Pope halting progress, say Rabbis
Updated on 13 January 2009
Italy's rabbis said they were pulling out of the Italian Catholic Church's annual celebration of Judaism, saying recent decisions by Pope Benedict XVI were negating 50 years of interfaith progress.
The chief rabbi of Venice, Elia Enrico Richetti, cited the pope's decision to restore a prayer for the conversion of Jews deemed offensive to Jews in Easter Week services of the old Latin Mass.
In an article published in the Italian Jesuit magazine Popoli, Rabbi Richetti said the Assembly of Italian rabbis felt the prayer, and subsequent comments by church officials about the controversy, showed a lack of respect that was necessary for dialogue to continue.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
