Vatican
City, 11 October 2013 (VIS) – “As Bishop of Rome, I feel
particularly close to the life of the Jewish community of the Urbe: I
know that, with over two thousand years' uninterrupted presence, you
may claim to be the most ancient in western Europe”. This morning,
with these words, Pope Francis received in audience the Jewish
community of Rome, led by the chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, to
commemorate the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of
Rome.
“For
many centuries the Jewish community and the Church of Rome have
co-existed in this city, with a history that has, as we well know,
often been marred with misunderstandings and real injustice”, he
continued. “However, by now this history includes, with the help of
God, many decades of the development of friendly and brotherly
relations. On the Catholic side, the reflection of the Second Vatican
Council has certainly contributed to this change in mentality, but a
no less important contribution has come from the life and action, on
both sides, of wise and generous men, capable of recognising the call
of the Lord and of courageously walking new paths of encounter and
dialogue”.
The
Pope went on to mention the “common tragedy of the war” which,
paradoxically, “taught us to walk together”, and he made
reference to the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of
Rome on 16 October 1943. On that day, more than a thousand Roman Jews
were rounded up and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland; only sixteen of them returned home. “We remember and pray
for the many innocent victims of human barbarism, and for their
families. It will also be an occasion to recall the importance of
remaining vigilant in order that we do not regress, under any
pretext, to any forms of intolerance and anti-Semitism, in Rome and
in the rest of the world I have said it before, and I would like to
repeat once more: it is a contradiction for a Christian to be
anti-Semitic. His roots are in part Jewish. A Christian cannot be
anti-Semitic! May anti-Semitism be banished from the heart and the
life of every man and woman!” exclaimed Pope Francis.
He
continued, “This anniversary also reminds us how the Christian
community has known how to reach out to its brothers in difficulty
during their darkest hours. We know that many religious institutions,
monasteries and indeed the Papal Basilicas, in accordance with the
wishes of the Pope, opened their doors to provide a fraternal
welcome, and that Christians offered the assistance, great or small,
that they were able to give. The great majority were certainly not
aware of the need to improve their Christian understanding of
Judaism, and perhaps they knew little of the life of the Jewish
community. However, they had the courage to do what was, in that
moment, the right thing – to protect their brother in danger. I
like to underline this aspect, because while it is true that it is
important for both sides to deepen their theological reflection
through dialogue, it is also true that there exists a vital dialogue,
that of everyday experience, that is no less fundamental. Indeed,
without this, without a true and concrete culture of encounter, that
leads to the forging of genuine relations without prejudices or
suspicions, effort in the intellectual field would be of little
worth. Again, here, as I often like to emphasise, the People of God
have their own insight and intuit the path that God asks them to
follow”.
“I
hope to contribute, here in Rome, as bishop, to this nearness and
friendship, as I received the grace, and it was a grace, of being
able to do with the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. Among the many
things we have in common there is the testimony to the ten words, the
Decalogue, as the solid foundation and source of life also for our
societies, disorientated as they are by a relativism that leads us to
lose solid and secure points of reference”.
“I
invoke with you the protection and blessing of the Almighty for this,
our joint path of friendship and trust. May He, in his infinite
benevolence, concede His peace in our days”, concluded the Holy
Father.
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