The fun part’s over; now the real work begins

c. 2008 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Even though three-quarters of the U.S. population is not Catholic, a pope’s arrival on U.S. soil always generates extraordinary media coverage because of our intense fascination with one of the world’s few working monarchies. I should also mention most devout Catholics whom I have met consider Benedict XVI the […]

c. 2008 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Even though three-quarters of the U.S. population is not Catholic, a pope’s arrival on U.S. soil always generates extraordinary media coverage because of our intense fascination with one of the world’s few working monarchies.

I should also mention most devout Catholics whom I have met consider Benedict XVI the most important human being on Earth; he is, after all, the successor of St. Peter, the leader of Jesus’ apostles.


I live in southwest Florida where I witnessed the genuine euphoria and excitement that Benedict’s visit generated for the fortunate Catholics who had obtained tickets for one of the papal events in Washington or New York.

A breezy “Wizard of Oz”-inspired headline in the Florida Catholic newspaper said it all: “We’re Off to See the Pontiff!”

When news reached my neighborhood that I would be meeting Benedict at two separate events in Washington, a Catholic friend urged me “to tell the pope to really take the gloves off, punish the offenders, and put an end to the terrible clergy sexual abuse scandal that is driving many of my family members and friends from the church.”

As it turned out, Benedict didn’t need me to deliver that message. Indeed, the abuse scandal was a central focus of his visit, and how Benedict handles it from here will form a major part of his legacy.

The first of my two encounters with Benedict was a ceremonial interfaith gathering of 150 invited leaders representing Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Sikh representatives did not attend because the Secret Service required the removal of the Sikhs’ ceremonial daggers if they wanted to meet the pope. The Sikhs refused.

In his 12-minute address, the pope urged us to ensure religious liberty so “all people can worship freely.” He also said “minorities must be spared discrimination,” and he called for spiritual leaders to work together to achieve a “just peace.”

At a private meeting with Jewish representatives following that speech, the pope shared his Passover greetings. Unfortunately, the pope _ visibly fatigued _ read only a portion of his prepared remarks. He left out one fundamental line, according to his prepared remarks: “I wish to reaffirm the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on Catholic-Jewish relations and reiterate the Church’s commitment to the dialogue that in the past 40 years has fundamentally changed our relationship for the better.”


The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked me and Sara Bloomfield, the director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, to represent our delegation and “receive” the pope’s Passover greetings.

While shaking hands with Benedict, I assured him that Jews “look forward to working together in dialogue to strengthen mutual respect, knowledge and understanding between our faiths.” Benedict quickly replied, “Yes, yes, we need more dialogue!”

When Pope John Paul II visited Rome’s Great Synagogue in 1986, he called Jews “our elder brothers in faith.” As an “elder brother,” I offered my personal blessing to Pope Benedict XVI: “Hazak v’ematz” (“be strong and good courage”), words from the Hebrew Bible.

However, it is not only the pope who needs strength and courage, but many others in our two faith communities. Because Jews (3,500 years) and Catholics (2,000 years) have long histories and memories, there will always be flashpoints as we seek, in the pope’s words, to “fundamentally” change “our relationship for the better.”

What is different today from past centuries is the existence of a large group of dedicated Jews and Catholics who have built sturdy bonds of trust with one another; in Washington, Benedict reaffirmed his personal commitment to that effort.

His U.S. visit benefited the pope, who learned more about the vibrant American Jewish community, and we learned more about Joseph Ratzinger, the German university professor of theology, who is now Benedict XVI.


The fun part is over. Now we must commence the hard work of building positive Catholic-Jewish relations and press forward.

(Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is the author of the recently published book “The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right’s Plans for the Rest of Us.”)

KRE/PH END RUDIN750 words

A photo of Rabbi Rudin is available via https://religionnews.com.

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