Italian rabbis pull out of Jewish celebration
VATICAN CITY — Italy's rabbis are pulling out of the Italian Catholic Church's annual celebration of Judaism, saying recent decisions by Pope Benedict XVI were negating 50 years of interfaith progress.
The chief rabbi of Venice, Elia Enrico Richetti, cited the pope's decision to restore a prayer for the conversion of Jews deemed offensive to Jews in Easter Week services of the old Latin Mass.
In an article published Tuesday in the Italian Jesuit magazine Popoli, Richetti said the Assembly of Italian Rabbis felt the prayer, and subsequent comments by church officials about the controversy, showed a lack of respect that was necessary for dialogue to continue.
"If we add to this the recent positions taken by the pope about dialogue, said to be useless because the superiority of the Christian faith is proven anyway, then it's evident that we're heading toward the cancellation of the last 50 years of church history," he wrote.
Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, who heads the Italian bishops' commission on interreligious dialogue, said the history of Jewish-Catholic relations cannot just be "canceled," the ANSA news agency reported.
"If there are difficulties, which undoubtedly there are in Italy, they should become an occasion to recast the dialogue even more strongly," ANSA quoted him as saying.
The annual Vatican event is set for Saturday.
Recent comments
Did I read that the Rabbis were so easily offended by the fact that...
KM | Jan. 14, 2009 at 2:42 p.m.
The Pope needs to correct his church; they fulfilled Daniel's...
Marie Devine | Jan. 14, 2009 at 12:42 p.m.
Okay shame, let's see Hamas shoot thousands of rockets at your house...
andrew | Jan. 14, 2009 at 12:32 p.m.
- Sub hears Yemenia black boxes 8:49 a.m.
- Iraqis skeptical about pullback 8:47 a.m.
- Spy chief's details on Facebook 8:46 a.m.
- Ramirez homers, but Padres win 1:56 a.m.
- Coast Guard plucks kayaker from sea 1:26 a.m.
- 16 dead in China floods 1:19 a.m.
- Sports on the air 12:46 a.m.
- Editorial: Ulster bridges divide 12:46 a.m.
- Obama deprives Iran of scapegoat 12:46 a.m.
- America stands as shining beacon 12:45 a.m.
- Stadium of Fire lights up the 4th
- Millsap valuable, not franchise player
- Utahn reunites with officer
- Can Jazz escape luxury-tax mess?
- Interest in Millsap dwindling?
- The BCS sure won't fix itself
- Obama deprives Iran of scapegoat
- Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
- 'Tea party' protesters unhappy
- NKorea fires 7 missiles defying U.S.
- Boozer not opting out of contract
180 - Palin resigning as governor
100 - Lack of Obama photos concerning
99 - Utah leaner in too-fat country
91 - Don't listen to marriage cynics
87 - Editorial: A sad day for Utah
86 - Palin's and Romney's roles in 2012?
86 - Jazz plan to re-sign Millsap
81 - Jazz talked Kirilenko for McGrady
71 - Hatch calls BCS 'biased' in SI article
69
The media has been inordinately good to President Obama so far. That...
Cornerback Jordan Johnson from Springfield, Mass., verbally committed to...
You've probably read the news about South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford,...
Beattie is a solid guy with a track record of being consistent and working in...
Non-dare call it welfare!! This article highlights the weakness of...
I wonder what the attendance at the Stadium of Fire would be without the...
This quote of yours, "We do not insert ourselves in the struggles of other...
I hope sitting Olave was worth settling for a tie rather than winning the...
I am the guy who wrote a recent op-ed article in the Deseret News comparing...
I love how people are complaining about how unfair this is and how this isn't...
I see nothing wrong with criticizing Obama's policies. If he is making bad...
Sometimes things become popular sayings even if they should be adjusted. ...
A story worth reading... Thank you Amy for putting the meaning of the story...


