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Vatican City, Vatican, 19th
October 2004 (CNA) -
The Holy See’s
Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, headed by
Cardinal Jorge Mejia, and Delegations of the Chief
Rabbinate of Israel, led by Rabbi Shar Yishuv Cohen,
today released a shared statement on social justice and
ethics, calling for respect for religious communities
and persons, and affirming Jewish and Catholic
solidarity in essential moral values and human
well-being.
The statement, on the theme
"A Common Vision of Social Justice and Ethical
Behavior," emerged today during meetings in
Grottaferrata, Italy, which began on October 17 and end
today. It reads:
"1. We are not enemies, but
unequivocal partners in articulating the essential moral
values for the survival and welfare of human
society.
"2. Jerusalem has a sacred
character for all the children of Abraham. We call on
all relevant authorities to respect this character and
to prevent actions which offend the sensibilities of
religious communities that reside in Jerusalem and hold
her dear.
"3. We call on religious
authorities to protest publicly when actions of
disrespect towards religious persons, symbols and Holy
Sites are committed, such as the desecration of
cemeteries and the recent assaults on the Armenian
Patriarch of Jerusalem. We call on them to educate their
communities to behave with respect and dignity towards
peoples and towards their attachment to their
faith."
Cardinal Walter Kasper,
president of the Commission for Religious Relations with
Jews and Riccardo Segni, chief rabbi of Rome, will
analyze the state of Catholic-Jewish dialogue today to
introduce a seminar series on the theme at the
Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The Commission for
Religious Relations with Jews celebrates it’s
30th anniversary on October 22. It was
founded by Pope Paul VI on October 22, 1974.
Cardinal Kasper, Cardinal
Mejia and a delegation of the commission, will visit
Rome's synagogue on Friday October 22 to mark the
anniversary during the Jewish celebration of
Shabbat.
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