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Pope recalls Pope lays Holocaust row to rest
Ellen Widdup11 May 2009
The Pope has used his first speech in Israel as an exercise in damage control over his reinstatement of a bishop who denied the Holocaust.
German-born Pope Benedict, who was a member of the Hitler Youth and later served in the German army before deserting at the end of World War Two, lashed out at anti-Semitism, which he said “continues to rear its ugly head” in many parts of the world.
He also called for “just resolution” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “so that both peoples may live in peace in a homeland of their own, within secure and internationally recognised borders”.
Speaking at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport, the pontiff, who flew in from Jordan, said it was important to learn from mistakes made in history.
“Tragically, the Jewish people have experienced the terrible circumstances of ideologies that deny the fundamental dignity of every human person,” he said. “I will have the opportunity to honour the memory of the six million Jewish victims of the Shoah {the Hebrew term for the Holocaust} and to pray that humanity will never again witness a crime of such magnitude.”
In the 45 years since the Second Vatican Council repudiated the concept of collective Jewish guilt for Christ's death, Catholic-Jewish relations have been haunted by the Holocaust and the question of what the church did, or failed to do, about it.
In January the pope prompted a huge backlash after lifting the excommunication of four traditionalist bishops - including one who denied six million Jews were killed. The Vatican claimed it did not know about the bishop's past.
During his trip, the pope hopes to put an end to the arguments surrounding the issue by visiting Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel's memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
“Every effort must be made to combat anti-Semitism wherever it is found, and to promote respect and esteem for the members of every people, tribe, language and nation across the globe,” he said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomed the comments.
“We see in your visit here to the Holy Land as an important spiritual mission of the highest order, a mission of peace, a mission of planting seeds for tolerance and uprooting of the weeds of fanaticism,” he said.
Since being sworn in as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has not specifically discussed establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, a U.S. and Arab priority.
But during his five day visit, the pope is expected to repeat his offer for the Catholic Church to do all it can to help the stalled peace process.
“I come, like so many others before me, to pray at the holy places, to pray especially for peace - peace here in the Holy Land, and peace throughout the world,” he said.
