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April 22, 2005/Nisan 13 5765, Volume 57, No. 34
Jews welcome new pope; hope he builds on John Paul's legacy
CHANAN TIGAY and
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - Jews joined the world's 1 billion Catholics waiting for the election of the new pope. The Christians were eager for someone to fill the gap left when John Paul II, who served as pope for more than a quarter-century, died on April 2 at the age of 84.
Jews were wondering what his ascendancy would mean for them. Would he promote Jewish-Catholic relations as zealously as his predecessor? Would he turn his attention instead to mending fences between Catholics and Muslims? Would he push diplomatic relations with Israel?
In short, would he be good for the Jews?
As it turns out, Jewish observers of the Vatican say, world Jewry can breathe easy knowing that German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was chosen as the 265th pope.
"As far as Jewish people are concerned, Cardinal Ratzinger is a friend," said Gary Krupp, president and founder of the Pave the Way Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit organization that promotes religiou understanding. "He is going to be as effective, if not more, than John Paul II" in furthering Catholic-Jewish relations.
Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI upon his election April 19, was appointed bishop of Munich in 1977 and was promoted to cardinal by then-Pope Paul VI three months later.
Ratzinger used his position as the Vatican's chief theologian under John Paul II to play an instrumental part in his predecessor's historic rapprochement with the Jews. In 2000, under Ratzinger's editorial direction, the Vatican released "Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past," a watershed document that acknowledged church errors in its past dealings with Jews, asking "whether the Nazi persecution of the Jews was not made easier by the anti-Jewish prejudices imbedded in some Christian minds and hearts."
Ratzinger, 78, also oversaw the 2002 publication of "The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures," which expressed regret that certain passages in the Christian Bible condemning individual Jews have been used to justify anti-Semitism.
Speaking to cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel the day after his election, Benedict stressed his desire for dialogue between the church and other religions.
"To all, I turn with simplicity and affection to ensure that the church wants to continue weaving an open and sincere dialogue with them, in the quest for the real good for man and society," he said, officiating at his first mass since becoming pope, the Associated Press reported.
Israeli officials and Jewish groups issued statements welcoming the selection.
"Israel is hopeful that under this new papacy, we will continue to move forward in Vatican-Israel relations, and we are sure that considering the background of this new pope, he, like his predecessor, will be a strong voice against anti-Semitism in all its forms," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said.
Rabbi Israel Singer, chairman of the World Jewish Congress, called Ratzinger the "architect of the ideological policy to recognize, to have full relations with Israel."
As a teen, Ratzinger reportedly was a member of the Hitler Youth. At the time, boys his age - Ratzinger was 6 years old when Hitler came to power - were pressured, though not required, to join the group.
Ratzinger served in the German army during World War II, but deserted after a short period.
JTA correspondents Toby Axelrod in Germany, Dan Baron in Jerusalem and Ruth Ellen Gruber in Rome contributed to this report.
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