Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Apparently the Vatican and Israel are on good terms again
All over money, of course, but there seem to be religious interests as well, which is good.
The Israeli ambassador conceded that "relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel will never be like those between two normal states." He explained: "We are two unique models in the system of international relations." Ben Hur said that Israel has a keen interest in reviving interest among the world's Christians in making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. In February, the tourism ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Authority were scheduled to make an unusual joint appearance to encourage pilgrims. That appearance never took place, because a new Palestinian governing cabinet was formed, and did not include a tourism minister. But Oded Ben Hur says that Israel hopes to pursue the project nevertheless.
Returning to the immediate cause of Cardinal Tauran's visit to Jerusalem, the new Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem, the Israeli envoy said that the project "forms a link between the vicimts and the new state of Israel." The recognition of the Holocaust helped to change Catholic attitudes toward the Israeli state, Ben Hur observed, citing the work of the French Catholic theologian Jacques Maritain, who was active in the fight against anti-Jewish prejudice particularly after World War II.
The Israeli ambassador pointed to another landmark in relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism: the Vatican II statement Nostra Aetate (doc) , condemning anti-Semitism and rejecting the notion that the Jewish people were corporately responsible for Christ's death. Ben Hur said that Pope John Paul II (bio - news) has helped to solidify Catholic relations with Judaism, by visiting the Holy Land in 2000, and meeting with the Israeli president in an explicit gesture of recognition for the secular government.
Neverthless, Ben Hur continued, it is important to "establish true dialogue between Jews and Christians" to enrich mutual understanding. "The greatest problem is ignorance," he said; the task today is to overcome the "abyss" of ignorance created by generations of anti-Semitism.
The Israeli ambassador conceded that "relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel will never be like those between two normal states." He explained: "We are two unique models in the system of international relations." Ben Hur said that Israel has a keen interest in reviving interest among the world's Christians in making pilgrimages to the Holy Land. In February, the tourism ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Authority were scheduled to make an unusual joint appearance to encourage pilgrims. That appearance never took place, because a new Palestinian governing cabinet was formed, and did not include a tourism minister. But Oded Ben Hur says that Israel hopes to pursue the project nevertheless.
Returning to the immediate cause of Cardinal Tauran's visit to Jerusalem, the new Holocaust museum at Yad Vashem, the Israeli envoy said that the project "forms a link between the vicimts and the new state of Israel." The recognition of the Holocaust helped to change Catholic attitudes toward the Israeli state, Ben Hur observed, citing the work of the French Catholic theologian Jacques Maritain, who was active in the fight against anti-Jewish prejudice particularly after World War II.
The Israeli ambassador pointed to another landmark in relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism: the Vatican II statement Nostra Aetate (doc) , condemning anti-Semitism and rejecting the notion that the Jewish people were corporately responsible for Christ's death. Ben Hur said that Pope John Paul II (bio - news) has helped to solidify Catholic relations with Judaism, by visiting the Holy Land in 2000, and meeting with the Israeli president in an explicit gesture of recognition for the secular government.
Neverthless, Ben Hur continued, it is important to "establish true dialogue between Jews and Christians" to enrich mutual understanding. "The greatest problem is ignorance," he said; the task today is to overcome the "abyss" of ignorance created by generations of anti-Semitism.
