Belgian Jews and non-Jews are maintaining a weekly vigil here to remind the Catholic Church of its failure to keep a pledge to relocate a Carmelite convent off the grounds of the former Auschwitz death camp.
Each Wednesday afternoon, the protesters gather silently outside the residence of the papal nuncio, the Vatican’s representative in Belgium, and wave banners demanding that the Church honor its promise.
The agreement to relocate the nuns was signed by four European cardinals with world Jewish leaders in Geneva on Feb. 22, 1987. It stipulated that the convent would be moved within two years.
The nuns have so far refused to leave, and the Church seems incapable of influencing them.
The Jewish community here, meanwhile, has extended the deadline to July 22.
The European Union of Jewish Students sent a message to Pope John Paul II last week reminding him that “there are only 50 days left” to have the nuns removed from the grounds of Auschwitz.
“We are counting on your support and assistance in settling this delicate matter, which threatens to divide Christians and Jews all over the world,” the students’ message read.
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