Pope's visit to synagogue 'clear message' of good will, rabbi says

Published: 2008-04-18

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's April 18 visit to a synagogue during the New York leg of his U.S. visit is a "clear message of good will to the Jewish community," said the rabbi hosting the pope. Rabbi Arthur Schneier, senior rabbi of Park East Synagogue, said his own commitment to interreligious dialogue prompted him to invite the pope to visit his house of worship. He extended the invitation while visiting the Vatican in March. "I have worked for 46 years for religious freedom, human rights and interreligious dialogue from my pulpit," he said in an interview with Catholic News Service in the days leading up to the papal visit. "Our synagogue has been the scene of interreligious dialogue on many occasions," he said. It has hosted Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the chief rabbi of Israel.

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