Pope Francis's visit on
Sunday to the Great Synagogue of Rome carries on a tradition
started in April 1986 by Pope John Paul II, the first pontiff in
history to visit the Jewish temple.
This year's visit coincides with the annual "Day of
Judaism", a Christian-Jewish day of reflection established by
the Catholic Church in Italy in 1989 and held each year on
January 17, just prior to the annual "Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity" held each year on January 18-25.
The most recent visit by a pontiff to the Great Synagogue
was by Pope Benedict XVI on January 17, 2010, and this year's
visit will continue to highlight interfaith dialogue and
cooperation.
"Pope Francis's visit to the synagogue of Rome has within
it a message that the pontiff feels is very important and that
he never tires of saying clearly: it's absolutely impossible to
be Christians, and at the same time, be anti-Semites," said
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity.
"The choice of that date for Pope Francis's visit to the
synagogue of Rome highlights the importance that he attributes
to Jewish-Christian friendship and the dialogue in which it is
expressed," said Monsignor Bruno Forte, archbishop of
Chieti-Vasto and president of the Commission for Ecumenism and
Interreligious Dialogue of the Italian Bishops' Conference
(CEI).
Chief rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni said he hopes that
during his visit, Pope Francis will deliver the message that
Christians shouldn't try to convert Jews.
In an interview in the online version of Israeli daily
Haaretz, Di Segni said doing so would send a clear message to
Catholics throughout the world as a follow-up to the document
released by the Vatican in December which stated that the Church
doesn't support any missionary activity with regards to Jewish
people.
Di Segni also spoke to Vatican Radio, stressing the
importance of respecting interfaith diversity.
"I believe we have to send an essential message, which is
that religious differences are a source of wealth for society,
they bring peace, they bring progress," Di Segni said.
During his visit, Pope Francis is expected to pray at the
plaque marking October 16, 1943, the day that SS troops stormed
Rome's Jewish Ghetto and took 1,024 people, including 200
children, to the concentration camps in Auschwitz.
He is also expected to pray at the monument to October 9,
1982, the day Palestinian terrorists attacked the Great
Synagogue of Rome, killing a two-year-old and wounding 37
others.
Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish Community of Rome
(CER), said the pope's visit is "another step in the path to
closeness between our two great faiths".
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