Pope Francis’ visit on Sunday, January 17 to Rome’s major synagogue was the latest in a series of recent events highlighting Catholic/Jewish relations. On that occasion—Francis’ first visit to the synagogue as pope—he stated that Catholics and Jews share “a unique and particular bond, in virtue of the Jewish roots of Christianity: Jews and Christians must therefore considers themselves brothers, united in their God and a rich common spiritual patrimony, on which to build on and to continue building the future.”
Last month, on December 10, the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews released a new document calling for Catholics not to actively seek the conversion of Jews. The document marked the 50th anniversary of the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate on the Catholic-Jewish relations. Entitled “The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable,” the document was introduced at a press conference at which Cardinal Kurt Koch, the chairman of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, shared the podium with Rabbi David Rosen of the American Jewish Committee.
Read Full Article »