Pope John Paul II will grant a special private audience to French Chief Rabbi Jacob Kaplan during the Pontiff’s forthcoming visit to France. The Pope is due to arrive here Friday and will meet French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, address a special UNESCO assembly and conduct a number of public masses.
In spite of his crowded timetable, the Pope has scheduled a private audience for Kaplan and the heads of the French Consistory, Baron Aloin de Rothschild and Jean-Paul Elkann.
The Chief Rabbi told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the time “is highly favorable” for his meeting with the Pope “as Christian-Jewish understanding in France is in constant improvement.” Kaplan said he will draw the Pontiff’s attention to the French Catholic Church’s favorable attitude based on a joint statement issued by the French Bishops Conference in 1973.
Kaplan, who will meet the Pope Sunday morning, said the meeting was spontaneously arranged by the French Bishops who are the Pontiff’s hosts during his four-day stay in France. Kaplan is due to retire next month after having served as French Chief Rabbi since the end of World War II. His successor will be elected by a special Consistory assembly late June.
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