In a March 6 letter, a reader asks ”What, then, is the reason for (the Vatican) not recognizing a country (Israel) founded more than 40 years ago?” The answer has been available for almost 100 years. In 1904, Theodor Herzl sought the good will of the Vatican for the cause of a Jewish homeland. The pope responded, ”We cannot favor the Jews for their desire for the Holy Land. The Jewish religion was the basis for our faith but it was replaced by the teachings of Christ.” The meeting ended with this reply by Cardinal Merry del Val: ”As long as Jews deny the divinity of Christ, we cannot be for you.”
Although individual Catholics, including priests, disagree with the Vatican, the irrational resistance to recognition of Israel persists from the Medieval prejudices of the past.
