Personally, I think that this gesture of respect for our 'elder brothers in the faith' is a nice one...

Rabbi Is First Jew to Address Synod, Calls Occasion Sign of Hope and Love

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 6, 2008, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The first Jew to ever address a world Synod of Bishops says his participation in the meeting of Church leaders is a sign of hope for progress in Jewish-Catholic relations.

Shear Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of Haifa, said this today after he participated in the afternoon session of the synod's first working day. The rabbi, who is the co-chairman of the Jewish-Catholic bilateral commission, entered the Synod Hall together with Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, the secretary-general of the synod, said last week that it was "logical" to invite to an assembly on the word of God a Jewish representative.

"There is a long, hard and painful history of the relationship between our people, our faith, and the Catholic Church leadership and followers -- a history of blood and tears," Cohen said. "I deeply feel that my standing here before you is very meaningful.

"It brings with it a signal of hope and a message of love, co-existence, and peace for our generation, and for generations to come."

Explaining the role of Scripture in the Jewish faith, the rabbi said: "We pray God using is own words, as related to us in the Scriptures. Likewise, we praise him -- also using his own words from the Bible.

"We ask for his mercy -- mentioning what he has promised to our ancestors and to us. Our entire service is based upon an ancient rule, as related to us by our rabbis and teachers: 'Give him of what is his, because you and yours are his.'"

He said that rabbis use Scripture to address issues of concern, such as life, secularism, love and peace.

"Our point of departure stems from the treasures of our religious tradition, even while we endeavor to speak in a modern and contemporary language and address present issues," Cohen said. "It is amazing to observe how the holy Scriptures never lose their vitality and relevance to present issues of our time and age.

"This is the miracle of the everlasting and perpetual word of God."


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Yes, and it is deeply probelmatic that there is to be a commemoration of Pius XII this week. The Rabbi had stated that had he known that Pope Benedict was going to attend this, he would have declined to come. It's a sticky situation.

Politically Correct Papa Benedict is not, and I have no problem with that. Pursuit of truth can be sticky.

Why is this "deeply problematic"? His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, was considered a very great friend of the Jewish people immediately after WW2 and he received great praise at his funeral for the measures he took personally and the instructions he gave to Catholic clergy and religious to help the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

The people who have tried to smear his memory have relied on the lie of a play written after his death in the early 1960s and the lie has been spread every since. But that's what it is--a lie.

In Christ,

BOB

It was not Shear-Yishuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, who said that he would not have spoken before the Synod if he knew that that day coincided with the 50th celebrations of the death of Pope Pius XII.

This was the opinion expressed by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth , headquartered in Tel-Aviv.

In short, Chief Rabbi Cohen went ahead and delivered his speech before the Synod quite possibly knowing the significance of the date.

However, during an interview after his speech, he did express his opinion that Pope Pius XII should not be beatified by the Catholic Church "for not raising his voice" at the time. The rabbi was quoted asking: "If he had raised his voice, would it have helped or not?"

Many other Jews say, and have testified, that Pope Pius XII did enough to help them under the circumstances.

Amado

For the benefit of our Forum readers and to lessen inaccurate attributions in a "delicate" relationship such as between the Catholic Church and Judaism, in particular, these are excerpts from the address of Chief Rabbi Cohen of Haifa, Israel, originally delivered in English, at the world Synod of Bishops:



The full text is at:

http://www.zenit.org/article-23837?l=english

Amado