By: RUTH ELLEN GRUBER, TImes of Israel— JTA – When Pope Francis crosses the Tiber River to visit Rome’s Great Synagogue on Sunday, he’ll become the third pontiff in history to do so. But his 1.5-mile journey to the towering Tempio Maggiore shows that what was once unthinkable is now the norm. “Our meeting,” Rome Chief…
By Earl Cox, Israel Always— An agreement has been released by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and in it he referred to the “State of Palestine.” The agreement deals with aspects of “the life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine.” This treaty is very disturbing in that the Vatican is officially…
By: OLIVIER MELNICK, New Antisemitism— It doesn’t matter if you are Catholic or not, the Pope is an international figure that cannot be ignored. As a Jew, I do not fall under his authority like a Roman Catholic would, but I understand that he can be a very influential person. Over the centuries, many popes…
By JTA and AARON KALMAN, TIMES OF ISRAEL— Pope Francis praised Jews for keeping their faith despite the Holocaust and other “terrible trials” throughout history, and reaffirmed Judaism as the “holy root” of Christianity. Francis made the statements in an unprecedented open letter to Eugenio Scalfari, a prominent Italian atheist and founding editor of the…
BY REUTERS— The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) along with the World Jewish Congress (WJC) on Wednesday welcomed Cardinal Jorge María Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, on his election as Pope Francis I. Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said he was “reassured” over the record of the new Pope, stating that Bergoglio was crucial in…
By ALAN DERSHOWITZ, GATESTONE— Among those being considered to succeed Pope Benedict XVI is a notorious anti-Semite, Cardinal Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras. His name has appeared on various media short lists and his photograph was featured, along with other possible candidates, on the front page of the Miami Herald. He was also under consideration…
By REUTERS— Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked outgoing Pope Benedict on Monday for his efforts to shore up often troubled relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Jews, including with his 2009 visit to the Holy Land. That trip, in which the German-born Benedict paid respects at Israel’s main Holocaust memorial, was seen by many…