JERUSALEM, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu thanked outgoing Pope Benedict on Monday for
his efforts to shore up often troubled relations between the
Roman Catholic Church and Jews, including with his 2009 visit to
the Holy Land.
That trip, in which the German-born Benedict paid respects
at Israel’s main Holocaust memorial, was seen by many Jews as
atoning for his lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who
questioned the scale of the Nazi genocide. On other occasions he
visited the Auschwitz death camp and the Cologne synagogue.
The pontiff, who will abdicate on Feb. 28, also changed a
Latin prayer for Good Friday services by traditionalist
Catholics in 2008, deleting a reference to Jews and their
“blindness” but still calling for them to accept Jesus.
“In the name of the people of Israel, I would like to thank
you for everything you did in your capacity as pope in the name
of strengthening ties between Christians and Jews and between
the Holy See and the Jewish State,” Netanyahu said in a letter
to Benedict, a copy of which was circulated to the media.
“I thank you also for bravely defending the values of
Judaism and Christianity during your papal term,” the
conservative premier wrote.
“I have no doubt that these values, which were so crucial to
building the modern world, are no less critical for ensuring a
future of security, prosperity and peace.”
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
