Vatican City, 20 April 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a letter of condolences to the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, for the death yesterday of his predecessor in this role, Rabbi Elio Toaff, at the age of 99. The following is the full text of the letter. “I wish to express my heartfelt participation in the mourning of the family and the entire Jewish community of the capital following the departure of the Rabbi Professor Elio Toaff, the long-time spiritual guide of the Jews of Rome. A key figure in Italian Jewish and civil history during recent decades, he knew how to earn esteem and appreciation through his moral authority, linked to a profound humanity. I recall with gratitude his generous efforts and sincere willingness to promote dialogue and fraternal relations between Jews and Catholics, which experienced a significant moment in his memorable encounter with St. John Paul II at the Synagogue of Rome. I raise prayers that the Almighty, rich in love and faithfulness, welcome him in His Kingdom of peace”….
(Vatican Radio) May the witness of the martyrs help us to avoid the temptation of transforming our faith into power. Those were Pope Francis’ words during his homily at the morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Monday, as he reflected on the Gospel story of the crowds who come searching for Jesus following the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report:
Noting that the crowds came looking for Jesus, not out of a sense of religious awe and adoration, but rather for their own material interests, Pope Francis said when we take advantage of faith and are tempted towards power, we run the risk of failing to understand the true mission of Our Lord.
We see this attitude repeatedly in the Gospels, he said, where so many people follow Jesus out of their own interests. Even his own apostles, the Pope said, like the sons of Zebedee who wanted the jobs of “prime minster and finance minister”, they wanted to have power. Instead of bringing to the poor the Good News that Jesus came to free prisoners, to give sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed, we are tempted to transform this message of healing into a tool of power and to take advantage of our encounter with Jesus.
Pope Francis noted that this was also the way that Jesus himself was tempted by the devil. Firstly by offering him bread to eat, secondly by offering to create a great show so that people would believe in him and thirdly by urging him to worship other idols. This is our daily temptation as Christians, the Pope said, not to believe in the power of the Spirit, but instead to be tempted by worldly power.
In this way we are drawn increasingly by the ways of the world towards that attitude which Jesus calls hypocrisy. We become Christians in name but in our hearts we act out of our own interests, weakening our faith, our mission and the Church itself. Just as Jesus told the crowds, “you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled”.
May the saints and martyrs, the Pope said, awaken us with their witness of following the path of Jesus and announcing the year of grace. When the crowds at Capernaum understand Jesus’ rebuke, they ask him “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answers, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” Pope Francis concluded by praying that God may give us the grace not to fall for the spirit of this world which leads us to live like pagans beneath a veneer of Christianity, but to believe and trust in God and in the one he sent to us.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Jewish Catholic relations were under the spotlight in the Vatican on Monday as Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Conference of European Rabbis. The conference represents more than 700 Rabbis from synagogues across the continent and is focused on defending the religious rights of Jews in Europe today.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
In his words to the Rabbis, Pope Francis recalled the legacy of Rome’s former Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff who died on Sunday just days before marking his 100th birthday. Recalling his historic first encounter with Pope John Paul II in 1986, Pope Francis said we gratefully remember him as a man of peace and dialogue.
The Pope also looked ahead to this October’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the document Nostra Aetate which marked a turning point in relations between Catholics and Jews. While this landmark text remains the reference point for all joint efforts, the Pope said it’s more important than ever today to emphasis the spiritual and religious dimension of life in Europe, which is increasingly marked by secularism and threatened by atheism. Jews and Christians together, he said, have the responsibility of preserving a sense of the sacred and reminding people that our lives are a gift from God.
Finally the Pope noted the troubling anti-Semitic trends in Europe today and said the memory of the great tragedy of the Shoah, in the heart of Europe, remains as a warning for present and future generations.
Responding to the Pope, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt said Jews in Europe today feel trapped between the attacks of radicalized Muslim immigrants and the secular backlash of many European political leaders.
Goldschmidt, who is the Chief Rabbi of Moscow, thanked the Holy See and Catholic communities across the continent for supporting the quest for religious freedom. He also warned of the conflict in Russia and what he called a “new mounting wall between East and West”, urging Pope Francis to help build new bridges and bring the West back from the brink of war.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) May the witness of the martyrs help us to avoid the temptation of transforming our faith into power. Those were Pope Francis’ words during his homily at the morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Monday, as he reflected on the Gospel story of the crowds who come searching for Jesus following…
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(Vatican Radio) Jewish Catholic relations were under the spotlight in the Vatican on Monday as Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Conference of European Rabbis. The conference represents more than 700 Rabbis from synagogues across the continent and is focused on defending the religious rights of Jews in Europe today. Listen to Philippa…
Read more