Pope In
Synagogue

Rome/JTA
— Pope Benedict
XVI said Church
authorities played
an active role in
saving Jews dur-
Pope Benedict
ing the Holocaust,
XVI
though "often
hidden and discreet."
Italian Jewish leaders on Sunday
welcomed Pope Benedict XVI to
Rome's main synagogue for a visit
they said would help strengthen
relations between Jews and
Catholics.
"Despite a dramatic history, the
unresolved problems and the mis-
understandings, it is our shared
visions and common goals that
should be given pride of place','
Rome's chief rabbi Riccardo Di
Segni said Sunday, speaking to a
packed sanctuary from in front of
the ornate ark. "The image of respect
and friendship that emanates from
this encounter must be an example
for all those who are watching."
In the weeks before the visit,
Jewish-Catholic relations were
strained by the pope's decision to
move World War Thera Pope Pius XH
closer to sainthood. Critics accuse
Pius of having turned a blind eye to
Jewish suffering in the Shoah.
The president of the Italian
Rabbinical Assembly boycotted the
papal synagogue visit in protest.
In his speech, Rome Jewish
Community President Riccardo
Pacifici renewed calls for the Vatican
to open its secret wartime archives to
clarify the Pius issue. The pope did
not mention Pius by name, but recall-
ing the horrors of the Holocaust, he
praised Catholic individuals for sav-
ing Jewish lives.
The 82-year-old pope was applaud-
ed repeatedly during his speech.
Memory of the Holocaust, he said,
"compels us to strengthen the bonds
that unite us so that our mutual
understanding, respect and accep-
tance may always increase'
Benedict repeated the prayers
for forgiveness for Catholic anti-
Semitism made by his predecessor,
Pope John Paul II.
The Jan. 17 visit was only the
second time a pope had visited the
synagogue. John Paul II's visit in 1986
was a milestone in Catholic-Jewish
dialogue.

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