Pope Uses Judaism
qo Catholics

Rome (JTA) — Pope John Paul II has
relied on Jewish tradition to explain to
Catholics why they should celebrate
Sunday as a holy day.
In an apostolic letter called "Dies
Domini," or "The Day of the Lord,"
the pope outlined the history and
\_ii}portance of Sunday in Catholic reli-
gious belief and detailed its roots in
the Jewish Shabbat.
In the 100-page document, he
traced the origins of Shabbat obser-
vance to the Book of Genesis and noted
that Sabbath observance was
enshrined in the Ten Commandments.
"In setting this commandment
within the context of the basic struc-
-tire of ethics, Israel and then the
"Church declare that they consider it
not just a matter of community reli-
gious discipline but a defining and
indelible expression of our relationship
with God," he said.
He also told the history of how, in
the early centuries of Christianity, the
Christian Sunday became distinct
from the Jewish Sabbath even though
here have always been groups within
Christianity which observe both the
Sabbath and Sunday as `two brother
days.' "
In his letter, the pope urged the
world's 1 billion Catholics to "redis-
cover Sunday" as a day for prayer, con-
templation and charity as well as for
rest and forms of entertainment that
offer "spiritual enrichment."
‘1--' He made his call in response to
what he called the "strikingly low"
percentage of Catholics who celebrate
Mass on Sunday in some parts of the
world.

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"The Sights,

Maccabiah Deaths
Commemorated

ydney, Australia (JTA) — Members
of Australia's Jewish community
packed into Sydney's Central
Synagogue for a memorial service to
mark the anniversary of the death of
four Australian athletes during last
summer's Maccabiah Games.
Meanwhile, leaders of the
Australian Jewish community in
\Israel repeated their call for a full
Knesset inquiry into the circum-
stances surrounding the collapse of
the bridge leading into the Ramat
Gan stadium during the Games'
opening ceremony.

Sounds and
Smells of

Jerusalem

without

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getting on a
plane!"

7/17
1998

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