Catholic-Jewish interfaith group rebukes Israel’s attack on Pope Benedict

Aug 7, 2005 / 22:00 pm

Earlier this week, Gary Krupp, head of the Pave the Way Foundation, an organization seeking to improve relations between Catholics and Jews, rebuked Israeli leaders for their harsh words against Pope Benedict regarding what they saw as a failure of the Holy Father to recognize terrorist attacks aimed at Israel.

During a past Sunday‘s Angelus, the Pope deplored recent terrorist attacks on the countries of Brittan, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq--all of which had been hit within the previous 72 hours.

Israel’s foreign ministry quickly criticized Benedict for failing to mention the frequent attacks on Israel, the most recent of which had been 12 days prior.

Israel summoned a Vatican envoy and said that the Pope deliberately failed to include the country, charges which the Vatican has vehemently denied.

According to the Associated Press, Krupp asked the Pope to grant him and other Jewish leaders an audience to tell him “that we do believe that the pope is enormously supportive of the Jewish people and the state of Israel.”

He said that while Israel’s sensitivity was understandable, their protest of the Pope’s remarks should have been carried out privately, not on the world stage.

The Vatican had responded to Israel in a July 30^th statement which read, “It is sad and surprising that it has gone unobserved how, for the past 26 years, Pope John Paul II's voice has been so often raised with force and passion in the dramatic situation in the Holy Land, condemning all terrorist acts and calling for sentiments of humanity and peace.”

The statement added that, "Not every attack against Israel could be followed by an immediate public condemnation… partly because they were “sometimes followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the norms of international law. It would, consequently, have been impossible to condemn the former and remain silent on the latter.”