January - February 2010 No. 468 Interview - What's happening with Israel-Vatican Relations .............................................. 2 P. Benedict XVI Visit - Pope’s Visit to Rome Synagogue: taking into Account Israel and the to Rome's Synagogue Church in Israel ................................................................................................ 5 Catholic/Jewish - Jewish Leaders denounce spitting on Christians .............................................. 7 Relations - Vatican-Israel Meeting seen as "Useful" .......................................................... 8 - Efrat Rabbi retracts praise for 'Rabbi Jesus' over Orthodox Ire ....................... 8 - Nobel Candidate honors John XXIII ................................................................ 9 - 'Over six Million were killed in Shoah' .......................................................... 10 - Priest gives Proof of Pius XII's Aid to Jews ................................................... 12 - 'Vatican worked to save Jews from Nazis' ..................................................... 14 - French Philosopher defends Benedict XVI .................................................... 15 - On Francis of Assisi [A Papal Address with a reference to the Custody of

the Holy Land] ................................................................................................ 16 - Rabbi calls Israel's treatment of Vatican 'outrageous' .................................... 18 - Statement of Catholic-Jewish Commission .................................................... 19 - Israel Ambassador urges Jews to be more open ............................................. 21 - Holy Land Residents get Chance to propose Peace Path ............................... 22 Miscellaneous - Priest tries to revive Galilee’s bleak-looking Cana ........................................ 24 - Giving in to the Settlers in Beit Sahur ............................................................ 26 Tourism/Pilgrimage - EU Bishops' Aide says Europe needs Holy Land Visit .................................. 29 Excavations - Dig uncovers ancient Jerusalem street depicted on Byzantine map ............... 29 V.I.S. - SELECTIONS OF ITEMS FROM VATICAN INFORMATION

SERVICE ....................................................................................................... 30 - Jews and Christians, co-operate to face Challenges ....................................... 30

Editor: Athanasius MACORA, ofm

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What's happening with Israel-Vatican Relations Interview with Father David Jaeger

ROME - Some consider Jewish-Vatican relations to be in a moment of crisis, but according to one expert on the matter, negotiations are not at all at a standstill.

Father David Maria Jaeger, Franciscan Friar of the Custody of the Holy Land and a Professor of Canon Law in Rome, is a renowned expert on Church-State legal relations in the Holy Land. For over 30 years, he has studied the "question of Jerusalem" at the level of international law.

In this interview with ZENIT, Father Jaeger explains the complex journey that the Holy See and Israel have undertaken after the signing of the Fundamental Agreement of 1993.

ZENIT: Benedict XVI returned last week to the topic of the Middle East, confirming Israel's right to exist and to enjoy peace, and the equal right of the Palestinian people to a sovereign homeland, to live in dignity in addition to being able to move freely. "I would also like to request the support of everyone for the protection of the identity and sacred character of Jerusalem, and of its cultural and religious heritage, which is of universal value," the Pontiff added. Father Jaeger, how can the sacred character of this city be protected?

Father Jaeger: Toward the end of the last decade, more precisely in 1999, a "working group" put together by several European governments, studied (among other things) a project of Christian origin, which provided to this end a multilateral treaty. Several states traditionally interested in the Holy Land would have adhered to this treaty, in addition to Israel and the established Palestinian State. It was called "The Jerusalem and Environs Multilateral Treaty." The treaty would have created a respective multilateral organization, which would have been called "The Jerusalem and Environs Multilateral Treaty Organization."

The fundamental values that such a treaty and related organization would have safeguarded would, hence, have been essentially the same successively proclaimed in the Preamble of the "Basic Agreement" between the Holy See and the PLO, the organization that represents the Palestinian people on the international plane. Essentially it would guarantee: liberty of conscience and religion for all; the legal equality of the three great monotheistic religions, of their institutions and of their followers; respect for the particular character of the city of Jerusalem and its environs; likewise it would safeguard the Holy Places and the legal regime called "status quo" which applies to some of them.

For what my opinion is worth, I believe that such a multilateral treaty, backed by a proper organization, could truly be the best way and should have no difficulty in being embraced both by the Israelis and by the Palestinians, in addition to the international community, because it is to the advantage of all.

ZENIT: There is still no solution between Israel and the Holy See regarding the Fundamental Agreement of 1993. The negotiations for the implementations of the points regarding the Church's fiscal regime and the questions of property came to a standstill precisely on the Holy Places. What are the real issues that for 17 years have impeded the solution of the controversy?

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Father Jaeger: As is known, the Fundamental Agreement was signed on Dec. 30, 1993, and came into force March 10, 1994. It was followed by the agreement on the recognition of the civil effects of ecclesiastical legal personality, signed on Nov. 10, 1997, which came into force on Feb. 3, 1999. Still lacking is the enactment of the agreements in Israel's internal legislation, which means that they both certainly have value on the level of international law, but difficulties would inevitably be found in having them enforced by the Israeli courts.

It is known moreover that the negotiations on the implementation of Article 10.2 of the Fundamental Agreement, with a comprehensive agreement on all the fiscal and property issues pending between the Church and State, were opened on March 11, 1999. The [negotiations] have clearly gone on far beyond the two years foreseen by the Fundamental Agreement, but it cannot be said that they have come to a "standstill." In fact, the most recent joint communiqué at the end of a [negotiating] session was issued precisely this month, Jan. 7.

Insofar as the detailed contents of the work, the Bilateral Commission -- the "vehicle" or "place" of the negotiations -- generally does not give out information, in part because such information would be meaningless: It would be altogether useless to say that there was "agreement" on this or that question, because in negotiations of this nature the principle stands "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."

In this way, among other things, the rights are protected better on which the Parties rely. It is evident, in fact, that until the hoped for agreement is concluded, the Church will not give up, and will not even put in question, the rights acquired before the creation of the state (in 1948), and which the state has many times and in so many ways promised to observe.

ZENIT: Given the failure to reach such an agreement, at the end of the plenary session of the Bilateral Working Commission between the Holy See and Israel -- which met in December in the Vatican -- the head of the Israeli delegation, Daniel Alayon, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke of a "crisis" in the negotiations and of a "step backward" so much so that "all the conclusions reached before the meeting were in fact annulled." What does this mean and what, therefore, is the situation today?

Father Jaeger: We cannot speak of a "failure to reach such an agreement" because in any case it was an interlocutory meeting, simply another stage of negotiations. No informed person -- even only generically -- thought that that would be the conclusive meeting!

Insofar as the alleged statements attributed by an Israeli daily to the Vice Minister, it was immediately evident that they were for internal use and consumption, to calm the fundamentalist circles that, not informed of the facts, feared some pact with "the Vatican," which would have been contrary to that which they held to be principles and interests of the Jewish State.

Anyone present at the start of the work of the Holy See-Israel Bilateral Commission in 1992 is able to attest that there was a sort of "gentlemen's agreement": that every now and then one or another party would perceive the need to make some public statement to satisfy its own "political" needs, without thereby influencing the bilateral relationship. Then again, there were also public statements on the Israeli side of a very different sort. The well-known Rabbi David Rosen, already an important member of the

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Israeli delegation to the negotiations -- precisely in the "constituent" phase -- asserted, in a very recent interview, published in the English online version of the most influential Israeli daily Haaretz, on Jan. 17 [the day of the Holy Father's visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome] that Israel -- in his words -- has not been faithful to the pacts of 1993, in not having yet agreed to confirm as a whole all the rights acquired by the Church in fiscal matters, as on the other hand Israel had promised to do -- he says -- when diplomatic relations with the Holy See were established (already in 1994).

ZENIT: Daniel Alayon still confirmed a clear "interest to dialogue" with the Holy See, above all on topics such as "anti-Semitism, terrorism, and Muslim fundamentalism." In what way can the Church help Israel in relation to such phenomena?

Father Jaeger: The reciprocal commitment of "appropriate cooperation in combatting all forms of anti-Semitism and all kinds of racism and of religious intolerance " is inscribed in the Fundamental Agreement (1993) itself, in Article 2.1, and, in fact, Catholics and Jews everywhere are united in this peaceful struggle. Similarly, the same Agreement, in Article 11.1, contains this declaration of the respective commitment of the two Parties: "The Holy See and the State of Israel declare their respective commitment to the promotion of the peaceful resolution of conflicts among States and nations, excluding violence and terror from international life."

ZENIT: For Jerusalem, you have recently put on the table the idea of an "internationally recognized special statute," holding that Israel and Palestine are not competent to decide on Jerusalem, until the United Nations has verified respect for the objectives indicated by the international community. Why does the Holy See still today hold that this is the best solution for Jerusalem?

Father Jaeger: It is not in the least "my" idea that Israelis and Palestinians cannot decide at present on Jerusalem, either separately or even jointly. Instead, this is the condition of the territory according to international law, as manifested objectively, among other things, by the constant presence in Jerusalem of General Consulates of "corpus separatum," never accredited to any state, but eloquent witnesses of the situation de iure, unchanged since the U.N. Resolution (181 of Nov. 29, 1947, the same one which authorized the creation of the Jewish State and of the yet future Palestinian State), which destined Jerusalem to international administration, as the "place" of rights and legitimate interests that belong to large world communities and that do not come simply from the two bordering nations.

Now, in the context of the search for a comprehensive resolution to the situations in the Holy Land that are not at present in conformity with international law, it is evident that also -- and first of all -- the condition of the territory of Jerusalem must be regulated. The many declarations in this regard from the Holy See over the course of the decades, make one think -- and this certainly is an interpretation of mine as a jurist -- that Israelis and Palestinians should adhere to a multilateral treaty -- perhaps more or less like the plan described above -- which guarantees the universal values represented in Jerusalem, so that consequently, with the endorsement of the United Nations, the Israelis and the Palestinians may be authorized to decide, through a bilateral peace treaty, on the territory itself. The Palestinians seem to be already committed to agree to such a path, or at least this would be my reading of the Preamble of the Basic Agreement which they signed with the Holy See on Feb. 15, 2000. Hence, there should be no reason why Israel cannot also accept it, if it should be invited concretely to do so. In fact, it would be in favor of all and

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against no one, a classic "win-win" [situation], where, that is, all parties "win," as is said in the world of business.

ZENIT: A special statute for the city implies -- as you yourself have reminded -- the coming into force of an international legal instrument that would control an Israeli-Palestinian bilateral agreement. Specifically, how do you think such an instrument can safeguard the Status Quo regime of the Holy Places? How should it work?

Father Jaeger: This, in fact, would be the easiest part of such an "internationally guaranteed special statute" for Jerusalem and its environs, especially if it follows the lines of the above-mentioned draft of the Multilateral Treaty with the respective organization to make it work.

In fact, the "Status Quo" legal regime in force for specific Holy Places provides for the pro tempore civil government to watch over its regular observance, being in charge of security and public order in those particular Holy Places. Thus, in addition to the re-confirmation in the treaty of the international legal force of this legal regime, it would be for the respective multilateral organization to assume these secular burdens through its own personnel, equipped also with the necessary powers to maintain public order.

Thus these few but very important Holy Places (think of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem) would be removed from the interests and political calculations of the local states or of any individual state.

By Mariaelena Finessi Zenit – 20 January 2010

Pope’s Visit to Rome Synagogue: taking into Account Israel and the Church in Israel

The Apostolic Nuncio to the Holy Land, the Custos of the Holy Land and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem were among those invited to take part in Benedict XVI’s meeting with Rome’s Jewish community. The relationship between the State of Israel and the Church in the Holy Land is central to future of Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

Rome (AsiaNews) - It would seem to have by now become de rigueur for the reigning Pontiff to make a visit to the Great Synagogue of Rome – like, for example, the visit to the President of the Italian Republic (and the President’s visit to the Vatican Apostolic Palace) – and it is good that this is so, it is comforting. To be sure, on each occasion it is a matter for a choice that the Pope makes with sovereign freedom, but an expected one, a foreseeable one. The truly “historic” and the properly “epoch making” importance are inevitably reserved to the very first occasion, which being the “first in history” is therefore necessarily unrepeatable as such. If nonetheless the visit that the Supreme Pontiff has deigned to make to the Great Synagogue of Rome on 17 January 2010, although being the second one, after the first one made by the Venerable John Paul II (in 1986), may yet be seen by future historians as “epoch making” in its own right, this may well be due to a truly singular circumstance: Provision was made for the presence in the Synagogue, with the Pope, of the principal Authorities of the Catholic Church in

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Israel: The Apostolic Nuncio, the Custos of the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The territories of the respective missions of the Custos and the Patriarch do, it is true, extend well beyond the confines of the Jewish State, but they do include it in its entirety. Their presence – however come by, perhaps variously – appears to me to be extremely eloquent by itself. In effect, it opportunely reflected – and highlighted – the centrality of Israel in the relations between Catholics and Jews everywhere.

For decades the Jewish officials who participated in the structured – formal - dialogues with the Catholic Church in general, and with the Holy See in particular, insisted on recognition by the Church of the central role that, they maintained, the Jewish State has in the awareness that Jews today have of their own identity. The Catholic participants, in turn, duly faithful to the “models” proper to our own Catholic religion, had difficulty in placing a political, temporal, contingent entity, a State, within discourse that they held as needing to be by nature a religious, moral and spiritual dialogue. The Christian faith, like the biblical teaching of the Prophets of Israel, does not permit the assignment of intrinsic religious value to any merely human, contingent, temporal entity, which is instead subject to judgment in accordance with its conformity at any given time with the values and the requirements of (natural and positive) divine law.

But, in truth, the dialogue with exponents of the Jewish religion, in its diverse “denominations” (Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, with their myriads of sub-distinctions), is only one dimension of any relationship with the Jewish People, which has for a long time now included many members who do not profess or practice their ancestral religion, but who nonetheless value deeply their Jewish identity, their bonds of solidarity with the whole People. For these in particular – but not only for them – lived Jewish identity today is defined by sympathy, support and concern for the State of Israel. This is a reality that does indeed go beyond our own pre-constituted “models” – because we Catholics are a religion, the Church, not one among the peoples of the world – but which assuredly exists (and is also that of many of the Jews who recognise the Saviour in the Person of Jesus, be they Catholics, Protestants or plain “Jews for Jesus”, and who cannot, of course, be left out of the dialogue between their faith and their People – but this is yet another subject). Restricting the dialogue with the Jewish People to the “religious” sector alone, would risk impoverishing it, limiting it only to “religious professionals” and to their learned discourse and theological “disputations”.

The truly new era inaugurated by the signing, on 30 December 1993, of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel, has changed the terms of the discourse, has broadened it and has re-oriented it. Without, of course, abandoning the specifically religious dialogue between ministers of religion – rather, revitalizing it – the central point of reference of the overall relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish People becomes the particular – yet decisive – relationship between the Church that lives in the Holy Land and the Jewish State. This State, in effect, has committed itself, by its own deeply secular Declaration of Independence (14 May 1948) to recognise the rights and freedoms of, among others, also the Church - be they inherent or acquired rights - and to ensure “perfect equality” for all persons in its territory. The Fundamental Agreement expresses, in effect, the shared will of the Parties to translate these primordial commitments into concrete norms and procedures; a shared will that has still a long way to go before being carried out completely.

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Thus, assigning to Israel a priority status in the dialogue between Catholics and Jews – as long called for by many Jewish participants in the “institutional” dialogues – should no longer be for Catholics the feared occasion for finding themselves supportive of, among other things, also sometimes questionable temporal policies (as would be those of any State). On the contrary, it should be an occasion for contributing, however modestly (as befits a “little flock”), to the civil progress of a society and a political community that, humanly speaking, holds in its hands the destinies of the presence, the life, the work and the witness of the Church of Christ in His – and Her – native Land. Indeed, by now a dialogical relationship between Catholics and Jews that did not in some way have at its centre - as somehow a decisive element – the actual relationship between the Jewish State and the Church that is in Israel, could not but appear to many to be artificial and unreal, bogged down in the past while needing instead to be firmly placed in the present and orientated towards the future. It is the present that we are shaping day by day and the future that is ours to build together.

* A Franciscan Priest of the Holy Land, born in Israel, and a member of the Jewish People.

By David-Maria A. Jaeger, ofm* AsiaNews – 18 January 2010

Jewish Leaders denounce spitting on Christians Underline Desire for Peaceful Coexistence

JERUSALEM - Leaders of the Jewish ultra orthodox community in Jerusalem are condemning spitting and harassment against Christians perpetrated by some of the community's young people.

A press release from the Embassy of Israel to the Holy See announced Monday that the Beth Din Tzedek, the tribunal of the Orthodox Jewish Community and the highest instance of the ultra Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem, issued a letter denouncing these actions.

The letter, translated from Hebrew by the embassy, stated, "Recently, repeated complaints have been made by gentiles regarding recurring harassment and insults directed at them by irresponsible youths in various places in the city, especially in the vicinity of Shivtei Yisrael Street and adjacent to the grave of Shimon the Just."

This reported harassment and violence includes spitting and curses directed at clergy and nuns, anti-Christian graffiti painted on the walls of churches and holy places, and throwing of stones.

The letter continued, "Besides desecrating the Holy Name, which in itself represents a very grave sin, provoking gentiles, according to our sages -- blessed be their holy and righteous memory -- is forbidden and is liable to bring tragic consequences upon our own community, may God have mercy."

The embassy communiqué noted that the letter represents the desire of the ultra Orthodox Jewish community to combat tensions with its Christian neighbors.

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Representatives of the Israeli foreign ministry and the Jerusalem municipality met with Rabbi Shlomo Papenheim of the Ultra Orthodox Haredi Community to address these issues and discuss the letter denouncing the attacks.

The letter, which was signed Dec. 30, called on "anyone who has the power to end these shameful incidents through persuasion, to take action as soon as possible to remove these hazards, so that our community may live in peace."

Zenit – 7 January 2010

Vatican-Israel Meeting seen as "Useful"

VATICAN CITY - The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met last week, with "useful" results.

A joint communiqué issued by the working commission reported that it met Jan. 7 to "continue its work" on settling the terms of the article on the fiscal status of the Church in Israel.

Since signing the Fundamental Agreement in 1993, which established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel, the two sides have been negotiating the particulars of tax exemptions and property rights for the Church, in particular for the holy sites.

"The talks proved useful and were held in an atmosphere of cordiality. Some important topics for forthcoming meetings were spelled out," the note said.

The negotiations deal mostly with taxation and issues of ownership of more than 100 Church properties.

According to the note, the next meeting will take place Feb. 10 at the headquarters of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The plenary meeting of the commission will be held in the Vatican on May 27. Zenit – 11 January 2010

Efrat Rabbi retracts praise for 'Rabbi Jesus' over Orthodox Ire

Defending himself from scathing criticism for a video in which he refers to Jesus as "a model rabbi," a well-respected Anglo rabbi said this week that while his terminology was "inappropriate," the poorly edited video mauled his message. The current incident is the second time this year that Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the New York-born Orthodox rabbi of Efrat, had to clarify a controversial statement regarding Jewish-Christian relations.

In the video, Riskin says he has been "truly fascinated by the personality of Jesus, whom certainly to myself I have always referred to as Rabbi Jesus" ever since taking a

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university course about the gospels. "Because I think he is indeed a model rabbi in many counts and he lived the life of a Jewish rabbi in Israel in a very critical time in our history. And I have constantly come back to the study of his personality and his teachings, which are very strongly rooted in Talmudic teachings."

Several Orthodox Jewish Web sites reported about the 5-minute video. Calling it "shocking," the U.S.-based Yeshiva World News wrote that, while "according to a growing number of followers Rabbi Riskin has adopted a controversial position on Christianity - this latest video will prove to be the 'straw that broke the camel's back' according to many, and time will dictate the ramifications of this highly irregular documented statement of this highly respected rabbi's views on 'J[esus].'" Some readers commented online that Riskin's statements do not contradict Jewish theology and are in line with a revisionist view of Jesus. Others accused him of "heresy" and "demanded he be "be stripped of his clergy status at once, and banned from his community."

Back in June, Riskin was criticized for a video circulated by the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem, in which he is heard saying that "it is critical that we resurrect God in this generation." After some Web sites suggested the video espoused heretical views, Riskin "immediately retracted the word 'resurrect,'" according to the Israel National News Web site. The rabbi admitted "it was definitely the wrong choice of words," the site reported. "I do recall, however, explaining afterwards - and this part was not shown on the video - that we have to rescue G-d."

In response to the current outrage, Riskin issued a statement Wednesday saying the video was "edited carelessly and posted on YouTube by an organization that omitted a significant part of my message." He explained, "The fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity, which I always emphasize in my talks with Christian groups, were completely absent from the edited version."

Riskin says that a segment was edited out of the film during which he "made specific reference to the fact that Jews can never accept Jesus as the Messiah" and that he "regret[s]" putting himself in a position where his words could be manipulated.

His "Rabbi Jesus" comment referred to the historical Jesus - who was not a "Christian" but a committed Jew, Riskin added, apparently alluding to the theory that Jesus' legacy was later falsified by the Apostle Paul. He referred to the historical personage as a "Rabbi Jesus" to illustrate that point, he said. "While I refer to Jesus poetically as 'Rabbi' Jesus, he was not a rabbi in the classical sense of the term. It was used only to explain to a Christian audience the Jewish Jesus, and in hindsight, the term was an inappropriate one to use."

By Raphael Ahren Haaretz – 1 January 2010

Nobel Candidate honors John XXIII Wallenberg Foundation Founder notes Pope's Help for Jews

ROME - One of the candidates for this year's Nobel Peace Prize has dedicated his life to discovering those whom he calls heroic human beings. On his list is Pope John XXIII.

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Baruj Tenembaum, Founder of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, was nominated to receive the Nobel for his work. He has been a leader in interreligious dialogue since the time of Pope Paul VI.

ZENIT spoke with Tenembaum about his foundation and nomination, and during the conversation, the Jewish Argentinean paid tribute to John XXIII.

Tenembaum characterized his life as being dedicated "to thank those human beings who saved lives, who risked themselves. [...] At the Wallenberg Foundation we work intensively to discover, among others, the exceptional deeds of those heroic human beings."

The Wallenberg Foundation aims to pay tribute to the "Saviors of the Holocaust," recognizing those who "risked their lives and freedom to save thousands of Jews from a certain death in hands of the Nazis during the Second World War," the site of the foundation explains.

Tenembaum noted how he has discovered the vast efforts of Angelo Roncalli (the future John XXIII) to help the Jews.

"Time and time again," he said, "we cannot but feel deeply moved to tears when we learn of the feats of this simple, modest and great son of the Italian people."

Zenit – 13 January 2010

'Over six Million were killed in Shoah'

Father Patrick Desbois believes that many more than six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust, and he can prove it.

Through interviews with more than 1,200 witnesses, Desbois has uncovered upwards of 700 previously unknown Jewish mass graves in Eastern Europe, where at least 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews are buried. Since 2004, Desbois has worked systematically and painstakingly, documenting and mapping the site of Jewish mass killings by Nazi mobile killing units, or Einsatzgruppen, in Eastern Europe.

Desbois is reluctant to say how many more victims there might be of Nazis and German policemen, who lined up Jews and shot them one by one. Having made his way through the Ukraine, he turned his attention to Belarus last year.

"What we can say is that the number of shootings is without any comparison. If you look only at the German archives, you'll find five to six times less than what we found. It's sure that at the end, the number will increase," he said on Tuesday, at a gathering in New York City hosted by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

"This killing began the first day of the war, and finished the last day of the war."

Desbois said he is not looking for 10,000 or 45,000 missing Jews.

"We are looking for the family," he said. "For the persons. It's what keeps us strong."

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For Desbois, the work began nearly 60 years after the Holocaust. The French Catholic priest said he was deeply impacted by his grandfather's experience during the war, when he was held at Rawa-Ruska in the former Soviet Union. His grandfather mostly refused to speak about the experience, except to describe harrowing conditions, including no food and drink.

He always said, "Outside the camp, was worse," said Desbois. "For me, I was wondering, what is worse?"

In 2004, Desbois established Yahad-In Unum, meaning "together" in Hebrew and Latin, to collect forensic evidence of the killings. The organization also maintains an archive in Paris. In November, Desbois published a book, The Holocaust by Bullets, which documents his findings to date.

During one of his first research trips to Eastern Europe, Desbois said he stopped at a farming village, where 100 old farmers stood waiting for him.

They took him to a mass grave, recalling that Germans had listened to music and played a harmonica while Jewish workers dug it. They secretly placed explosives in a field, and sent Jews from the town to rest in the area, where they were killed.

Later, Desbois and his team used a metal detector in the area and recovered fragments of the harmonica, along with bones and German shell casings.

The German policemen used one bullet per Jew, and they buried alive whomever they failed to shoot and kill, Desbois said, telling how witnesses later said the mass graves moved for three days.

"It took me a while to accept, to understand," he said. Like so many Holocaust research projects, his is a race against time. "The witnesses are old and we are also in a political window that lets us do the

job," he said. "In five years this project is finished, unfortunately." It is a painstaking process, with his researchers cobbling together files on each

town using documents and maps that are part of Soviet and German archives. Desbois says during visits to each village, he taps local priests and mayors to find

witnesses, while also scouring the markets for people who lived there during the war and remember seeing Germans killing their Jewish neighbors.

The interviews are matter-of-fact: Desbois asks for precise information regarding where the Germans stood, whether they brought dogs, which streets they blocked off.

"The goal is to rebuild the killing," he said, explaining how forensic scientists then return to the scene and look for evidence, such as shell casings or neglected jewellery.

"We make at this moment a ballistic investigation. Why? Because the Germans were not afraid to leave evidence."

He recalled one village where he found 50 gun cartridges in one place. "It meant the shooter didn't move," he said. "We also found a bunch of Jewish

jewels. It means these policemen stole everything and stole a lot of jewels." If the Holocaust was a secretive extermination in the West, it was public in the

East, he said. "Anybody who had a pistol could be invited to be in the killing group," he said.

Local Germans sometimes organized the killings.

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For Desbois, a primary goal is not only to document what happened more than 60 years ago, but also to protect the mass graves, which are vulnerable to looting. He has encountered anti-Semitism along the way, and travels with bodyguards.

The recipient of honorary degrees from Bar-Ilan University and the Hebrew University, Desbois has been honored by Jewish organizations around the globe. In June 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy named Desbois Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur for his research.

On Tuesday, the chairman of the Presidents' Conference, Alan Solow, expressed his "personal appreciation" for Desbois's courage, perseverance and work to preserve humanity.

In presenting Desbois with a silver etching of a dove, Malcolm Hoenlein, the group's executive vice chairman, underscored the importance in Judaism of preserving the sanctity of the dead.

There is "no greater mitzva" than that, he said, "It's something you cannot repay."

"All my team, we have the same conviction," Desbois said. "We cannot build Europe, we cannot build the modern world, and ask the thousands of Jews and gypsies to stay in silence."

By E.B. Solomont JPost Correspondent in New York

The Jerusalem Post – 14 January 2010

Priest gives Proof of Pius XII's Aid to Jews Gives Testimony of Pope's Anti-Nazi Actions

ROME - An Italian priest who helped Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II is attesting that Pope Pius XII was a big player in this effort.

Father Giancarlo Centioni, 97, who served as a military chaplain for the National Security Volunteer Militia in Rome from 1940 to 1945, affirmed this in an interview with H2oNews today.

The militia, also called the Blackshirts, was organized by Benito Mussolini as a fascist paramilitary group in support of his movement.

Father Centioni affirmed, "Given that I was a chaplain for the fascists, it was easier for me to help the Jews."

While in Rome, he lived in the house of a group of German priests known as Pallottines.

These priests had instituted a group to aid the Jews called St. Raphael's Society. The society, Father Centioni said, helped Jews to escape from Germany into Italy,

and then later to Switzerland and Portugal. In Germany the society was led by Pallottine Father Josef Kentenich, who is

known for founding the Apostolic Movement of Schoenstatt. He was later sent to the Dachau concentration camp for his opposition to Adolf Hitler's regime.

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Allies Father Centioni said that in Rome, the society's activity was based on 57 Pettinari

Street under the direction of another priest, Father Anton Weber. Father Weber coordinated the action with Pope Pius XII and his secretary.

Money and passports were given to Jewish families for their escape, explained Father Centioni. These resources were provided by Father Weber who "received them directly from His Holiness' Secretary of State, in the name of and paid by Pius XII," Farther Centioni said.

He continued, "I often brought money to Jewish homes. At least 12 German priests in Rome were allowed to help me."

Father Centioni stated that this network "began prior to the War" and "kept going" until after 1945, "because Father Weber had an intense relationship with the Vatican, with the Jews, and with a lot of people it was very strong."

He noted that two Jews who they helped hide later aided the society in return: Melchiorre Gioia, an author, and Erwin Frimm Kozab, a composer from Vienna who wrote songs and operas.

The priest recalled: "One we hid on Giuseppe Street, near Bari, and the other on 57 Pettinari Street. Later they assisted us quite a lot, giving us very explicit information."

Father Centioni affirmed that he helped hundreds of people, and they all knew who was behind the operation. "Pius XII helped them," he said, "through us and other priests, by means of St. Raphael's Society as well as the German Verbiti Society in Rome."

He described one incident in which he helped a man named Ivan Basilius, who turned out to be a Russian spy. "No one knew he was Russian or a spy," the priest said, only "that he was a Jew."

Trouble Father Centioni recalled: "Unfortunately, the SS arrested him and he had my name

written in his notebook. "Therefore -- oh my -- the Holy See called me; His Excellency Bishop Hudal said

to me, 'Tell me, why are the SS here to arrest you? "'What did I do?'

"'You assisted a Russian spy.' "'Me? How should I know? Who is he?' Then I fled.'"

The priest said that he had known Herbert Kappler, police chief of the Gestapo in Rome, who instigated the Fosse Ardeatine massacre, in which 335 Italians were murdered, including many civilians and Jews.

He said, "After the massacre was carried out in March [1944], I said to Kappler, whom I saw frequently, 'Why were the military chaplains not called to be present at the Fosse Ardeatine?'

"He replied, 'Because they would have been killed -- and they would have killed you as well.'"

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Building Evidence Father Centioni and his testimony was discovered and analyzed, along with other

testimonies, by the Pave the Way Foundation, which was founded by Gary Krupp, himself a Jew from New York.

An Italian lawyer, Daniele Costi, President of the foundation in her country, attested to the veracity of the interview.

The priest's narrative is further confirmed by the documentation accompanying an award given to him by the Polish government. As further corroboration of his testimony, Father Centioni cited expressions of gratitude he received from several Jews he aided, including some who were able to reach the United States with passports from the Vatican.

By Jesús Colina Zenit – 14 January 2010

'Vatican worked to save Jews from Nazis'

Pope Benedict XVI defended his predecessor Pius XII against Jewish critics Sunday, telling the audience at a Rome synagogue that the Vatican worked quietly to save Jews from the Nazis during World War II.

Many Jews object to Benedict moving Pius toward sainthood, contending the wartime Pope did not do enough to protect Jews from the Holocaust. The Vatican has maintained that Pius used behind-the-scenes diplomacy in a bid to save Jewish lives.

While he did not mention Pius by name, Benedict told Jewish leaders in Rome's Great Synagogue that the Vatican "itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way."

Benedict said Catholics acted courageously to save Jews even as their extermination "tragically reached as far as Rome."

He spoke shortly after Jewish Community President Riccardo Pacifici criticized Pius, saying Italian Catholics worked to save Jews but the "silence" of Pius "still hurts as a failed action."

Pacifici said his grandparents were killed at the Auschwitz death camp while his father was saved by Italian nuns in a Florence convent.

Several prominent Jews had said they would boycott the visit, but Benedict was welcomed with warm applause as he began his visit, which he predicted would improve relations between Catholics and Jews. The synagogue sits in the Old Jewish Ghetto, the Rome neighborhood near the Tiber where for hundreds of years Jews were confined under the orders of a 16th century Pope.

Relations between Jews and the Vatican have at times been tense over the Vatican's sainthood efforts for Pius, who was Pontiff from 1939 to 1958. Those tensions flared again after Benedict last month issued a decree hailing the "heroic virtues" of Pius, an important step before beatification, which is the last formal stage before possible sainthood.

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Some Jews also have been angered by Benedict's reaching out to Catholic traditionalists, including his revival of a prayer for the conversion of Jews.

Another sore point is Benedict's decision to revoke the excommunication of a renegade bishop who had denied that millions of Jews died in the Holocaust. The Vatican has said it wasn't aware of the bishop's views when the excommunication was lifted.

In his weekly noon appearance to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, Benedict predicted that his visit would be a "further step on the path of harmony and friendship" between Catholics and Jews.

He recalled a 1986 visit to the synagogue by Pope John Paul II, who was widely credited with dramatically improving relations with Jews. The late Pontiff, who lived under Nazi occupation in his Polish homeland, where Jews were largely annihilated, affectionately referred to Jews as "our elder brothers" in faith during that groundbreaking visit.

Italy's Jews are a tiny minority: about 30,000 in a predominantly Roman Catholic country of some 60 million. The neighborhood is the sentimental heart of Rome's 12,000-strong Jewish community, although many of them live elsewhere in the capital.

The German-born Benedict, ahead of his meeting with Rome's Jewish community, said that "despite the problems and difficulties, you can breathe in a climate of great respect and dialogue among the believers of the two religions, testimony to how matured the relations are and to the common commitment to value that which unites us."

Those unifying factors were: "faith in the one God, above all, but also safeguarding life and the family, the aspiration for social justice and peace," Benedict said.

Under the leadership of John Paul and Benedict, the Vatican has been seeking common ground on such conservative agendas as traditional families while forging stronger relations with other religions, including Judaism and Islam.

Before entering the synagogue, the Pope was scheduled to attend a wreath-laying ceremony in front of a plaque that recalls the October 16, 1943, deportation of Jews in Rome during Nazi occupation. Another stop was planned at another memorial, which recalls the 1982 attack on the synagogue by Palestinian terrorists that killed a 2-year-old Jewish boy.

Benedict has visited synagogues in Cologne, Germany, and in New York during Papal pilgrimages since he became Pontiff in 2005.

By The Associated Press The Jerusalem Post – 17 January 2010

French Philosopher defends Benedict XVI Bernard-Henri Lévy decries Spread of Disinformation

NEW YORK - A leading French philosopher and journalist published a defense of Benedict XVI in the Huffington Post, affirming that much of the media has been spreading disinformation about the Pope.

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"It is time to put an end to the disingenuousness -- the bias, in a word -- and the disinformation concerning Benedict XVI," said Frenchman Bernard-Henri Lévy in his article, published Sunday. The post comes one week after the Pope visited Synagogue of Rome.

The writer, of Jewish origin, stated that "texts have been quite simply distorted, regarding his trip to Auschwitz in 2006, for example, where it was asserted […] that he paid homage to the 6 million Polish dead, victims of a mere 'band of criminals' without mentioning that half of them were Jews."

"The falsehood is downright staggering," Lévy asserted, "considering that, on that day, Benedict XVI plainly spoke of the attempt of the 'powerful of the Third Reich' to 'eliminate the Jewish people' from the 'ranks of the nations of the earth.'"

The writer addressed the topic of the Pontiff's recent visit to the Synagogue of Rome, and the "chorus of disinformers" who reported negatively on this event.

He acknowledged the Holy Father's gestures and words as he paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and underlined the Church's commitment to build relations with the Jews.

Lévy also defended the role of Pope Pius XII in standing up for Jews against the Nazis. He stated, "We owe it to historical accuracy to point out that, before engaging in clandestine action, opening -- without saying so -- his convents to Roman Jews hunted by the fascist bullies, the 'silent' Pius XII made a number of speeches broadcast by radio."

"It's especially surprising," the writer noted, "that we place the entire weight of responsibility for the deafening silence concerning the Shoah that echoed throughout the world, or nearly all, upon the shoulders of a Sovereign of the time who had neither cannons nor aircraft at his disposal" who "went to great lengths, most historians tell us, to share with others who were informed the knowledge available to him" and "who in fact saved a great many of those he was morally responsible for, in Rome, but elsewhere as well."

The Frenchman concluded that "one can be both Pope and scapegoat." Lévy, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, is known as one of the leading

"New Philosophers." The term refers to those thinkers in France who criticized Marxism in the 1970s, as well as the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche and Martin Heidegger.

Zenit – 25 January 2010

On Francis of Assisi [A Papal Address with a reference to the Custody of the Holy Land]

VATICAN CITY - Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in Paul VI Hall.

* * * Dear brothers and sisters,

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In a recent catechesis, I already illustrated the providential role that the Order of Friars Minor and the Order of Preachers, founded respectively by St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic Guzmán, had in the renewal of the Church of their time. Today I would like to present to you the figure of Francis, an authentic "giant" of holiness, who continues to fascinate very many people of every age and every religion.

"A son is born to the world." With these words, in the Divine Comedy (Paradiso, Canto XI), the greatest Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, alludes to Francis' birth, which occurred at the end of 1181 or the beginning of 1182, in Assisi. Belonging to a wealthy family -- his father was a textile merchant -- Francis enjoyed a carefree adolescence and youth, cultivating the chivalrous ideals of the time. When he was 20 he took part in a military campaign, and was taken prisoner. He became ill and was released. After his return to Assisi, a slow process of spiritual conversion began in him, which led him to abandon gradually the worldly lifestyle he had practiced until then.

Striking at this time are the famous episodes of the meeting with the leper -- to whom Francis, getting off his horse, gave the kiss of peace; and the message of the Crucifix in the little church of San Damiano. Three times the crucified Christ came to life and said to him: "Go, Francis, and repair my Church in ruins." This simple event of the Word of the Lord heard in the church of San Damiano hides a profound symbolism. Immediately, St. Francis is called to repair this little church, but the ruinous state of this building is a symbol of the tragic and disturbing situation of the Church itself at that time, with a superficial faith that does not form and transform life, with a clergy lacking in zeal, with the cooling off of love; an interior destruction of the Church that also implied a decomposition of unity, with the birth of heretical movements.

However, at the center of this Church in ruins is the Crucified and he speaks: he calls to renewal, he calls Francis to manual labor to repair concretely the little church of San Damiano, symbol of the more profound call to renew the Church of Christ itself, with his radical faith and his enthusiastic love for Christ. …

It is also true that he did not intend to create a new order, but only to renew the people of God for the Lord who comes. But he understood with suffering and pain that everything must have its order, that even the law of the Church is necessary to give shape to renewal and thus he really inserted himself totally, with the heart, in the communion of the Church, with the Pope and the bishops. He knew always that the center of the Church is the Eucharist, where the Body and Blood of Christ are made present. Through the priesthood, the Eucharist is the Church. Where priesthood, and Christ and communion of the Church go together, only there does the Word of God also dwell. The true historical Francis and the Francis of the Church speaks precisely in this way also to non-believers, to believers of other confessions and religions. …

The successor of Innocent III, Pope Honorius III, with his bull "Cum dilecti" of 1218, also upheld the singular development of the first Friars Minor, who were opening their missions in several countries of Europe, and even in Morocco. In 1219 Francis obtained permission to go to speak with the Muslim Sultan Melek-el-Kamel in Egypt, and also to preach the Gospel of Jesus there. I want to underline this episode of the life of St. Francis, which is very timely. At a time in which there was under way a clash between Christianity and Islam, Francis, armed deliberately only with his faith and his personal meekness, pursued with efficacy the way of dialogue. The chronicles tell us of a benevolent and cordial reception by the Muslim Sultan. It is a model that also today

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should inspire relations between Christians and Muslims: to promote a dialogue in truth, in reciprocal respect and in mutual understanding (cf. "Nostra Aetate," 3).

It seems, then, that in 1220 Francis visited the Holy Land, thus sowing a seed that was to bear much fruit: his spiritual sons, in fact, made of the places in which Jesus lived a privileged realm of their mission. With gratitude I think today of the great merits of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. …

Zenit – 27 January 2010

Rabbi calls Israel's treatment of Vatican 'outrageous'

Israel's behavior toward the Vatican over the past 15 years has been "outrageous," one of the figures behind the 1994 establishment of diplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Vatican City told Haaretz last week. "Any [other] country would have threatened to withdraw its ambassador long ago over Israel's failure to honor agreements," Rabbi David Rosen said.

Rosen is to attend the meeting scheduled in Rome today between Pope Benedict XVI and a delegation from Israel's Chief Rabbinate, which is taking place at a time of crisis in the Vatican's relations with Israel and with Jewish leaders.

Rosen, a British-born Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland who is the international director of interreligious affairs of the American Jewish Committee, said the Vatican agreed to diplomatic relations with Israel after Jerusalem pledged to recognize the legal status of Catholic institutions in Israel and exempt Vatican property in Israel from taxes. The process was to take two years, he said.

"Fifteen years later, the state has not ratified an agreement recognizing the church's legal status," Rosen said. He said the Vatican wants its internal hierarchy recognized by Israeli law, which at present treats each Catholic Church as a separate non-profit organization.

Israeli bureaucrats wore down the Vatican by negotiating every tax clause separately instead of granting a general concession, as expected by the Vatican, Rosen said. He called claims that the Vatican wants Israel to cede territory to it "falsehoods" propagated by "xenophobes."

Last month Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon discussed the legal issues in Rome with Vatican officials. He later said the talks "broke down" and that there was a "crisis" in relations.

Meanwhile, some Israeli politicians and Jewish leaders were angered by the Pope's proclamation last month that Pope Pius XII is eligible for beatification, despite evidence that he may have turned a blind eye to the Holocaust.

"Most people don't know that almost every current problem in Vatican-Jewish relations began not with Pope Benedict, but with his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who is now seen as a saint by Jews," Rosen said.

By Cnaan Liphshiz Haaretz – 17 January 2010

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Statement of Catholic-Jewish Commission "Not everything that is technically feasible is morally acceptable"

VATICAN CITY - Here is the English-language statement released today upon the conclusion of a four-day meeting of the Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which ended today in the Vatican.

* * *

1. The ninth meeting of the above Commission, was held in Rome, following the historic visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Great Synagogue which had been attended also by the members of the Commission and at which the Pope categorically confirmed the commitment of the Catholic Church and its will to deepen dialogue and fraternity with Judaism and the Jewish People in accordance with Nostra Aetate, the subsequent teachings of the Magisterium and in particular of his predecessor John Paul II. "On this path we can walk together aware of the differences that exist between us, but also aware of the fact that when we succeed in uniting our hearts and our hands in response to the Lord’s call, His light comes closer and shines on all the peoples of the world" (Papal Address at the Synagogue of Rome, 17 January 2010, sect. 8). The Pope specifically praised the work, significance and achievements of the Bilateral Commission about to hold its meeting on the subject of Catholic and Jewish teaching on Creation and the Environment and wished the Commission a "profitable dialogue on such a timely and important theme".

2. The meeting was opened by the chairmen Cardinal Jorge Mejía and Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen who paid tribute to the late Ambassador Shmuel Hadas whose contribution was so instrumental in the establishment of the commission.

3. The opening presentations focused on the tensions between secular environmentalist movements and religious perspectives and emphasized that biblical teaching views nature as being endowed with sanctity that flows from the Creator. It is He who has charged humanity as the summit of his inherently good Creation (cf. Gen 1:31) with the obligation of responsible custodianship (cf. Gen 2:15). Accordingly while freedom and autonomy are given to humanity to develop and advance the natural resources, as it is written "the Heavens are the Heavens of the Lord and earth has been given to humankind" (Ps 115:16), these must always be expressed in a manner that respects Divine sovereignty of the Universe, as it is written "the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it" (Ps 24:1).

4. Humankind today faces a unique environmental crisis which is substantially the product of unbridled material and technological exploitation. While this challenge must obviously be addressed through the necessary technical means as well as self restraint, humility and discipline; the participants emphasized the essential need for society to recognize the transcendent dimension of Creation that is critical to ensure sustainable development and progress in an ethically responsible manner. Not everything that is technically feasible is morally acceptable. It is this consciousness that ensures that every aspect of human advancement promotes the wellbeing of future generations and sanctifies the Divine Name, just as its absence leads to destructive consequences for humanity and environment and profanes the Divine Name.

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5. The Biblical Tradition that gives unique dignity to the human person must not be understood in terms of domination but in terms of respect and solidarity. This requires of us a sense of a "human ecology" in which our responsibility for the eco-system is bound up with and reflective of our obligations to one another and in particular "a special generosity towards the poor, towards women and children, strangers, the sick, the weak and the needy" (Papal Address at the Synagogue of Rome, 17 January 2010, sect. 7).

6. The ethical aspect of human intervention in the natural order lies in the limitation on the power of science and its claim to absoluteness, and in the expression of human solidarity and moral responsibility towards all. To that end the bilateral commission strongly urges that all scientific innovation and development work in close consultation with religious ethical guidance. Similarly States and international bodies should engage in close consultation with religious ethical leadership in order to ensure that progress be a blessing rather than a curse. A genuine environmental ethic is a key condition for world peace and harmony.

7. Above all, the critical importance of a moral religious education at all levels was highlighted in order to guarantee responsible scientific and social development.

Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen (Chairman of the Jewish Delegation) Chief Rabbi Ratson Arussi

Chief Rabbi David Brodman

Chief Rabbi Joseph Levi

Chief Rabbi David Rosen

Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber

Mr. Oded Wiener

Jorge Cardinal Mejía

(Chairman of the Catholic Delegation) Patriarch Fouad Twal

Archbishop Elias Chacour

Archbishop Antonio Franco

Archbishop Bruno Forte

Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo

Msgr. Pier Francesco Fumagalli

P. Pierbattista Pizzaballa O.F.M.

P. Norbert J. Hofmann S.D.B. Rome, Zenit – 20 January 2010

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Israel Ambassador urges Jews to be more open Says Catholic Hand is outstretched, would be foolish to refuse it

ROME - Israel's Ambassador to the Holy See says there is an "asymmetry" in Jewish-Christian dialogue: Catholics are pursuing relations but there are not enough representatives of Judaism committed to the cause.

Mordechay Lewy has taken up a call to Israelis to be more open to dialogue with Christians.

He has expressed his invitation in columns in the January and February issues of the Italian Jewish monthly magazine "Pagine Ebraiche," and his ideas have been echoed in L'Osservatore Romano.

The Israeli diplomat laments that "few are the representatives of Judaism really involved in dialogue with Catholics," and he admits that there is an "asymmetry" in this dialogue.

Despite the fact that his government is in favor of "continual dialogue at the highest official levels, between the Central Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See, there continues to be skepticism on the part of the main current of the orthodox," Lewy explained.

This hesitation, the ambassador noted, is greater after the Shoa: "Jewish orthodoxy, previously pluralistic in its relation with Christians, after the Shoa has become less flexible, to say the least," especially the current of the ultra-orthodox Haredim, which prohibits meetings with priests.

At present, Lewy explained, "reformed and conservative Judaism are more open to dialogue with Christians. They do this from the point of view of their American experience, where coexistence between ethnic and religious groups is intrinsic to society."

Also that dialogue, he suggested, headed by Rabbi Joseph Soloweitchik, did not intend to argue on principles of faith, although at least "it did not refuse a dialogue on questions that might improve the common good of social coexistence," on subjects such as bioethics, ecology, violence, etc.

Self-sufficient Lewy said the hesitation that many Jews feel is explained by a sense that they are

self-sufficient in regard to their religious identity.

"We don't need any other theological reference, but the Bible, to explain our closeness to God as his favorite sons," he said.

This happens, Lewy proposed, because of the Jews' mechanism of self-defense in the course of history, having to live in hostile environments -- although their relation with Christians has not always been like this.

Moreover, he continued, "the majority of Jews perceive their history during the Diaspora as a traumatic battle for survival against constant efforts, on the part of Catholics, to convert them kindly or, in the majority of cases, by force."

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But this "grave and painful" wound must be overcome, the diplomat asserted, and there is a need to "know the other side so as to understand it better."

"It could be that many of us, still traumatized, want to avoid any situation in which someone must be forgiven, especially if identified, justly or erroneously, as a representative of the executioner," he reflected.

Dialogue In this connection, quoting several Jewish experts of all times, Lewy noted that

Judaism "is based on recognition of the unity of the human race, of adherence to moral principles and truth, which reign over every man, regardless of race or religion."

He mentioned the teachings of Medieval rabbinical sources, especially Maimonides, affirming that "they showed respect for other religions."

The diplomat insisted on the need to accept dialogue with Catholics, in the line of present modern orthodoxy, one of whose representatives is Rabbi David Rosen.

"Forty years of Judeo-Catholic dialogue in the wake of 'Nostra Aetate' have been a period of trial and of reciprocal errors," he suggested. And now a dynamism has developed.

"After the Shoa, the Catholic Church initiated in the 60s a radical change in regard to Jews," Lewy said. "Conversion has been relegated to a distant and unknown eschatological horizon."

"Judaism's capacity for survival is guaranteed since the foundation of the Jewish State," the diplomat added, saying this manifests the need to overcome an attitude of self-defense.

"Catholics hold out their hand to us. It would be foolish not to grasp it, unless we want to mortgage our future with constant animosity toward the Catholic world," he said. "The first two thousand years do not legitimize a repetition. We both deserve something better."

Zenit – 21 January 2010

Holy Land Residents get Chance to propose Peace Path Widespread Survey prepares Mideast Synod

The Church is giving a voice to residents of the Holy Land on questions ranging from peace in the region to hope for the future.

These questions are part of a survey that will be used to prepare the working document for the first synod of bishops on the Middle East. The synod will be held at the Vatican in October.

The synod's general secretariat has sent to all the dioceses of the area the "Lineamenta" (guidelines), written by the members of the pre-synodal council (eight patriarchs, four members of the Roman Curia, as well as the presidents of the Episcopal conferences of Turkey and Iran).

The guidelines specify the topics to be discussed in the Episcopal summit, which will be presided over by Benedict XVI.

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Along with topics focused on "The Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness. 'Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul' (Acts 4:32)," as is customary, a survey proposes concrete questions.

The responses to this survey will be used to prepare the "Instrumentum laboris" (working document) for the synod's agenda.

The questions, sent in four languages (Arabic, French, English and Italian) are open-ended, leaving respondents free to suggest their own answers.

For example, the chapter dedicated to "The Church in the Middle East," which exists in an environment of Muslim majority, asks: "How can respect for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience be increased?"

The document takes up one of the most serious challenges affecting Catholics with this question: "What can be done to stop or slow the emigration of Christians from the Middle East?"

After analyzing the difficult political reality in the Middle East, the document asks: "Do our Churches work to train Christian executives to contribute to the social and political life of our countries? What could they do?"

The chapter titled "Ecclesial Communion" also asks precise questions such as, for example: "Does the attitude of 'Church people' concerning money pose a problem for you"

The section dedicated to "Christian Witness" asks basic but decisive questions for the future of the Church in the Middle East, such as: "Does catechesis prepare the young to understand and live the faith?" "Do you think the liturgy needs to be reconsidered to some extent?"

In a synod on the Middle East, questions on relations with Islam and Judaism could not be lacking. The Lineamenta presents them in these terms. "How should we regard our relations with Judaism as a religion? How can peace and the end of political conflict be promoted?" "In what areas can we collaborate with Muslims?"

The document's conclusion expresses the fears of many Catholics of the region: "Why are we afraid of the future?"

In fact it recognizes that among the Christian minority "our attitudes go from fear to discouragement, even among some pastors."

However, the synod seeks to give hope to the Disciples of Christ in this land, so it asks them: "How do we incarnate our faith in politics and society?" "Do we believe we have a specific vocation in the Middle East?"

Although the first and authoritative recipients of the Lineamenta are the bishops and their Episcopal conferences, they have full liberty to extend the base of their consultation.

After gathering and summarizing suggestions, reactions and answers to the various aspects of the theme of the Lineamenta, the bishops will prepare a report to send to the synod's general secretariat so that the working document can be written.

By Jesús Colina Zenit – 26 January 2010

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Priest tries to revive Galilee’s bleak-looking Cana

Entirely Christian at the beginning of the 20th century, the hamlet is now 80% Muslim.

KUFR KANA, Israel (AP) -- In this small Galilee town where tradition says Jesus turned water to wine, an ambitious priest hopes to perform his own miracle -- revive a shrinking flock.

Father Masoud Abu Hatoum, nicknamed ''the bulldozer'' for his enthusiasm, has come up with a few ideas, like re-enacting the New Testament story of Jesus transforming the water for guests at a wedding in the Galilee hamlet of Cana, now this northern Israeli town of Kufr Kana.

''We have to attract people,'' said Abu Hatoum, who looks as much rock star as priest with his trim beard and large wrap-around sunglasses.

But he will have a tough time slowing the haemorrhage of Christians from this bleak, economically depressed town, as the young move away to cities like nearby Nazareth, which offer bigger Christian communities, more jobs and better marriage prospects.

''Our youths leave the village, they tell us: 'We don't want to die here.' We get old, and they leave,'' said 65-year-old Said Saffouri, a parishioner whose two sons have moved out of town.

Migration and low birth rates have diminished Christian populations across the Middle East. Israel's community of 123,000 Arab Christians is one of the few in the region whose numbers have held steady -- it grew slightly by 2,000 in 2009. But it does face a problem of rural flight to big cities, which leaves traditional small Christian towns like Kufr Kana to waste away.

Kufr Kana was entirely Christian at the beginning of the 20th century, but Muslims began settling in the village first as traders, and then as refugees fleeing fighting during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, locals said. Now the village is home to 16,000 Muslims and 4,000 Christians.

The remaining Christians are already discussing what happens when their community dies out completely: Would local Muslims one day have to oversee the Christian holy sites or would members of the clergy stay behind to do so?

Relations with Muslims tend to be cool but polite. Some Christian residents describe warm friendships with Muslims -- while others claim Muslims want them banished from town. Mostly, Christians said they just felt outnumbered.

From a distance, the town reflects its overwhelmingly Muslim population. Visitors can see three minarets spiking up amid the jumble of concrete block houses, with not a church spire in sight.

On a recent Sunday, the Roman Catholic service at the stone-and-marble Cana Wedding Church only drew about 20 worshippers, most of them middle-aged. Another couple of dozen turned out at the smoky, dim and ornate Greek Orthodox church nearby in the old village center, where volunteers built a display for stone jars the church says held the water Jesus turned into wine.

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Abu Hatoum's Greek Catholic church attracted some 40 worshippers. That turnout is a tribute to the energetic priest. Before he was sent to the village from Nazareth in the summer of 2009, the church had about 10 regular worshippers, residents said.

Since taking the job, Abu Hatoum announced a series of events he hopes will revive community spirits and encourage the young to stay in town.

For Christmas, Abu Hatoum erected a scaffolding strung with blinking lights around 90 feet (27 meters) high over his church and he billed it the tallest Christmas tree in the Holy Land.

''I would have made it higher,'' he said laughing, ''but I would have needed a license for that.''

The gimmick was enough to attract an Israeli television crew, and a spot for the priest on local radio, pleasing parishioners who said nobody had expressed interest in their church before.

In July, Abu Hatoum plans to put on a play depicting Jesus' miracle at Cana. He hopes to pull off a Cana marriage miracle of his own in October with a mass wedding ceremony.

But the grim economics of the town work against his bid to resuscitate the community. With no local industry, the few jobs in Kufr Kana are in schools, the municipal administration, grocery stores, hair salons and mechanic shops.

A few souvenir shops stocked with wine cater to the thousands of Christian tourists who breeze through every year. But the village is only a brief stop on most itineraries, and tourists contribute little to local coffers, said Islam Amara, of the Kufr Kana municipality.

Most Arab towns in Israel have the same concrete-block bleakness and appear impoverished compared to Jewish communities nearby -- a legacy of decades of budgetary discrimination by Israeli governments and mismanagement by local municipalities.

Christians are a tiny part of Israel's Arab minority of some 1.4 million, or 20 percent of the country's population of 7.4 million. Another 50,000 Christians live in the West Bank and Gaza, among nearly 4 million Muslims.

The relatively more prosperous cities of Nazareth and Haifa, both with large Christian minorities, give Kufr Kana's young Christians an escape route from boring village life.

The more they leave, the stronger the feeling of isolation among those who remain.

''We just don't feel welcome here,'' said Janette Elias, 60. Two of her three sons now live in Nazareth, Jesus' traditional boyhood city, about a 10-minute drive away.

Church volunteer Ihab Mukabal, 31, says his brother hopes to find an apartment in a nearby Jewish town. ''There's nothing to attract people to stay here,'' Mukabal said.

The unkempt cemetery behind Abu Hatoum's modest church highlights the community's decline.

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The oldest marked graves belong to twins Fadel and Fadil Dbayeh, born in 1899 when Kufr Kana was entirely Christian. By the time they died, in 1965 and 1966, Christians and Muslims were equally numbered, locals say.

The number of those buried in the cemetery was double those who attended church that Sunday.

By Diaa Hadid The Jerusalem Post – 21 January 2010

Giving in to the Settlers in Beit Sahur

People in Beit Sahur believe the Israeli settlers who claim that the Israel Defense Forces was responding to the settlers' pressure when it started erecting a new guard tower last week in the eastern part of this largely Christian West Bank town. Locals do not, however, accept the army's claim that the tower was added for professional, military reasons. The settlers vow to keep up the pressure - and Beit Sahur residents know all too well what they mean. In the last 18 months, settlers from the Gush Etzion area have been holding increasingly frequent protests against the "Arab construction" in Beit Sahur.

For their part, the settlers say the tower will eventually be integrated into a Jewish city that will connect the Gush Etzion settlement bloc with the Jewish settlement of Har Homa in East Jerusalem. The Beit Sahur residents have no reason to doubt either the settlers or the Har Homa neighborhood committee chairman, who declared that, "This could become a reality, just as Har Homa spilled beyond what was planned and expected."

After the 1967 war, Beit Sahur lost 1,200 of its 7,000 dunams (1 dunam = 1/4 acre) to Jerusalem, with its greatly expanded municipal borders. Later, another 430 dunams of its land were appropriated by Har Homa, which crowds the town from the north. After various other "small" expropriations - nibbling at territory here and there for the purpose of building bypass roads - Beit Sahur and its 13,000 residents were left with a little over 600 dunams of non-built-up, agricultural land available for development.

From 1967 to April 27, 2006, much of this territory was occupied by the IDF's Shdema base; the remainder was declared a closed military area, and sections of it that had been cultivated gradually withered. In 2006 Shdema was relocated, to the relief of all. The locals' joy, however, proved premature: Back in 1995, Israel had designated those 600 dunams - regardless if the land was publicly or privately owned - as part of Area C. As elsewhere in the West Bank, that designation evolved into a permanent reality on the ground.

About 100 families, owners of the newly freed-up private land, planned to redeem it from the barrenness imposed on it by the IDF when it seized the territory for "security needs." However, according to Abu Ayman, one of the landowners, Beit Sahur Mayor Hani al-Hayek warned him back in 2006 that under Israeli civil administration regulations for Area C, "heavy machinery" - that is, tractors or bulldozers - could not be used there, under threat of the confiscation of the machinery. Planting and sowing are allowed, says Abu Ayman - who as a young man tended and picked some of Beit Sahur's famous fakkus fruit, also known as an Armenian cucumber - but land reclamation is prohibited. This

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holds true for the privately owned agricultural land that stretches across the neighboring hills and the valley between them.

The Beit Sahur Municipality, meanwhile, had no shortage of plans for the 108 dunams of public land previously taken up by the military base - an orthopaedic hospital for children, and a public park and playground that could double as a venue for cultural events. Funding for those projects was even found: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Vatican would pay for the park, to be named the "Peace Park," and another American aid organization, CURE International, would underwrite the hospital.

But the land, both public and private, belongs, after all, to Area C. Requests for a permit to build the hospital received no response from the Civil Administration. However, according to municipal sources, the mayor understood from his talks with Civil Administration officials that the Israelis had verbally approved the building of the Peace Park.

Construction began in 2007. The first thing built was a climbing tower, the first of its kind in the territories, to the delight of local children (and rope merchants). Land was then prepared for sports courts and a play area, and a large hall, a restaurant and a storage shed were added.

In May 2008, when construction was already in full swing, the rightist organization Women in Green began to hold protests at the site of the park every Friday. MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) informed the Knesset of the "scandal": U.S. money was funding illegal construction. On August 1, 2009, the settler radio station Arutz Sheva aired an item on the situation under the heading "Obama's illegal outpost." The municipality was then served with an order to stop construction.

Two weeks ago, after settlers celebrated Tu Bishvat, Hebrew graffiti appeared on the park's structures, and Stars of David were drawn on the signs declaring the project's American funding. Park employees were ordered by the municipality to erase the graffiti; the Stars of David on the USAID signs remained.

Having learned belatedly that the work had not been officially authorized by the Civil Administration, USAID froze its funding for the project (some $310,000) and the work stopped, although dozens of families still flock to the site, from as far away as Hebron. For them, it is still a safe and friendly recreational area, practically the only one of its kind in the vicinity.

The lesson of this affair - namely, that verbal agreements with the Israeli civil administration cannot be trusted - may have been the reason for publication of the following document, obtained by Haaretz. In the document, written last September, shortly after the scandal of the "illegal outpost," USAID explains to its "implementing partners" (i.e., Palestinian subcontractors) in various projects the need to secure written approval from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and Palestinian municipal authorities to prevent delays "that involve [purchase of] construction materials or erecting a structure of any kind (whether permanent or non-permanent)."

Although Palestinian authorities are mentioned in the document, most of it focuses on COGAT requirements that apply not only to Area C, but to A and B as well.

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Indeed, it demonstrates the immense control Israeli authorities wield over Palestinian construction throughout the West Bank. The Palestinian partners, according to the document, must consult with the relevant USAID representatives about "construction materials including, but not limited to, pipes (especially metal pipes), which COGAT often considers 'dual use' materials" - that is, materials that can potentially be used in terrorist activities. Thus, the "dual use" materials definition applies not only to Gaza, but also to the West Bank.

Also, according to the document, later on, "implementing partners should obtain permission in writing from COGAT and local municipal authorities ... stating (a) whether COGAT considers the intended project a 'structure' and (b) whether the proposed construction location is in Area C." Before purchasing building materials and consulting with the relevant USAID personnel, the partners are then required to "obtain written confirmation from COGAT that such materials can be brought into the area ... COGAT requires documentation that provides the following information: (1) the name of the project; (2) where and when the materials were purchased (i.e., name of the factory, city, country); (3) who is the intended recipient; (4) who actually paid for the materials; (5) where the materials will be used; and (6) for what purpose. It is also important to identify who will have custody over any and all building materials procured by the implementing partner and how the materials will be secured from theft or misuse ...

"It is essential to obtain COGAT's approval in writing. COGAT acknowledges only written agreements and permission that its officers have issued. When working with Palestinian Authority officials who report that COGAT has approved a project, the implementing partner must still obtain a copy of the written approval directly from COGAT."

The above directives apply to the entire West Bank. With regard to Area C, however, there are additional requirements: Before materials are purchased for a project, the implementing partner must meet with COGAT and USAID representatives. "In such meetings," the document explains to the partner, "know that COGAT frequently requests the exact location of 'construction' and/or delivery sites. Implementing partners should be prepared to show locations on local maps and/or share GPS coordinates with COGAT."

It emerges that, historically, Beit Sahur's Peace Park is located somewhere between the field where the shepherds learned of Jesus' birth and the area where Boaz fell in love with the Moabite woman Ruth, in the Bible. A few weeks ago, the municipality summoned local residents to a cultural center (a building renovated with USAID funds) in Beit Sahur's old city for an emergency meeting to discuss how the town can protect what little available land it still has. Three days ago, bulldozers and soldiers showed up, and waved a written order in the face of locals and journalists. The soldiers claimed that the area has once again been declared a closed military zone. Beit Sahur inhabitants do not yet know whether this zone includes their great local achievement of recent years: the recreation and play area for children.

By Amira Hass Haaretz – 13 February 2010

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EU Bishops' Aide says Europe needs Holy Land Visit Delegation of Prelates makes Annual Tour

LONDON - The annual visit that European and North American bishops make to the Holy Land is under way through Thursday, and meetings with the region's presidents are scheduled for Wednesday.

The five-day visit is being made by 26 prelates and representatives, including the Council of European Episcopal Conferences general secretary, Father Duarte da Cunha.

"With this visit, the European bishops want to express their desire to better understand and share the problems of the peoples in those territories and at the same time to offer a tangible sign of the closeness that our Churches have towards the Christians of the Holy Land and their friendship towards the Israeli and Palestinian peoples," he said.

The priest characterized the visit as a time to "listen, with humility, to the joys and hopes, the needs and difficulties, not only of the various Christian and Catholic communities present in the Holy Land, but also of the Israeli and Palestinian populations."

"The Church in Europe needs this type of encounter to build bridges of solidarity and hope with the Christian communities in the Palestinian territories and in Israel and to better determine the type of interventions in support of our Christian brothers and sisters," Father da Cunha affirmed.

The delegation began its visit in Gaza and the West Bank.

The program brings them to the University of Bethlehem and Beit Safa Seminary.

Wednesday, they are scheduled to meet with President Shimon Peres and President Mahmud Abbas.

The visit concludes Thursday in Jerusalem with a celebration at the Holy Sepulchre and a press conference.

Zenit – 12 January 2010

Dig uncovers ancient Jerusalem street depicted on Byzantine map

Archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered an ancient street, which confirms the accuracy of a 1,500-year-old map, the Antiquities Authority said yesterday.

The Madaba Map, depicted in a mosaic floor of a church in Madaba, Jordan, shows Jerusalem as it was in the Byzantine period, between the 4th and the 7th centuries. According to the map, the main entrance to the city was from the west, through a large gate at the start of a wide central street.

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A number of finds backing up the map's accuracy have been unearthed before, but archaeologists could never access the suspected area of the main gate because of heavy pedestrian traffic.

However, infrastructure work that was begun recently by the Jerusalem Development Authority near the Jaffa Gate finally allowed the archaeologists access under the road.

At a depth of over four meters under the present street level they found a number of large paving stones, which they say prove the existence of an important street. The archaeologists believe the thoroughfare's route largely corresponds to the present day one, and say that the Jaffa Gate today stands near where the gate was in Byzantine times.

"Jerusalem has been explored for 150 years but there have never been excavations in this particular area," said site director Dr. Ofer Sion yesterday. "This is the first time we could start digging down. We knew we needed to find the street, and we waited for the pick-axe to hit a stone. When we heard a stony sound and uncovered half a pavement tile, we realized we were on an ancient street."

"It's nice to see that today's David Street, a bustling market route, pretty much preserves the route of another bustling street, 1,500 years its senior," Sion said. David Street is the main covered market, which descends from the Jaffa Gate Square toward the Temple Mount.

The cracked paving stones are about one meter long each, the archaeologists said. Next to them, the team found the remains of a sidewalk and a row of columns, evidence of the street's prestige from the prosperous days of Byzantine Jerusalem.

The archaeologists believe the street was the main entrance to the city and linked various important sites, like the Holy Sepulchre, the markets and residential areas.

Despite the finds, the street will be covered up again once work on it is complete. By Nir Hasson

Haaretz – 10 February 2010

SELECTIONS OF ITEMS FROM VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE

Jews and Christians, co-operate to face Challenges

This afternoon Benedict XVI visited the synagogue of Rome where, on his arrival, he was welcomed by Riccardo Pacifici, president of the Jewish community of Rome; Renzo Gattegna, president of the Jewish communities of Italy, and Riccardo Di Segni, Chief Rabbi of Rome.

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Before entering the building, the Pope placed a floral wreath before plaques commemorating the deportation of 1,022 Jews on 16 October 1943 and a terrorist attack of 9 October 1982 which killed a two-year-old Jewish boy and injured thirty-seven other people as they left the synagogue after prayers.

Having been greeted in discourses by Riccardo Pacifici, Renzo Gattegna and Riccardo Di Segni, the Pope delivered his own address, interrupted on seven occasions by applause from those present in the synagogue.

Benedict XVI indicated how Vatican Council II "gave a strong impetus to our irrevocable commitment to pursue the path of dialogue, fraternity and friendship, a journey which has intensified and developed over the last forty years, through important steps and significant gestures. Among them, I should mention once again the historic visit by my venerable predecessor to this synagogue on 13 April 1986". In this context, the Pope also mentioned his own 2009 pilgrimage to the Holy Land and his visits to synagogues in Cologne and New York.

"The Church", he said, "has not failed to deplore the failings of her sons and daughters, begging forgiveness for all that could in any way have contributed to the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism. May these wounds be healed forever!"

The Holocaust, said the Holy Father, "the singular and deeply disturbing drama, ... represents, as it were, the apex of the path of hatred that begins when man forgets his Creator and places himself at the centre of the universe".

"The extermination of the people of the Covenant of Moses, first announced then systematically planned and put into effect in Europe under the Nazi regime, on that day tragically reached as far as Rome. Unfortunately, many remained indifferent, but many, including Italian Catholics, sustained by their faith and by Christian teaching, reacted with courage, often at the risk of their lives, opening their arms to assist the Jewish fugitives who were being hunted down, and deserving perennial gratitude. The Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way.

"The memory of these events compels us to strengthen the bonds that unite us so that our mutual understanding, respect and acceptance may always increase", he added.

Benedict XVI explained how both Jews and Christians are illuminated by the Decalogue, "the 'Ten Words' or Ten Commandments" which constitute "a beacon and a norm of life in justice and love, a 'great ethical code' for all humanity".

"From this perspective, there are several possible areas of co-operation and witness", said the Pope, going on to mention "three that are especially important for our time".

"The 'Ten Words' require that we recognise the one Lord, against the temptation to construct other idols, to make golden calves. In our world there are many who do not know God or who consider Him superfluous, irrelevant for their lives. And so, other new gods have been fabricated to whom man bows down".

Secondly, the Decalogue calls us "to respect life and to protect it against all injustice and abuse, recognising the worth of each human person, created in the image and likeness of God. How often, in every part of the world, near and far, the dignity, the freedom and the rights of human beings are trampled upon," he cried.

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Thirdly, the Ten Commandments "call us to preserve and to promote the sanctity of the family, in which the personal and reciprocal, faithful and definitive 'yes' of man and woman opens the way to the future, to the authentic humanity of each, and at the same time opens them to the gift of a new life. To witness that the family continues to be the essential cell of society and the basic environment in which human virtues are learned and practised is a vital service for the building of a world with a more human face".

"All of the Commandments are summed up in the love of God and in mercy towards one's neighbour", said the Holy Father. "This Rule urges Jews and Christians to exercise, in our time, a special generosity towards the poor, towards women and children, strangers, the sick, the weak and the needy".

"On this path we can walk together, aware of the differences that exist between us, but also aware of the fact that when we succeed in uniting our hearts and our hands in response to the Lord's call, His light will come closer and shine on all the peoples of the world".

Benedict XVI continued his remarks: "Christians and Jews share to a great extent a common spiritual heritage, they pray to the same Lord, they have the same roots, and yet they often remain unknown to one another. It is our duty, in response to God's call, to strive to keep open the space for dialogue, for reciprocal respect, for growth in friendship, for a common witness in the face of the challenges of our time, challenges which invite us to co-operate for the good of humanity in this world created by God, the Omnipotent and Merciful".

After then recalling how the Catholic and Jewish communities have coexisted in Rome for two thousand years, the Pope expressed the hope that this proximity may "be animated by a growing fraternal love, expressed also in closer co-operation, so that we may offer a valid contribution to solving the problems and difficulties that we still face.

"I beg from the Lord", he added in conclusion, "the precious gift of peace in the world, above all in the Holy Land. During my pilgrimage there last May, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I prayed to Him Who can do all things, asking: 'Send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of those who call upon Your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion'".

VIS – 17 January 2010

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