THE PAPAL VISIT : Pope Tells Jewish Leaders of Their Heritage’s Bond With Catholicism

The following are excerpts of remarks by Pope John Paul II to Jewish leaders at the Miami-Dade Cultural Center on Friday:

It is indeed worthy of note that the United States was founded by people who came to these shores, often as religious refugees. They aspired to being treated justly and to being accorded hospitality according to the word of God, as we read in Leviticus: “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the Lord, am your God” (Leviticus 19:34).

Among these millions of immigrants there were a large number of Catholics and Jews. The same basic religious principles of freedom and justice, of equality and moral solidarity, affirmed in the Torah as well as in the Gospel, were in fact reflected in the high human ideals and in the protection of universal rights found in the United States. These in turn exercised a strong positive influence on the history of Europe and other parts of the world.

But the paths of the immigrants in their new land were not always easy. Sadly enough, prejudice and discrimination were also known in the New World as well as in the Old.

Nevertheless, together, Jews and Catholics have contributed to the success of the American experiment in religious freedom, and, in this unique context, have given to the world a vigorous form of interreligious dialogue between our two ancient traditions. . . .

Considering history in the light of the principles of faith in God, we must also reflect on the catastrophic event of the Shoah, that ruthless and inhuman attempt to exterminate the Jewish people in Europe, an attempt that resulted in millions of victims--including women and children, the elderly and the sick--exterminated only because they were Jews.

Considering this mystery of the suffering of Israel’s children, their witness of hope, of faith and of humanity under dehumanizing outrages, the church experiences ever more deeply her common bond with the Jewish people and with their treasure of spiritual riches in the past and in the present. . . .

After the tragic extermination of the Shoah, the Jewish people began a new period in their history. They have a right to a homeland, as does any civil nation, according to international law. “For the Jewish people who live in the state of Israel and who preserve in that land such precious testimonies to their history and their faith, we must ask for the desired security and the due tranquility that is the prerogative of every nation and condition of life and of progress for every society.”

What has been said about the right to a homeland also applies to the Palestinian people, so many of whom remain homeless and refugees. While all concerned must honestly reflect on the past--Muslims no less than Jews and Christians--it is time to forge those solutions which will lead to a just, complete and lasting peace in that area. For this peace I earnestly pray.

Excerpts from John Paul’s remarks at the ecumenical prayer service in Columbia, S.C.:

Brothers and sisters: We are divided in many ways in our faith and discipleship. But we are here together today as sons and daughters of the one Father, calling upon the one Lord Jesus Christ, in the love which the same Holy Spirit pours forth into our hearts. Let us give thanks to God and let us rejoice in this fellowship. And let us commit ourselves further to the great task which Jesus himself urges upon us: to go forward along the path of Christian reconciliation and unity “without obstructing the ways of divine Providence and without prejudging the future inspiration of the Holy Spirit. . . .”

It would be a great tragedy for the entire human family if the United States, which prides itself on its consecration to freedom, were to lose sight of the true meaning of that noble word. America, you cannot insist on the right to choose, without also insisting on the duty to choose well, the duty to choose the truth.

Already there is much breakdown and pain in your own society because fundamental values, essential to the well-being of individuals, families and the entire nation, are being emptied of their real content. And yet, at the same time, throughout this land there is a great stirring, an awareness of the urgent need to recapture the ultimate meaning of life and its fundamental values.

Surely by now we must be convinced that only by recognizing the primacy of moral values can we use the immense possibilities offered by science and material progress to bring about the true advancement of the human person in truth, freedom and dignity. As Christians our specific contribution is to bring the wisdom of God’s word to bear on the problems of modern living, in such a way that modern culture will be led to a more profoundly restored covenant with divine wisdom itself. . . .