Addition of two U.S. meetings shows pope's concern for Jews

Published: 2008-04-04

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's addition of two meetings with Jews in the United States underlined the pope's continuing interest in improving Catholic-Jewish relations. It's a relationship that is extremely important to the German pope, but which has had its ups and downs since he was elected three years ago. The pope has pleased many Jewish leaders by emphasizing that Jews have a special place in salvation history. He has visited a synagogue and the Auschwitz death camp, suspended the sainthood cause of a priest suspected of anti-Semitism and expressed full support for the new relationship with Judaism launched by the Second Vatican Council. But the comments he made at Auschwitz in 2006 prompted some Jewish representatives to ask why he didn't explore the roots of anti-Semitism and the responsibility of Christians -- including those in his native country. From the moment of Pope Benedict's election, some wondered how the Jewish community would react to the choice of a German pope who had been forced to enroll in the Hitler Youth during the Nazi era. In fact, many Jewish leaders praised the new pope as a thoughtful dialogue partner and rejected the idea that he was in any way a sympathizer with Nazism.

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