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The German tabloid Bild splashed its broadsheet with “We Are the Pope” to announce the selection of the Bavarian-born Joseph Ratzinger as the successor to Pope John Paul II in 2005.
Three years later, the feel-good headline has turned into a disappointment for many Catholics and Jews. A theological row over the pope’s decision to use a rare http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2204 to Catholicism, has prompted the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, to sever relations with the Catholic Church.
“As long as Pope http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=1066 does not return to the previous wording, I assume that there will not be any further dialogue [such as we had in the past,” said Knobloch. The Vatican press office in Rome could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
The prayer says, “Let us pray for the Jews. May the Lord our God enlighten their hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men… Almighty and everlasting God, you who want all men to be saved and to reach the awareness of the truth, graciously grant that, with the fullness of peoples entering into your church, all Israel may be saved.”
The Vatican’s liaison to Jewish groups, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has argued that the prayer is not a missionary statement; rather, the wording reflects the desire of the Catholic Church for all people to be saved through Jesus Christ. Knobloch, however, says that “implicit in the Good Friday prayer is a subtle call to proselytize Jews, which I must characterize as an affront that is arrogant and clearly a backward step in the Christian-Jewish dialogue.”
The Central Committee of German Catholics “Jews and Christians” group urged Pope Benedict “to revise his decision” and in a written statement characterized the prayer as a “new burden” on relations between the two religions.
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