tel Aviv 15 The Story of Forty Italian Synagogues housing the Embassy David Cassuto of Italy in Israel PRESENT DAY 20 The Love for Italian Language PROJECT AND PRODUCTION Edoardo Crisafulli The Embassy of Italy in Israel 22 The Literary Embrace Lucio Izzo EDITORIAL COORDINATION 24 A Dynamic Economic Exchange Simonetta Della Seta Alessandro Cattaneo and Mauro Poli 26 The Attraction of Israeli Businesses to the Italian Market ADVERTISING COORDINATION Ronni Benatoff Alessandro Cattaneo 28 InvestInItaly, a New Reference Point for Israeli Investors GRAPHICS Massimo Caputi Enrico Attas 29 The Boost of Scientific Cooperation Guglielmo Castro PHOTOGRAPHY 31 A Dialogue on Security Luca Franchetti Pardo and Alessandro Veltri Visions of the Land Archive Garo Nalbandian 34 Two Italian Archaeological Expeditions Ermanna Clemente di San Luca Albatross U. Nahon Museum A SHORT GUIDE TO ITALIAN SERVICES IN ISRAEL Embassy of Italy in Israel 39 The Consular Services The Embassy of Italy 42 The Italian Business Desk in Israel wishes to thank: Duby Tal –Albatross 44 The Italian Cultural Institute Visions of the Land Archive 44 Learning Italian U.
    [Show full text]
  • The Jewish Theological Seminary May 6, 2015 Pope St. John Paul II
    1 The Jewish Theological Seminary May 6, 2015 Pope St. John Paul II Center Lecture: The Dream of Nostra Aetate Becomes Reality Rabbi Vistozky, Chancellor Eisen, Friends one and all: I gladly accept the title ben bayit, grateful to be considered “a regular member of the household” of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Yes, I’ve been coming here for nearly 15 years for meetings of the National Jewish-Catholic Dialogue, and have especially felt at home here in my half-dozen happy years as archbishop. As grateful as I am to be “a member of the household” here at The Jewish Theological Seminary, I am a bit apprehensive acknowledging it, since now I’ll probably get a pledge card to contribute to your annual appeal! To deliver the John Paul II Center Lecture here, sponsored by the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue of The Jewish Theological Seminary, is a very high honor. It is good to be with you. Thank you! 2 Our gathering is particularly providential as we celebrate the golden jubilee of the inspired document of the Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate, a teaching that dramatically transformed Jewish-Catholic relations. We Catholics sometimes quip that our Jewish neighbors pay more attention to Vatican statements than we do! Both of us have paid attention to Nostra Aetate, thank God, and friendship between us has never been stronger. The Pontiff for over 50 percent of the half-century since that inspired document was Pope —now saint —John Paul II, for whom the worldwide Jewish community has a deep reverence. Four months after his death in 2005, I travelled with four other bishops and about a half-dozen rabbis on a very moving trip to Poland and Rome.
    [Show full text]
  • Interfaith Hanukkah Celebration
    Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller (left) and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg light candles on the Menorah, as Rabbi Sam Stahl observes, at the interfaith celebration. Article by J. Michael Parker Calling the Second Vatican Council a “miracle” which changed Catholic Jewish relations forever, Rabbi Jack Bemporad addressed San Antonio’s annual Catholic-Jewish Chanukah celebration, speaking of its impact to date and pointing out what still remains to be done. The luncheon festivity was held at the San Fernando Cathedral Hall to a capacity audience of more than 325. The rabbi observed that it was appropriate to celebrate the document’s 50th anniversary during Hanukkah, a season celebrating miracles. The miracle of Nostra Aetate (In Our Age) was that it recognized God’s covenant with the Jews as being eternal and not having been superseded by Christianity. It stated that Judaism was still a live and vital religion. The rabbi went on to highlight three questions that must be discussed in interreligious dialogue. The first is, “How can I be true to my faith without being false to yours?” The second is “Where do I put you in my self-understanding with respect to my faith?” The third is “How do we work together for the common good?” 1 In times past, Bemporad explained, the attitude on both sides was “How do I take the best of my faith and compare it with the worst of yours? Many times, he heard sermons in both churches and synagogues that said, “Look how wonderful we are...and look at them.” Bemporad has concluded that one must be true to one’s own faith.
    [Show full text]
  • Livorno: a Crossroads in the History of Sephardic Religious Music Prof
    Page 1 of 12 Livorno: A Crossroads in the History of Sephardic Religious Music Prof. Edwin Seroussi This article appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of Notes from Zamir. From "The Mediterranean and the Jews: Society, Culture and Economy in Early Modern Times", edited by Elliott Horowitz and Moises Orfali I. INTRODUCTION The geographical location of Italy at the focal point of the Mediterranean cultures is reflected in the music traditions of its Jewish communities. Throughout the centuries, several musical traditions developed among Italian Jews: the "Italiano" rite (centered in Rome), the "Tedesco" (German, i.e. Ashkenazic) tradition in the North and, from the early 16th century, several Sephardic traditions of different geographical origin (Greece, Turkey, North Africa and, later on, Western Europe) *1 The vitality of these distinctive traditions declined steadily from the late 19th century, and even more sharply after World War II. The influence of Italian art music, particularly noticeable from the 19th century on, was also a significant factor in the shaping of their present state. Surviving synagogue music from Italy thus shows traces of the interaction between different traditions. *2 Detailed studies of selected traditions should, therefore, precede any comprehensive study of ltalian synagogue music. *3 I shall focus here on the synagogue music from Livorno (Leghorn) from the 18th century onwards. I would like to stress in particular the role played by this community as a cultural crossroads, that is, as a location where the carriers of different Sephardic traditions from the Eastern and Western Mediterranean encountered and enriched each other. In the 18th century the community of Livorno inherited the leadership of the Sephardic Jews in Italy from the community of Venice, as Bonfil (1992) has already stressed.
    [Show full text]
  • NTARY Spirit of Reconciliation Has Far to Go by Father Richard P
    CATHOLIC COURIER DIOCESE OF ROCHESTER, N.Y COLUMNS. THURSDAY, APRIL 28,1994 PAGE 19 NTARY Spirit of reconciliation has far to go By Father Richard P. McBrien ment expressing his appreciation for church and the Jews. ^ Syndicated columnist die pope's effort to commemorate the Jesus and the Apostles were Jews, Holocaust, adding that the concert it­ the "Declaration on the Relationship When the history of this pontificate self had "a significance that goes be­ of the Church to Non-Christian Reli­ is written, Pope John PauHI's out­ yond that of a simple artistic event." gions" (Nostra Aetate) pointed out. And reach to the Jews may be among his At an audience earlier in the day, a he Jewish people "still remain most most enduring achievements. survivor of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto dear to God." The most recent papal initiative is uprising told the pope: "As a young The council deplored "the hatred, of particular significance. Earlier this boy growing up in prewar Warsaw I persecutions, and displays of anti- month the pope invited Elio Toaff, feared crossing the sidewalk next to Semitism directed against the Jews at Rome's chief rabbi, to the Vatican as a church. Now, some 50 years later, any time and from any source," be­ guest of honor at a concert given by the unthinkable is happening." cause they contradict the cross's the London Royal Philharmonic Or­ A survivor of the death camps at meaning of Christ through which die chestra to honor die memory of Holo­ Auschwitz and Matthausen added: Prince of Peace "reconciled Jew and caust victims.
    [Show full text]