Pope Urges Bishops to Protect Jews

Pope John Paul II on Saturday urged German Catholic bishops to “protect” Jews and speak out against anti-Semitism, saying attacks against Holocaust memorials and synagogues are intolerable.

He also urged the bishops to help promote coexistence so that Jews will not be tempted to leave Germany, which he said is their homeland too.

“I ask you to commit yourselves in a particular way to protect your Jewish brothers,” the 72-year-old Polish Pope told a group of bishops from the Berlin area.

“The violation of synagogues and attacks on commemorative monuments, which given their painful history are of great importance to the Jews, can never be tolerated,” he said.

In recent months there has been a spate of attacks on Holocaust memorials by anti-Semitic vandals in Germany.

“You must commit yourselves so that your Jewish compatriots are not discouraged and remain in your homeland, which is also theirs, so that they continue to participate in (Germany’s) religious, cultural and scientific life,” he said.

The Pope told the bishops, from areas that were once part of East Germany, that they must do everything in their power to combat racist and nationalist tendencies. He said these incidents are harming Germany’s image.