POPE BENEDICT XVI ON JEWS, JUDAISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE DURING HIS VISIT TO FRANCE SEPTEMBER 12-15, 2008

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes, Pope Benedict XVI made a apostolic journey to France. On this occasion he met with and addressed representatives of the Jewish community in France, and spoke to the Catholic bishops of France on interreligious dialogue. Following are English translations of his texts.

MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Elys�e Palace, Paris
Friday, 12 September 2008



Dear friends, it is with great pleasure that I meet with you this evening. Our meeting auspiciously coincides with the vigil of the weekly celebration of the Shabbat, the day which from time immemorial has occupied a significant position in the religious and cultural life of the people of Israel. Every pious Jew sanctifies the Shabbat with the reading of the Scriptures and the reciting of the Psalms. Dear friends, as you know, the prayer of Jesus also was nourished by the Psalms. Regularly he went to the temple and the synagogue. There he too listened to the word on the Sabbath. There he wanted to underline the goodness with which God cares for man, even in the arrangement of time. Does not the Talmud Yoma (85b) say: the Sabbath is offered to you, but you are not offered to the Sabbath? Christ has asked the people of the Covenant to recognize always the unprecedented greatness and love of the Creator for all humanity. Dear friends, because of that which unites us and that which separates us, we share a relationship that should be strengthened and lived. And we know that these fraternal bonds constitute a continual invitation to know and to respect one another better.


By her very nature the Catholic Church feels obliged to respect the Covenant made by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, the Church herself is situated within the eternal Covenant of the Almighty, whose plans are immutable, and she respects the children of the Promise, the children of the Covenant, as her beloved brothers and sisters in the faith. She compellingly repeats, through my voice, the words of the great Pope Pius XI, my beloved predecessor: Spiritually, we are Semites (Allocution to the Belgian Pilgrims, 16 September 1938). The Church therefore is opposed to every form of anti-Semitism, which can never be theologically justified. The theologian Henri de Lubac, in a time of darkness, as Pius XII (Summi Pontificatus, 10 October 1939) described it, added that to be anti-Semitic also signifies being anti-Christian (cf. Un nuovo fronte religioso in: Israele e la Fede Cristiana [1942]). Once again I feel the duty to pay heartfelt recognition to those who have died unjustly and to those that have dedicated themselves to assure that the names of these victims may always be remembered. God does not forget!


I cannot neglect, on an occasion such as this, to recall the eminent role played by the Jews of France in the building up of the whole nation and of their prestigious contribution to her spiritual patrimony. They have given - and continue to give - great figures to the spheres of politics, culture and the arts. To each one of them I extend affectionate and respectful wishes and with fervor I invoke upon all of your families and upon all of your communities a special Blessing of the Lord of time and of history. Shabbat shalom!

AN EXTRACT FROM POPE BENEDICT XVI'S ADDRESS TO THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF FRANCE

(Unoffical translation by Murray Watson)

... As you know, my predecessors, Blessed John XXIII (a former nuncio to Paris) and Pope Paul VI, desired that there be Secretariats which became, in 1988, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Very quickly, the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews and the Comission for Religious Relations with Muslims were added to them. These structures are, in a certain way, the institutional and conciliar acknowledgement of countless previous initiatives and ideas put into practice.

Similar commissions or councils are also found in your episcopal conference and in your dioceses. Their existence and their functioning demonstrate the Church's commitment to move forward (...) in these bilateral dialogues. The recent Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue emphasized that authentic dialogue demands, as its fundamental pre-conditions, a solid foundation on the part of those who promote it, and an enlightened discernment, in order to move forward, bit by bit, in the discovery of the Truth. The objective of ecumenical and interreligious dialogues - which are, naturally, different in their nature and in their respective purposes - is the quest for and the deepening of Truth. It thus involves a noble and obligatory task for every person of faith, for Christ is Himself the Truth. The construction of bridges between the great Christian ecclesial traditions, and dialogue with other religious traditions, demands a real effort of mutual (awareness/knowledge/familiarity; French connaissance), since ignorance destroys more than it builds up.

Furthermore, there is nothing but the Truth which allows one to live out authentically the double commandment of Love which our Saviour left us. Certainly, we must attentively follow the different initiatives which are undertaken, to discern those which foster mutual (awareness/knowledge/familiarity; French connaissance), as well as the promotion of dialogue, and avoid those which lead to impasses. Goodwill is not sufficient. I believe that it is good to begin by listening, and then to move on to theological discussion, in order to arrive finally at a witnessing and announcing of the faith itself (cf. Doctrinal Note on Certain Aspects of Evangelization, #12; December 3, 2007).

May the Holy Spirit grant you the discernment which should characterize every Pastor! As St. Paul recommends: "Test everything; hold fast to what is good" (I Thess. 5:21). The globalized, multicultural and multi-religious society in which we live is an opportunity that the Lord has given us, to proclaim the Truth and to put Love into practice, in order to touch every human being without distiction, even [those] beyond the bounds of the visible Church.