Vatican to Stop Missioning to Jewish People

In his welcoming address Tuesday to Pope Benedict XVI at Jerusalem’s Heichal Shlomo, adjacent to the capital’s Great Synagogue, Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger said that the pontiff had agreed that the Catholic Church would cease all missionary activity among Jews, and thanked him for the gesture.

Metzger opened by congratulating the pope on his arrival to "our holy land – the land to which we prayed to return during 2000 years of exile… And, with God’s help, our meeting today is taking place in the Land of Israel, in our city of Jerusalem – the eternal capital of the Jewish people."

Speaking of the necessity of dialogue between the faiths, Metzger said that "if a historical meeting such as this, where the head of the largest religion in the world meets in Jerusalem with the head of the Jewish religion, had taken place many years ago, much blood would have been spared and senseless hatred averted."

Metzger thanked Benedict for preventing the return to the fold of Holocaust-denying Bishop Richard Williamson.

"Had you not done so," Metzger explained, "a message may have been understood by another Holocaust denier- the president of Iran, granting legitimacy to his sinful declarations of his will and intention to destroy our country. I commend with appreciation your clear proclamation that anti-Semitism is not only a sin against the Jews, but also a sin against God."

In a hint of criticism over Benedict’s speech at Yad Vashem on Monday, which was received with some disappointment for his failure to apologize on behalf of the Catholic Church while paying tribute to the memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, Metzger hailed Benedict’s predecessor, "Pope John Paul II, who visited us nine years ago, placed a note between the stones of the Western Wall, and in it a request for forgiveness from the Jewish people for the suffering caused to them throughout history, and of the Christian commitment towards true fraternity between our peoples."

The chief Ashkenazi rabbi went on to thank the pope for his "historic agreement and the commitment given by the Vatican, that the Church will henceforth desist from all missionary and conversion activities amongst our people. This is for us an immensely important message."

Metzger then asked the pope to act on the issue of lost Jewish refugees; children saved by Christians during the Holocaust and never told by their adopting parents that they were Jewish.

"Your Holiness, as you know, during the Holocaust many parents deposited their children in trust with the various churches throughout Europe," he said. "To our sorrow, six million Jews did not return. Many of the children who survived thanks to the Church, grew up unaware of their Jewish heritage. We ask that under your guidance the Church display transparency and reveal their roots so that they may choose their national and religious paths.

Metzger also mentioned the pope’s visit to the Western Wall, which is a "house of prayer for all nations," but lamented that "unfortunately there are those who have transformed their houses of prayer into warehouses of weapons and terror.

"One thing alone still threatens us all," he said, "the use of religion as a means for the killing of innocent people."

He concluded by calling to establish "an international body, a UN for religions alongside the UN for diplomats and statesmen. There, side by side, around one table will sit the representatives of all the religions. Even those coming from countries that still lack diplomatic relations between them, will sit together to solve conflicts and differences of opinions arising from a religious cause."

"It is my heartfelt blessing that together we will merit to add love, mutual respect and peace in our world," the rabbi ended his speech. "For each people will walk in the name of his God; And we will walk in the name of the Lord our God…"

Speaking after Metzger, the pope vowed to maintain the dialogue between Christianity and Judaism in an effort to continue the reconciliation process between the two religions.

Source: JPost (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242029507154&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

Submitted by: Ahava, May 12th, 2009 Topic: Messianic Forums
Tags: Cheir Ashjenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger , Heichal Shlomo, Jerusalem, jerusalem, Metzger, Pope Benedict

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10 Comments

DonMeecha commented on June 04, 2009:

Tonga, it appears Levi did ask you a question which is quite relevant. You should answer him. I mean you did rail Aviad for his letter, yet Levi captured the essence of the argument and you did not answer him....

Levi commented on May 22, 2009:

Hey, Tonga you didn't answer my last couple of questions. You can respond to other things, but not a real question about God?

eliahu commented on May 21, 2009:

The gesture has been mirrored before in history, it is the ebb dynamic before the tsunami outcome. But it also serves only to placates Rabbinic conjecture, namely that "building a fence/hedge around the Torah, its selective jurisprudence and instructive discipleship," is the only legitimate exercise of Jewish thought, and faith permissible to Am Israel

shlomo commented on May 15, 2009:

Yes I agree with Jjess's statement. The Catholic church is not what Yeshua intended, I believe you could add a few more to the list, but that is another subject. I am sure we could list plenty such as making images of things that are in heaven and beneath the sea, food laws, and so on. I as a Jew, Messianic Jew, find the man made religions have nothing to offer, we however should offer our truth in return.

Tonga commented on May 15, 2009:

Baruch HaShem, that the Catholic Church has stopped missionizing Jews. Let us Jews be Jews. Let them work amongst their own people- I am sure there are plenty of Catholics who no longer practice the religion that they can missionize to.

Jjess commented on May 14, 2009:

All I have to say is do those who need to know Yeshua as Savior need to be a part of a church who changed the Holy Sabbath to its own day and that bows before idols?

Levi commented on May 14, 2009:

Well, Josiah I could agree if in fact this is a way to repair the relationship and start again, but to give up on sharing with Jews altogether, is that a good thing? I hope you are right, if not, what then?

josiah commented on May 14, 2009:

Although centuries of Catholic persecution has left a bad taste in people's mouths, I think the Church was taking a new direction under Pope John Paul II and his attempts to rebuild a brotherly relationship with the Jewish People. I have a good friend who is Roman Catholic, and although I don't agree with all of the Catholic practices and traditions, he know just as much about Jesus the Messiah and his salvation as I do. A Catholic believer isn't any less saved than a Messianic believer! So I think we need to be carefully not to stereotype the entire Catholic church.

Levi commented on May 14, 2009:

This is both good and bad, because first: the RCC was not the best witness for the Lord over the last 1700 years. However, instead of stopping they needed to second: reform, revamp and reorganize according to the Bible's standards. You blew it Pope, because it was the wrong answer, for the wrong reasons.

Jjess commented on May 12, 2009:

I feel that this is a GOOD THING because the Catholic church does not believe in the salvation of the Bible and in Yeshua..it believes salvation comes thru it and its doctrines and sacraments. The Catholic religion IS NOT what Yeshua and His apostles preached and taught. It is a man made religion.

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