Pope pledges strengthened dialogue with Jews

 — May 13, 202513 mai 2025

Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church’s ties with the Jewish community.

“Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration ‘Nostra Aetate,'” the pope wrote in a message to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Promulgated 60 years ago, “Nostra Aetate” affirmed the Catholic Church’s spiritual kinship with the Jewish people and condemned all forms of anti-Semitism.

The pope’s message signed May 8 — the day of his election — was posted on the AJC’s X account May 13.

The AJC is an advocacy group that “stands up for Israel’s right to exist in peace and security; confronts antisemitism, no matter the source; and upholds the democratic values that unite Jews and our allies,” according to its website.

Although Pope Leo did not address the Israel-Hamas war explicitly after praying the “Regina Coeli” with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square May 11, he called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.

“Let humanitarian aid be provided to the stricken civil population, and let all the hostages be freed,” he said.

Pope Leo also sent a personal message to Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, “informing him of his election as the new pontiff,” according to a statement posted May 13 on the Facebook page of Rome’s Jewish community.

In his message, the statement said, “Pope Leo XIV committed himself to continuing and strengthening the dialogue and cooperation of the church with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Vatican II declaration ‘Nostra Aetate.'”

“The chief rabbi of Rome, who will be present at the celebration of the inauguration of the pontificate (May 18), welcomed with satisfaction and gratitude the words addressed to him by the new pope,” the statement added.

Jews have lived in Rome since long before Christ was born, and centuries of interaction between the city’s Jewish community and the popes means Jewish-Vatican relations in the city have a unique history, much of it sad.

In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI visited the Rome synagogue, the staff of the Jewish Museum of Rome, located in the synagogue complex, planned a special exhibit illustrating part of that history.

The centerpiece of the exhibit was comprised of 14 decorative panels made by Jewish artists to mark the inauguration of the pontificates of Popes Clement XII, Clement XIII, Clement XIV and Pius VI in the 1700s.

For hundreds of years, the Jewish community was obliged to participate in the ceremonies surrounding the enthronement of new popes — often in a humiliating manner.

Various groups in the city were assigned to decorate different sections of the pope’s route between the Vatican and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the pope’s cathedral. The Jewish community was responsible for the stretch of road between the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus, which celebrates the Roman Empire’s victory over the Jews of Jerusalem in the first century. The Roman victory included the destruction of the Temple, Judaism’s holiest site, and the triumphal arch depicts Roman soldiers carrying off the menorah and other Jewish liturgical items.

Posted: May 13, 2025 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=14581
Categories: CNSIn this article: Jewish-Christian relations, Nostra Aetate, Pope Leo XIV
Transmis : 13 mai 2025 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=14581
Catégorie : CNSDans cet article : Jewish-Christian relations, Nostra Aetate, Pope Leo XIV


A view of the crowd gathered for the funeral of Pope Francis. The photo was taken from among the ecumenical delegation to the left of the altar

Through papal funeral, Christ proclaimed living Saviour for all

 — May 12, 202512 mai 2025

I thought that travelling to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait was a big trip to make when I responded to Bishop Keith Joseph’s invitation to preside at the Easter services at the Old Cathedral of All Souls and St Bartholomew this year. Little did I realise that just a few days after Easter I would receive a request from the Anglican Communion Office to be part of the Anglican representation at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome the following weekend.

Planning had to proceed quickly, and I flew out on the Wednesday on flight legs that added up to around 24 hours in the air before arriving in Rome on the Thursday afternoon. Our delegation, led by the Primate of Brazil, Archbishop Marinez Bassotto, assembled at the Anglican Centre, Rome before we were taken to St Peter’s Basilica to pray where Pope Francis’ body lay in state in an open coffin.
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Pope Leo XIV appears on the loggia in St. Peter's Basilica after his election as the 267th pope and bishop of Rome

WCC congratulates Pope Leo XIV

 — May 8, 20258 mai 2025

The World Council of Churches (WCC) extended ecumenical greetings to Pope Leo XIV and an assurance of continuing engagement with the Roman Catholic Church in the era of its new pontiff.

WCC moderator of the central committee, Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, expressed joy and hope. “As successor of Pope Francis, he will move in a strong tradition,” said Bedford-Strohm. “I expect him to continue Pope Francis’ witness of love towards all people, especially those most vulnerable, and of love for nonhuman creation.”
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Lambeth Palace, London, one of the sites of the Lambeth Conference

11,000 people take part in consultations for the next Archbishop of Canterbury

 — May 7, 20257 mai 2025

More than 11,000 people have participated in the consultations for the next Archbishop of Canterbury – carried out online, by post and in person between February and March this year.

The public consultation was a unique opportunity to influence the future of leadership within the Church, helping to discern the gifts, skills and qualities required in the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury to meet the needs of the Church today and in the years to come.

The themes that emerge through this consultation will sit alongside the ‘Statement of Needs’ produced by the Diocese of Canterbury, as well as other information provided by the National Church and Anglican Communion. This information will inform the Canterbury Crown Nominations Commission of the needs of the mission of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.
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The ecumenical legacy of Pope Francis | One Body

The ecumenical legacy of Pope Francis | One Body

 — May 3, 20253 mai 2025

After Pope Francis died, an ecumenical colleague asked me about the ecumenical legacy of the late pope. As I endeavoured to answer him, I found myself clarifying at several points that Francis was not all that different in his ecumenical commitments from the previous popes, going back to Pope Paul VI and the Second Vatican Council. Each of the post-conciliar popes has presided over significant steps on the ecumenical journey, and Francis should be seen as continuing this same journey. As much as I love and appreciate him, I am uncomfortable giving Francis sole credit for achievements that are largely due to the efforts of ecumenical leaders in the Roman Curia, ecumenical agencies, theological dialogues, and national and local churches. The achievements of the ecumenical movement during the Francis papacy are certainly due to his guidance, encouragement, permission, and his genuinely open spirit, and it is for these that we can give thanks.

The Spirit asks us to listen to the questions, concerns, and hopes of every Church, people, and nation. And to listen to the world, to the challenges and changes that it sets before us. Let us not soundproof our hearts; let us not remain barricaded in our certainties. So often our certainties can make us closed. Let us listen to one another (Homily at the Mass Opening the Synodal Path, October 10, 2021).

Working as an ecumenist in the Francis years has been a great joy. I have been studying and working in ecumenism since the late 1980s, beginning in the middle years of Pope John Paul II and through the long years of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI’s time at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and then his papacy. These were positive years of ecumenical progress. John Paul II was a figure who transformed Catholic relations with the Evangelical world. He presided over the most significant years of bilateral dialogue with Anglicans, Lutherans, Orthodox, Methodists, and Reformed. He was the pope who approved the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and issued common declarations on Christology with the Oriental Orthodox. He convened world religious leaders at Assisi to pray for peace.
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'You are witnesses of these things.’ —Luke 24.48

Christian World Communions share joint Easter Message

 — Apr. 16, 202516 avril 2025

Twelve Christian World Communions have issued a message to mark the shared date of Easter in 2025 by all Christians, in conjunction with the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea.

The message seeks to bear witness to the Resurrection of Christ and has been signed by General Secretaries and ecumenical representatives of twelve Christian World Communions. It calls for Christians to work for the unity of the Church, praying for “the Holy Spirit to move our Communions to live and walk together, in obedience to the call of Jesus that all his disciples may be one.” It also offers words of hope “at this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability.” All Christians are called together to proclaim the good news of “repentance and forgiveness of sins … to all nations” (Luke 24:47-48).
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A <em><a target=_'blank' href='https://oikoumene.org/resources/documents/faith-and-order-update-april-2025'>Faith and Order Update</a></em>, presenting some of the main areas of the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, has been published as the WCC looks towards the Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order later in 2025, and in the year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea

WCC “Faith and Order Update” available

 — Apr. 15, 202515 avril 2025

A “Faith and Order Update,” presenting some of the main areas of the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, has been published as the WCC looks towards the  Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order later in 2025, and in the year that marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

“As the unity of the church is the main goal of our work within Faith and Order, this update offers information about the current work of our study groups on ecclesiology, moral discernment, and theological anthropology and on understanding the churches in and for the world,” writes moderator of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order Rev. Prof. Dr Stephanie Dietrich in her greeting. “I wish you many interesting insights while reading.”
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A photo of the first page of The letter of Paul to the Ephesians

The Consultation on Common Texts announces a provisional update to the Revised Common Lectionary

 — Apr. 11, 202511 avril 2025

The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) concluded its annual meeting at the denominational offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 8. The Consultation is a joint American and Canadian ecumenical body that is responsible for the Revised Common Lectionary, a schedule of biblical passages read on Sundays and major feasts in congregations of multiple denominations in North America and other parts of the world.
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His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

2025 Templeton Prize Awarded to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

 — Apr. 10, 202510 avril 2025

Today, Thursday, April 10, 2025, the John Templeton Foundation, in collaboration with the Templeton World Charity Foundation and the Templeton Religion Trust, announced that the recipient of the 2025 Templeton Prize is the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, the longest-serving Archbishop of the Apostolic Throne of Constantinople, is widely recognised, as noted in the Foundation’s official announcement, for “his pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual approaches to humanity’s relationship with the natural world, inspiring people of all faiths to become stewards of creation”.

Patriarch Bartholomew is internationally acclaimed for his groundbreaking contribution to ecological advocacy, interfaith dialogue, and peacebuilding efforts around the world. These include the unique “Religion, Science, and the Environment” symposia held aboard ships from the Amazon to the Arctic Ocean, his numerous ecumenical and interfaith initiatives within and beyond the Abrahamic traditions, and his sincere and courageous stance on matters of sovereignty and integrity in Ukraine and the pursuit of peace in the region.
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Some of the traditional elements of a Passover Seder: a silver Seder plate, a bottle of wine, a Haggadah or service book, and a package of Matzah or unleavened bread

Passover and Easter: Distinct but Interconnected | One Body

 — Apr. 10, 202510 avril 2025

Sometimes it is enough for two religious festivals to fall close to each other in the calendar for us to conclude that there must be some relationship between them. For example, the December holidays of Hanukkah and Christmas have led more than a few people to assume that, since both winter festivals involve gift-giving and candlelight, Hanukkah must therefore be some sort of “Jewish Christmas.” Of course, the two festivals are very, very different, commemorating very different historical events 160 years apart.

But sometimes holy dates that are adjacent on the calendar are related, and can even cast light upon each other. The Jewish 8-day festival of Passover [Pesach] and the Christian festival of Easter are not the same, by any means. Yet they are also interconnected in ways that are very thought-provoking and enriching, if we are willing to dig below the surface to learn more about them.
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Delegates at the ALICUM summit gather on the bank of the River Jordan to renew their baptismal vows

Anglican–Lutheran Commission Gathers to Deepen Unity through Shared Mission

 — Apr. 10, 202510 avril 2025

Anglican and Lutheran church leaders from around the world gathered in Amman, Jordan, from 29 March to 2 April 2025 for the first full meeting of the Anglican–Lutheran International Commission for Unity and Mission (ALICUM). Under the theme “Our baptismal unity,” participants reflected on their shared identity in Christ, built deeper relationships, and committed to a variety of catechetical, evangelical, and missiological projects.

ALICUM was established in 2018 by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council and the Anglican Communion’s Standing Committee as a new commission, built on the foundation of decades of agreements between Anglicans and Lutherans. In several parts of the world, Anglican and Lutheran churches are in relationships of full communion. Like the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM), ALICUM pairs Anglican and Lutheran bishops and leaders with one another from various countries around the world in order to pursues shared teaching, evangelisation, and mission.

This inaugural gathering of the full Commission brought together ALICUM pairs from Cameroon, Colombia, the Holy Land, Malaysia, Tanzania, the USA, and the Porvoo Communion (including representatives from Ireland, Scotland, Finland, and Germany). While the members from Canada and Hong Kong were unable to attend in person, they remain involved in the work.
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