Pope John Paul II over the weekend rejoiced in the progress of Middle East peace, but warned that differences about the status of Jerusalem could put the peace process in jeopardy.
Also this weekend, the pontiff condemned anti-Semitism and deplored the long- standing tensions between Christians and Jews.
In his annual State of the World address, the pope reiterated the Vatican position that Jerusalem should be a unique, multireligious entity.
However, last month, Leah Rabin, the widow of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, had an audience with the pope, after which she said the pope told her that he considered Jerusalem “the capital of Israel and as the capital of three faiths.”
On Saturday, the pope addressed ambassadors and representatives – from more than 160 countries – who were gathered in the Vatican’s ornate Sala Reggia.
Among those who attended were the ambassador from Israel and, for the first time, a Palestinian representative.
“Today, we cannot but rejoice to see here, for the first time, the representative of the Palestinian people,” the pope said, noting that the Vatican had enjoyed diplomatic relations with Israel for more than a year.
“We had been looking forward to this happy state of affairs,” he said, “because it is the eloquent sign that the Middle East has resolutely taken the path of peace.”
Of Jerusalem, the pope said, “The religious and universal dimension of the holy city demands a commitment on the part of the whole international community, in order to ensure that the city preserves its uniqueness and retains its living character.”
The pontiff said holy places that are important to the three monotheistic religions would lose “much of their significance if they were not permanently surrounded by active communities of Jews, Christians and Muslims.”
He also said: “It is my hope that the international community will offer the political partners most directly involved the juridical and diplomatic instruments capable of ensuring that Jerusalem, one and holy, may truly be a `crossroads of peace.'”
Saying that Christianity had a “particularly intimate relationship” with Judaism, Pope John Paul II on Sunday condemned anti-Semitism and deplored the long-standing tensions between Christian and Jews.
The pope, who called for religious tolerance among all faiths, criticized the “hatreds, persecutions and all the manifestations of anti-Semitism directed Jews in every time and by anyone.”
The pope made the remarks during his regular noontime address from his window at the Vatican overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
The “memory of tensions which so many times have marked the relationship between Christians and Jews” gave rise to “great pain,” he said, adding that Christians should respect the “spiritual riches” of other faiths in order to build universal peace and brotherhood.
His talk centered on the Nostra Aetate document issued in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council.
The document dealt with relations between Christianity and other faiths, and was a landmark in Jewish-Catholic relations, overturning the traditional Catholic teaching that the Jews had killed Jesus and opening the way for Jewish-Catholic dialogue after nearly 2,000 years of mistrust.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
