Warm welcome for Pope
JEWISH community leaders in Australia have welcomed the election of Pope Francis – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – noting that he has shown significant signs of respect and friendship towards the Jewish people.
JEWISH community leaders in Australia have welcomed the election of Pope Francis – Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio – noting that he has shown significant signs of respect and friendship towards the Jewish people.
The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, who was elected Pope last Wednesday, began his tenure by sending a letter to Rome’s Chief Rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, extending an invitation to attend his inauguration and emphasising a desire to foster Catholic-Jewish relations.
Chair of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews William Szekely noted that during his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio was involved in extensive dialogue with the Jewish community. In particular, Szekely drew attention to a Jewish-Catholic aid initiative a number of years ago, as well as a Kristallnacht commemoration he hosted last year.
“Pope Francis gives every indication of continuing the very important inter-religious dialogue work that was conducted by Pope John Paul II and then built upon by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI,” Szekely said.
The president and executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Danny Lamm and Peter Wertheim, also welcomed Bergoglio’s election to the papacy. “The warm friendship that has existed for many years between Cardinal Bergoglio and the Jewish community in Argentina augurs well for the future of Catholic-Jewish relations worldwide,” they wrote in a statement.
President of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia Rabbi Moshe Gutnick noted then-Cardinal Bergoglio’s response to the bombing of the AMIA building in 1994.
“Cardinal Bergoglio was the first ‘public personality’ to sign a petition condemning the attack and calling for justice,” Rabbi Gutnick said. “We welcome his appointment as Pope Francis in the hope that he will do even more than any of his predecessors in reconciling with the Jewish people and recognising all our just claims, including our inalienable right, as recorded by the Bible, to reside in peace in the Holy Land.”
Steve Denenberg, executive director of the Union for Progressive Judaism, said “He seems to be a very genuine, spiritual and warm, sincere person. We wish him great success.”
PHOEBE ROTH
Pope Francis.
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