Special 50th Anniversary of Vatican II Edition

Pope John XXIII Appreciation Post

Summorum Pontificum 3rd Year Anniversary

July 7, 2007 Anniversary:

APOSTOLIC LETTER
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
BENEDICT XVI
GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

On the extraordinary use
of the ancient form of the Roman Rite
__________________

It has been the constant concern of the Supreme Pontiffs up to the present to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy worship to the Divine Majesty, "to the praise and glory of His name," and "to the benefit of all His Holy Church."

Since time immemorial it has been necessary -- as it is also for the future -- to maintain the principle according to which "each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith." (1)

Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.'

In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is Saint Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and "renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers," and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

"It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform." (2) Thus acted also our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, Saint Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII.

In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that "this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony." (4)

But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult “Quattuor abhinc annos”, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio, “Ecclesia Dei”, exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

Our predecessor John Paul II having already considered the insistent petitions of these faithful, having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with this Apostolic Letter We DECREE the following:

Art. 1 The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the Lex orandi [Law of prayer] of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same Lex orandi, and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church’s Lex credendi [Law of belief]. They are, in fact two uses of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents “Quattuor abhinc annos” and “Ecclesia Dei”, are substituted as follows:

Art. 2 In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 3 Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or “community” celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statutes.

Art. 4 Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may – observing all the norms of law – also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5 § 1 In parishes, where there is a group of faithful who stably adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.

§ 2 Celebration according to the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.

§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.

§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be idoneous and not juridically impeded.

§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6 In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7 If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 § 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he does not want to arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.

Art. 8 A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission “Ecclesia Dei” to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9 § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 3 Clerics ordained “in sacris constitutis” may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10 The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Art. 11 The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” (5) , erected by John Paul II in 1988, continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

Art. 12 This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.

We order that everything We have decreed with this Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio be considered as having full and lasting force, and be observed from September 14 of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on July 7, in the year of Our Lord 2007, the third of Our Pontificate.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

St. Bonaventure-"God Is One Throughout History"

Pope Benedict XVI gestures during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. At right is his personal secretary Georg Gaenswein. (Daylife-AP)



Vatican City, Mar 10, 2010 / 11:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy Father returned to St. Bonaventure for the subject of his catechesis at the General Audience on Wednesday morning. This saint, he said, not only kept the Franciscan order together with his theology that accepted "newness" into the Church but also teaches modern Christians how to be open to new charisms in the Church.

St. Bonaventure, from his place as general minister of the Franciscan Minors, refuted the idea present within the order in the 13th century that St. Francis had ushered in a “totally new phase in history.” Within this perspective promoted by so-called “spiritual” Franciscans, the Holy Spirit had come to replace Christ and the Church in a new and final age, Pope Benedict recalled.

Following of the ideas of Joachim of Fiore, these brothers believed that an “eternal Gospel” had replaced the New Testament and that history was divided into three phases, one for each person of the Trinity.

This new age was said to have been brought into being by St. Francis, who they believed had inaugurated a time when Church hierarchy was no longer necessary. The Holy Spirit, they thought, was at the base of a new age in which Christian brotherhood would bring peace and reconciliation.

But this perspective contained a “grave misunderstanding” which brought them to an erroneous vision of Christianity, the Pope said.

St. Bonaventure dealt with this question in his last work, "Hexaemeron," in which he explained that "God is one throughout history. ... History is one, even if it is a journey, a journey of progression” and that “Jesus is the last word of God." St. Bonaventure also taught that "there is no other Gospel, no other Church to be awaited. Thus the Order of St. Francis must also insert itself into this Church, into her faith and her hierarchical order.”

He also proposed that the Church always moves forward, is not immobile and experiences newness within it. In this statement, said the Pope, he adds to the theology of the Church Fathers in saying that in the Church there is room for newness, guaranteed through the uniqueness of Christ, and that "utopian spiritualism" cannot be constructed within it.

St. Bonaventure, said the Pope, "teaches us of the necessary discernment... of sober realism and of openness to new charisms given by Christ, through the Holy Spirit, to his Church."

The ideas of decline and "spiritualistic utopianism" continue to repeat themselves, Benedict XVI pointed out.

He explained, "We know how after the Second Vatican Council some were convinced that everything was new, that there was another Church, that the pre-conciliar Church was finished and that we would have another, completely other."

This, said the Holy Father was "an anarchic utopianism, and thanks to God the wise helmsmen of the boat of Peter - Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II - defended the newness of the Council on one hand and, at the same time, the uniqueness and the continuity of the Church," which, he said "is always the Church of sinners and always the place of grace."

In this sense, said the Holy Father, St. Bonaventure provided a clear line of government for the order in which, guided by healthy realism and spiritual courage, members had to bring themselves "as close as possible to the realization of the sermon on the mount, that for St. Francis was a rule."

Following his catechesis on the Franciscan saint, the Holy Father made an appeal for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey on March 8 and called for an end to violence and reconciliation in Nigeria.



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Update 1, via Sky News:

Child sex abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church are evidence of the Devil's presence in the Vatican, the Pope's chief exorcist has said.

Father Gabriel Amorth who has carried out more than 70,000 exorcisms in a career spanning 50 years, said Pope Benedict XVI "fully agreed" with him in "casting out evil".

During the past few months the Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of sex scandals in Ireland and the Netherlands.

Most recently in Germany, the Pope's brother, Father Georg Ratzinger, has even admitted to hitting choir boys.

In an interview with the La Repubblica newspaper, 84-year-old Father Amorth said: "The Devil lives in the Vatican.

"He has won over the confidences of people, but naturally it's difficult to find proof, but the consequences are visible.

"We have cardinals who don't believe in Christ, bishops connected with demons. Then we have these stories of paedophilia. You can see the rot when we speak of Satan's smoke in the holy rooms (of the Vatican)." Father Gabriel Amorth

"We have cardinals who don't believe in Christ, bishops connected with demons.

"Then we have these stories of paedophilia. You can see the rot when we speak of Satan's smoke in the holy rooms (of the Vatican)."

Father Amorth gave the interview as part of the book launch for Memoirs Of An Exorcist, which was written by Italian religious affairs journalist Marco Tosatti.

The religious official - who is said to be the inspiration for the priest in the hit horror film The Exorcist - added: "The Devil is invisible, he is a pure spirit.

"But in the people he possesses he can be seen through pain and blasphemies, but he can also remain hidden.

"Sometimes he makes fun of me, but I have to say I enjoy my work."

He described how he had "six or seven assistants" to help him hold down a possessed person when he carried out an exorcism and he kept "nails and glass that they spit out in a little bag".

''From the mouths of the possessed people all sorts of things come out, bits of metal as long as a finger [and] rose petals," he said.

"I have to have help holding them down and wiping up the saliva but seeing these people vomit doesn't upset me."

Father Amorth went on to claim that the attempt on the life of the late Pope John Paul II in May 1981 and the recent attack on Pope Benedict during Christmas Eve Mass last year were all work of the Devil.

In 2006 the priest gave an interview to Vatican Radio in which he said that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had both been possessed.

According to secret Vatican documents recently released, wartime Pope Pius XII attempted a "long distance" exorcism of Hitler which failed to have any effect.

In the past the Italian has also spoken out against Harry Potter, claiming the teen wizard novels opened children's minds to dabbling with the occult and black magic.

Father Amorth, was ordained in 1954 and who is president of the International Association of Exorcists, said of the JK Rowling books: "Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of the darkness, the Devil."

Anniversary of the Death of Paul VI

Il Papa Buono

Birth: 1881 @ Sotto il Monte, Italy as Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli

Papal Ascension: 28 October 1958 as Pope John XIII

Death: 3 June 1963 @ Rome, Italy

Beatified: 3 September 2000 by Pope John Paul II @ Saint Peter's Square, Rome

Canonized: pending

American Catholic:

Although few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible. Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” seems one of his most remarkable qualities.

The firstborn son of a farming family in Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo in northern Italy, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was always proud of his down-to-earth roots. In Bergamo’s diocesan seminary, he joined the Secular Franciscan Order.

After his ordination in 1904, Angelo returned to Rome for canon law studies. He soon worked as his bishop’s secretary, Church history teacher in the seminary and as publisher of the diocesan paper.

His service as a stretcher-bearer for the Italian army during World War I gave him a firsthand knowledge of war. In 1921 he was made national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith; he found time to teach patristics at a seminary in the Eternal City

In 1925 he became a papal diplomat, serving first in Bulgaria, then in Turkey and finally in France (1944-53). During World War II, he became well acquainted with Orthodox Church leaders and with the help of Germany’s ambassador to Turkey, Archbishop Roncalli helped save an estimated 24,000 Jewish people.

Named a cardinal and appointed patriarch of Venice in 1953, he was finally a residential bishop. A month short of entering his 78th year, he was elected pope, taking the name John, his father’s name and the two patrons of Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran. He took his work very seriously but not himself. His wit soon became proverbial and he began meeting with political and religious leaders from around the world. In 1962 he was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Cuban missile crisis.

His most famous encyclicals were Mother and Teacher (1961) and Peace on Earth (1963). Pope John XXIII enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals and made it more international.

At his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but prevarication and ruin.” Pope John XXIII set a tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed... errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”

On his deathbed he said: “It is not that the gospel has changed; it is that we have begun to understand it better. Those who have lived as long as I have…were enabled to compare different cultures and traditions, and know that the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead.”

Pope John Paul II beatified him on September 3, 2000, and assigned as his feast day October 11, the day that Vatican II’s first session opened.

Comment:

Throughout his life, Angelo Roncalli cooperated with God’s grace, believing that the job at hand was worthy of his best efforts. His sense of God’s providence made him the ideal person to promote a new dialogue with Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as with Jews and Muslims. In the sometimes noisy crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica, many people become silent on seeing the simple tomb of Pope John XXIII, grateful for the gift of his life and holiness. After the beatification, his tomb was moved into the basilica itself.

Quote:

In 1903, young Angelo wrote in his spiritual journal: “From the saints I must take the substance, not the accidents of their virtues. I am not St. Aloysius, nor must I seek holiness in his particular way, but according to the requirements of my own nature, my own character and the different conditions of my life. I must not be the dry, bloodless reproduction of a model, however perfect. God desires us to follow the examples of the saints by absorbing the vital sap of their virtues and turning it into our own life-blood, adapting it to our own individual capacities and particular circumstances. If St. Aloysius had been as I am, he would have become holy in a different way” (Journal of a Soul).

See Pope John XXIII's official, Vatican site here.

Read about this Pope's unique numbering issue here.

View a homage site, with a plethora of links here.

Pope a Jewish Ally in Global Struggle

YNet.com editorial by Isi Leibler:

Despite the shortcomings of the current pope, we must not overlook the radical revolution the Catholic Church has undergone since the 1965 Nostra Aetate Declaration of the Second Vatican Council. That led to annulling the odious replacement theology, rescinding the accusation of Deicide against the Jewish people and even swallowing the theologically bitter pill of acknowledging the renewal of Jewish statehood.

These changes occurred at a time when we sought to forge new alliances. Whereas the Catholic commitment to Israel and the Jewish people is a far cry from the unequivocal passionate love extended towards us by Evangelical Christians, the Catholic Church today represents an important ally in the global struggle against anti-Semitism.

This is especially so now when our traditional leftist and liberal allies have effectively forsaken us.

Pope Benedict’s predecessor, Polish-born Pope John Paul II possessed warm personality traits that many Jews found attractive. His emotional disposition contrasted with the cold, academic and dour personality of his successor.

But leaders must be judged by their acts not their personalities. And during his visit Pope Benedict explicitly reiterated that “the Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews.”

Many of us fail to appreciate that an ally is not obliged to share all our values. Pope Benedict is the Catholic pontiff, not a Jewish activist.

Yet it took extraordinary courage for him to decide of his own free will to visit Israel, conscious that he was entering such a huge minefield. Even if some of his speeches lacked the sensitivity and emotional appeal associated with his predecessor, this does not justify the primitive pillorying to which the pope was subjected by the Israeli media.

There were even occasions when Joseph Ratzinger’s Hitler Youth and Wehrmacht background were raised without pointing out that his parents were anti-Nazi, that every German youngster at the time was obliged to become a member of the Hitler youth, and that he had deserted the army.

At Yad Vashem, his speechwriters should have drafted a less theological and tepid address and endeavored to deal with his German past in an open manner. His family record displays no grounds for embarrassment and in 2006 at Auschwitz he had movingly related to his German background.

The condemnations directed against him for not “apologizing” for his past were grotesque. In contrast to the dignified welcoming remarks by Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen who never flinched in directly expressing his concerns to the pope about the beatification of Pius XII, other Rabbis began beating up on him.

Shas Rabbis and some of their associates even called for a boycott prior to his arrival. He was also harshly criticized by the worldlier Chief Rabbi Yisrael Lau, who despite subsequent more balanced remarks, should have known better.

But to his credit, Pope Benedict carried on. He repeatedly condemned anti-Semitism, which he describes as “a sin against God and man.” When he spoke about the Shoah, he was criticized for referring to victims being killed rather than murdered and for not apologizing.

Despite the inadequate Catholic responses during the Shoah, one can appreciate the pontiff’s determination not to agree that his Church should accept responsibility for the Nazi murder of six million Jews. In his moving departure speech at the airport he totally vindicated himself.

Besides that, he also made important statements breaking new ground that were hardly even mentioned. The most dramatic was his announcement that all missionary activity amongst Jews would be terminated.

Whilst we have grounds for being critical about the politically correct statements the pope made for the benefit of the Palestinians, we should note that he was consistent and also failed to even mention the persecution Christians are undergoing. Yet at the outset of his visit at Mount Nebo, he probably surprised his Jordanian hosts when he referred to the “inseparable bond” between the Catholic Church and Judaism.

He also praised Israel for safeguarding absolute freedom of religious practice. At an interfaith meeting when PA representative Sheikh Tamimi launched an obscene anti-Israeli tirade, the pope and his entourage demonstrated their feelings by walking out.
We must appreciate that the Pope is not a Zionist and his primary obligations are to his religion, his Church, his bishops and his 1.5 billion followers. It was thus not surprising that despite repeated calls to the Palestinians to renounce violence, he expressed biased pro-Palestinian remarks which irritated us. We were also disappointed that he failed to deal with the Iranian threats.

However, we should also take into account that many of his pro-Palestinian remarks paralleled statements currently being expressed by spokesmen of the Obama administration. Nevertheless, his comments were considerably less offensive than the standard condemnations directed against us by the Europeans.

We should perhaps note the stark contrast of Pope Benedict’s visit to Pope Paul Vl’s visit to the region only half a century ago in 1964, when he could not even bring himself to mention Israel by name.

We should reserve our wrath for outright hostile Christians like those in the Anglican Church and bodies affiliated with the radical World Council of Churches who insist that Judaism has no role and whose sanctimonious hypocrisy, employment of double standards and vicious attacks against the Jewish state are beyond contempt.

If these churches were even remotely as friendly as Pope Benedict, we would be embracing them.

There is a need for us to control our emotions. We should take into account the tremendous progress the Church has achieved in combating anti-Semitism and building bridges with our people. That should not inhibit us from speaking up and expressing our concerns about negative Catholic policies. But we should actively encourage popes to retain their constructive preoccupation with Judaism and the Holy Land and continue strengthening relations with the Jewish people. (Read entire article)

Hat Tip: Opinionated Catholic

Papal Videos-Western Wall & Chief Rabbis

Source: Vatican You Tube

"Irrevocably Committed" to Reconcialiation with Jews

Pope Benedict XVI, receives a gift from Israeli chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar, right, and Yona Metzger, left, at the center for the Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem, Tuesday, May 12, 2009. The pope told Israel's two chief rabbis that the Catholic Church is "irrevocably committed" to "a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews." (AP-Day Life)

Vatican Radio reprint of Pope's remarks with Chief Israeli Rabbis:

Distinguished Rabbis,

Dear Friends,

I am grateful for the invitation to visit Heichal Shlomo and to meet with you during this trip of mine to the Holy Land as Bishop of Rome. I thank Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger for their warm words of welcome and the desire they have expressed to continue strengthening the bonds of friendship which the Catholic Church and the Chief Rabbinate have labored so diligently to forge over the past decades. Your visits to the Vatican in 2003 and 2005 are a sign of the good will which characterizes our developing relations.

Distinguished Rabbis, I reciprocate by expressing my own respect and esteem for you and your communities. I assure you of my desire to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation between the Holy See, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and Jewish people throughout the world.
A great source of satisfaction for me since the beginning of my pontificate has been the fruit yielded by the ongoing dialogue between the Delegation of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Delegation for Relations with the Catholic Church. I wish to thank the members of both delegations for their dedication and hard work in implementing this initiative, so earnestly desired by my esteemed predecessor Pope John Paul II, as he said during the Great Jubilee Year of 2000.

Our encounter today is a most fitting occasion to give thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings which have accompanied the dialogue conducted by the Bilateral Commission, and to look forward with expectation to its future sessions. The willingness of the delegates to discuss openly and patiently not only points of agreement, but also points of difference, has already paved the way to more effective collaboration in public life. Jews and Christians alike are concerned to ensure respect for the sacredness of human life, the centrality of the family, a sound education for the young, and the freedom of religion and conscience for a healthy society. These themes of dialogue represent only the initial phases of what we trust will be a steady, progressive journey towards an enhanced mutual understanding.

An indication of the potential of this series of meetings is readily seen in our shared concern in the face of moral relativism and the offences it spawns against the dignity of the human person. In approaching the most urgent ethical questions of our day, our two communities are challenged to engage people of good will at the level of reason, while simultaneously pointing to the religious foundations which best sustain lasting moral values. May the dialogue that has begun continue to generate ideas on how Christians and Jews can work together to heighten society’s appreciation of the distinctive contribution of our religious and ethical traditions. Here in Israel, given that Christians constitute only a small portion of the total population, they particularly value opportunities for dialogue with their Jewish neighbors.

Trust is undeniably an essential element of effective dialogue. Today I have the opportunity to repeat that the Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the path chosen at the Second Vatican Council for a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews. As the Declaration Nostra Aetate makes clear, the Church continues to value the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews and desires an ever deeper mutual understanding and respect through biblical and theological studies as well as fraternal dialogues.

May the seven Bilateral Commission meetings which have already taken place between the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate stand as evidence! I am thus grateful for your reciprocal assurance that the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Chief Rabbinate will continue to grow in respect and understanding in the future.

My friends, I express again my deep appreciation for the welcome you have extended to me today. I am confident that our friendship will continue to set an example of trust in dialogue for Jews and Christians throughout the world. Looking at the accomplishments achieved thus far, and drawing our inspiration from the Holy Scriptures, we can confidently look forward to even stronger cooperation between our communities – together with all people of good will – in decrying hatred and oppression throughout the world.

I pray that God, who searches our hearts and knows our thoughts (Ps 139:23), will continue to enlighten us with his wisdom, so that we may follow his commandments to love him with all our heart, soul and strength (cf. Dt 6:5), and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev 19:18). Thank you.

Relevant Links:

Video excepts of emotional Chief Rabbinate's & Pope's discourses

Rabbi Metzger thanked the Pope & asked for further overtures of goodwill

Round up of full spectrum of reactions and commentary regarding the Papal visit