Jewish Community Welcomes Pope Francis

by: Publisher

Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 20:35:44 PM EDT

(Those interested in learning the views of Pope Francis should read the book he published. Sobre el cielo y la tierra (On Heaven and Earth) is an interfaith dialogue in Spanish between Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) and Rabbi Abraham Skorka, rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary on family, faith and the role of the religion in the XXI century. About the heaven and earth is the result of a series of deep conversations alternately held at the headquarters of the Episcopate and in the Jewish B'nai Tikvah. In his meetings transited the most varied theological and worldly. God, fundamentalism, atheists, death, the Holocaust, homosexuality, capitalism, are just a handful of topics that give their opinions the new leader of the Catholic Church and the prestigious Rabbi Skorka.
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Pope Francis is no stranger to us. In recent years he attended many inter-faith events co-organized by the WJC and our regional affiliate, the Latin American Jewish Congress. I personally met with him in Buenos Aires in June 2008. He always had an open ear for our concerns. By choosing such an experienced man, someone who is known for his open-mindedness, the cardinals have sent an important signal to the world. I am sure that Pope Francis will continue to be a man of dialogue, a man who is able to build bridges with other faiths.

During the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, Catholic-Jewish relations reached unprecedented levels. This was due to the determination of the pope to continue the work of his predecessor, John Paul II. We are convinced that new pontiff will continue on this path, that he will speak out against all forms of Antisemitism both within and without the Catholic Church, that he will take action against clerics who deny or belittle the Holocaust, and that he will strengthen the Vatican's relationship with Israel.

More reactions follow the jump.

In November, then-Cardinal Bergoglio was the keynote speaker at B'nai B'rith's Krystallnacht commemoration in Buenos Aires, where he helped light the menorah.

"We welcome Pope Francis I to his new role as leader of the Catholic Church," B'nai B'rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. "Catholic-Jewish relations had remained a focus of Pope Benedict XVI and we look forward to continuing the solid foundation that already exists for interfaith dialogue."

Cardinal Jorge Jorge María Bergoglio (now known as Pope Francis) and World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder in Buenos AIres in 2008.

Jewish Council for Public Affairs Chair Larry Gold

We offer our sincerest blessings and hope that our cherished friendship with the Catholic Church will continue to flourish and deepen. We are heartened by his profound statement of solidarity with the Jewish people and his identity with the pain that was caused by the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires.

We look forward to our ongoing partnership with the Catholic church in combating poverty, a great legacy of the Pope during his tenure as Cardinal of Buenos Aires. In a world so awfully divided by wealth and opportunity, may his teaching and example help to heal our broken world and bring us closer to a time when no person goes to bed hungry.