Despite some less than pleasant incidents, which we’re willing to write off as the result of byzantine Vatican intrigue, we’ve always really liked this Pope. We believe that he’s brilliant and measured – genuinely concerned by anti-Semitism and deeply aware of the threat that militant Islam poses to Western civilization. And he does things like this:
Pope Benedict XVI warned Friday of rising anti-Semitism and hostility to foreigners, winning a standing ovation from Germany’s oldest Jewish community as he made only the second visit by a pope to a synagogue. Speaking in a Cologne synagogue rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Nazis, Benedict said that “today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility toward foreigners.” Benedict began the visit by standing quietly with his hands clasped during a Hebrew prayer before a memorial to the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
There are pro-Israel and pro-Jewish bloggers suspicious of Pope Benedict’s conservative theological leanings. It’s true that for some conservative Catholics, recovery of Church tradition means a return to the time that the Church used to label Jews “perfidious”. But almost all signs indicate that this Pope is theologically devoted to invigorating Jewish-Catholic dialogue and personally committed to good relations with Jews. By conservative he means adherence to Church dogma, not anti-Semitism.
