| c. 240 |
Origen of Alexandria writes that the Jews "have committed the
most abominable of crimes" in conspiring against Christ, and for
that reason "the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and
another people was called by God to the blessed election" |
| 248 |
St. Cyprian writes that the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath
of God, because they have departed from the Lord, and have
followed idols |
| 306 |
The Council of Elvira decrees that Christians and Jews cannot
intermarry, have sexual intercourse, or eat together |
| 325 |
Conversation and fellowship with Jews is forbidden to the clergy
by the Council of Nicaea |
| 4th century |
Christian emperors of Rome decree that Christians converting to
Judaism, and Jews obstructing the conversion of other Jews to
Christianity, will incur the death penalty; Jews can not marry
Christians, or hold public office, or own slaves |
| c. 380 |
St. Gregory of Nyssa refers to the Jews as "murderers of the Lord,
assassins of the prophets, rebels and detesters of God,...
companions of the devil, race of vipers, informers, calumniators,
darkeners of the mind, pharisaic leaven, Sanhedrin of demons,
accursed, detested,... enemies of all that is beautiful" |
| c. 380 |
St. Ambrose calls the synagogue "a place of unbelief, a home of
impiety, a refuge of insanity, damned by God Himself" |
| 388 |
A mob of Christians, at the instigation of their bishop, looted and
burned the synagogue in Callinicum, a town on the Euphrates. The
Emperor Theodosius wants those responsible punished and the
synagogue rebuilt at the expense of the bishop, but St. Ambrose,
the bishop of Milan, pressures him to relent and condone the
action |
| 400 |
St. Augustine writes: "the Church admits and avows the Jewish
people to be cursed, because after killing Christ they continue to
till the ground of an earthly circumcision, an earthly Sabbath, an
earthly passover, while the hidden strength or virtue of making
known Christ, which this tilling contains, is not yielded to the
Jews while they continue in impiety and unbelief, for it is revealed
in the New Testament. While they will not turn to God, the veil
which is on their minds in reading the Old Testament is not taken
away... the Jewish people, like Cain, continue tilling the ground,
in the carnal observance of the law, which does not yield to them
its strength, because they do not perceive in it the grace of Christ" |
| c. 400 |
Calling the synagogue "brothel and theater" and "a cave of pirates
and the lair of wild beasts," St. John Chrysostom writes that "the
Jews behave no better than hogs and goats in their lewd grossness
and the excesses of their gluttony" |
| 413 |
A group of monks sweep through Palestine, destroying
synagogues and massacring Jews at the Western Wall |
| 414 |
St. Cyril of Alexandria expels Jews from his city |
| 425 |
Jews are required by law to observe Christian feasts and fasts and
to listen to sermons designed to persuade them to convert |
| 442 |
The synagogue in Constantinople is turned into a church |
| 529-553 |
The Code of the emperor Justinian decrees that in Christian
Byzantine society Jews cannot read their sacred books in Hebrew
in their synagogues, and the Mishnah and other rabbinic
interpretations are banned |
| 538 |
The Third Synod of Orléans decrees that Jews cannot show
themselves in the streets during Passover Week |
| 591 |
Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews are not to be forced
into baptism "lest they return to their former superstition and die
the worse for having been born again" |
| 600 |
Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews should not have
excessive freedom, but also "in no way should they suffer a
violation of their rights" |
| 681 |
The Synod of Toledo orders the burning of the Talmud and other
books |
| 768 |
Pope Stephen IV decries ownership of hereditary estates by "the
Jewish people, ever rebellious against God and derogatory of our
rites" |
| c. 830 |
Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, writes anti-Jewish pamphlets in
which he refers to Jews as "sons of darkness" |
| c. 937 |
Pope Leo VII encourages his newly appointed archbishop of
Mainz to expel all Jews who refuse to be baptized |
| c. 1010-1020 |
In Rouen, Orléans, Limoges, Mainz, and probably also in Rome,
Jews are converted by force, massacred, or expelled |
| 1050 |
The Synod of Narbonne decrees that Christians are not permitted
to live in Jewish homes |
| c. 1070 |
Pope Alexander II warns the bishops of Spain to prevent violence
against the Jews because, unlike the Saracens, they "are prepared
to live in servitude" |
| 1078 |
The Synod of Gerona decrees that Jews must pay the same taxes
as Christians to support the church |
| 1081 |
Pope Gregory VII writes to King Alphonso of Spain telling him
that if he allows Jews to be lords over Christians, he is oppressing
the Church and exalting "the Synagogue of Satan" |
| 1084 |
Rüdiger, bishop of Speyer, grants the Jews a charter allowing
them to keep Christian servants and serfs, own fields and
vineyards, and carry arms |
| 1096 |
Massacres of Jews takes place in the First Crusade, destroying
entire Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Cologne
and other cities. The Jewish chronicler reports: "The enemies
stripped them naked and dragged them off, granting quarter to
none, save those few who accepted baptism. The number of the
slain was eight hundred in these two days." The chronicler
Guibert de Nogent reports that the Rouen Crusaders said: "We
desire to go and fight God's enemies in the East; but we have
before our eyes certain Jews, a race more inimical to God than any
other" |
| 1182 |
Jews are expelled from France, all their property is confiscated,
and Christians' debts to them are cancelled with the payment of
one-fifth of their value to the treasury |
| 1190 |
The Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion-Heart, stirs anti-Jewish
fervor and results in the mass suicide of the York Jews in Clifford's
Tower on March 16 |
| 1198 |
Jews are allowed to return to France |
| 1199 |
Pope Innocent III decrees that Jews are to be allowed to worship
in their synagogues, they are not to be coerced into baptism, and
that Jewish cemeteries are not to be mutilated |
| 1215 |
The Fourth Lateran Council decrees that Jews are to wear
distinctive clothing, and on the three days before Easter they are
not to go out in public |
| 1222 |
The Council of Oxford prohibits the construction of new
synagogues |
| 1227 |
The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1230 |
Jews in France are forbidden to lend money on interest |
| 1234 |
The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1235 |
Thirty-four Jews are burned to death in Fulda on a blood-libel
charge |
| 1246 |
The Council of Béziers orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1247 |
Pope Innocent IV defends the Jews: "they are wrongly accused of
partaking of the heart of a murdered child at the Passover...
Whenever a corpse is found somewhere, it is to the Jews that the
murder is wickedly imputed. They are persecuted on the pretext of
such fables... they are deprived of trial and of regular judgment; in
mockery of all justice, they are stripped of their belongings,
starved, imprisoned and tortured" |
| 1254 |
The Council of Albi orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1260 |
The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not
when traveling |
| 1267 |
The Synod of Vienna decrees that Christians cannot attend Jewish
ceremonies, and Jews cannot dispute with simple Christian people
about the Catholic religion |
| 1267 |
The Synod of Breslau decrees compulsory ghettos for Jews |
| 1267 |
Pope Clement IV instructs the Franciscans and Dominicans to
deal with the "new Christians" who had reverted to Judaism |
| c. 1270 |
St. Thomas Aquinas writes that the Jews sin more in their unbelief
than do pagans because they have abandoned the way of justice
"after knowing it in some way" |
| 1272 |
Pope Gregory X defends the Jews: "It happens sometimes that
Christians lose their children and that the enemies of the Jews
accuse them of having kidnaped and killed these children in order
to offer sacrifices with their heart and blood, and it also happens
that the parents themselves, or other Christians who are enemies
to the Jews, hide the children and attack the Jews, demanding of
them, as ransom, a certain sum of money, on the entirely false
pretext that these children had been kidnaped and killed by the
Jews" |
| 1275 |
Jews in England are forbidden to lend money on interest |
| 1279 |
The Synod of Ofen decrees that Christians cannot sell or rent real
estate to Jews |
| 1283 |
Jews in France are forbidden to live in the countryside |
| 1284 |
The Council of Nîmes orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1289 |
The Council of Vienna orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1290 |
Jews are expelled from England and southern Italy |
| 1294 |
Jews in France are restricted to special quarters of the cities |
| 1294 |
Jews are expelled from Bern |
| 1298 |
The Jews of Röttingen, charged with profaning the Host, are
massacred and burned down to the last one |
| 1320 |
The "Shepherds' Crusade." A Christian chronicler records: "The
shepherds laid siege to all the Jews who had come from all sides
to take refuge... the Jews defended themselves heroically... but
their resistance served no purpose, for the shepherds slaughtered a
great number of the besieged Jews by smoke and by fire... The
Jews, realizing that they would not escape alive, preferred to kill
themselves... They chose one of their number (and) this man put
some five hundred of them to death, with their consent. He then
descended from the castle tower with the few Jewish children who
still remained alive... They killed him by quartering. They spared
the children, whom they made Catholics by baptism" |
| 1326 |
The Council of Avignon orders Jews to wear a round patch, but
not when traveling |
| 1345 |
King John authorizes his subjects in Liegnitz and Breslau to
destroy the Jewish cemeteries in order to use the tombstones to
repair the city walls |
| 1347-1350 |
During the Black Death, Jews are accused of poisoning wells in
order to overthrow Christendom, and many thousands of Jews are
killed. Pope Clement VI defends the Jews against these charges |
| 1350 |
Jews are expelled from many parts of Germany |
| 1367 |
Jews are expelled from Hungary |
| 1368 |
The Council of Vabres orders Jews to wear a round patch |
| 1381 |
Jews are expelled from Strasbourg |
| 1394 |
The expulsion of Jews from France, begun in 1306, is completed
with an edict promulgated on the Jewish Day of Atonement |
| 1420 |
Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop |
| 1421 |
Jews are expelled from Austria |
| 1424 |
Jews are expelled from Fribourg and Zurich |
| c. 1425 |
Pope Martin V denounces anti-Jewish preaching and forbids the
forced baptism of Jewish children under the age of twelve |
| 1426 |
Jews are expelled from Cologne |
| 1432 |
Jews are expelled from Saxony |
| 1434 |
The Council of Basel decrees that Jews cannot obtain academic
degrees |
| 1435 |
King Alfonso orders the Jews of Sicily to attach a round patch to
their clothing and over their shops |
| 1438 |
Jews are expelled from Mainz by the town councilors |
| 1439 |
Jews are expelled from Augsburg |
| 1453 |
Jews are expelled from Wurzburg |
| 1454 |
Jews are expelled from Breslau |
| 1456 |
Pope Callistus III bans all social communication between
Christians and Jews |
| 1462 |
Jews are expelled from Mainz following a conflict between two
candidates for the archepiscopal seat |
| 1467 |
Jews are expelled from Tlemcen |
| 1471 |
Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop |
| 1475 |
The entire Jewish community in Trent, northern Italy, is put to
death on the allegation that it had murdered a boy for religious
purposes |
| 1485 |
Jews are expelled from Warsaw and Cracow |
| 1492 |
After forcing many Jews to be baptized and then referring to them
as Marranos (swine), and after an Inquisition in which some 700
Marranos were burnt at the stake for showing signs of "Jewish"
taint, Spain expels all Jews from the country |
| 1497 |
Jews are expelled from Portugal |
| 1519 |
Jews are expelled from Regensburg |
| 1553 |
Cardinal Carafa instigates a public burning of copies of the
Talmud and other Jewish religious works in a square in Rome |
| 1555-1559 |
Pope Paul IV restricts Jews to ghettos and decrees that they are to
wear distinctive headgear |
| 1566-1572 |
Pope St. Pius V expels Jews from the Papal States, allowing some
to remain in Rome's ghettos and in Ancona for commercial
reasons |
| 1592-1605 |
Pope Clement VIII includes a ban on all Jewish books in the
expanded Index of Forbidden Books |
| 1826 |
Pope Leo XII decrees that Jews are to be confined to ghettos and
their property is to be confiscated |
| 1858 |
Edgardo Mortara, 6-year old son of a Jewish family in Bologna, is
abducted by the papal police and brought to Rome. He had been
secretly baptized five years earlier by a domestic servant who
thought he was about to die. The parents try to get the boy back,
and there is a universal outcry, but Pope Pius IX rejects all
petitions submitted to him |
| 1904 |
In an interview with Zionist leader Theodor Hertzl, Pope St. Pius
X says: "I know, it is disagreeable to see the Turks in possession
of our Holy Places. We simply have to put up with it. But to
sanction the Jewish wish to occupy these sites, that we cannot
do... The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot
recognize the Jewish people... If you go to Palestine and your
people settle there, you will find us clergy and churches ready to
baptize you all" |
| 1919 |
Newly independent Poland passes a law making Sunday a
compulsory day of rest in Poland. The law is intended to force
Jews to observe the Christian sabbath in addition to their own |
| 1921 |
Speaking for Pope Benedict XV, a Vatican spokesman informed
representatives of the Zionist Movement htat they did not wish to
assist "the Jewish race, which is permeated with a revolutionary
and rebellious spirit" to gain control over the Holy Land |
| 1925 |
At a conference of Catholic academicians in Innsbruck, Austria,
Bishop Sigismund Waitz calls the Jews an "alien people" who had
corrupted England, France, Italy, and especially America |
| 1933 |
In a series of Advent sermons, Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich
defends the Old Testament against Nazi attacks but emphasizes
that it is not his intention to defend contemporary Jewry, saying
that a distinction has to be drawn between Jews living before and
after the crucifixion of Jesus |
| 1933 |
In a pastoral letter on January 23, Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner
of Linz, Austria, declares that while the radical anti-Semitism
preached by Nazism is completely incompatible with Christianity,
it is the right and duty of Christians to fight and break the harmful
influences of Jewry in all areas of modern cultural life. The
Austrian episcopate condemns the letter in December for causing
racial hatred and conflict |
| 1933-1939 |
The general consensus among the Catholic papers in Poland is that
Jewish influence should be reduced in all areas of life, that the
Polish and Jewish communities should be separated as much as
possible, and that the most desirable option is mass emigration of
the Jews from Poland. St. Maximilian Kolbe is an active promoter
of antisemitic literature |
| 1935-1936 |
The Polish Catholic Church gives full support to a government
policy encouraging Jewish emigration from Poland |
| 1936 |
Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, issues a pastoral
letter, stating: "I warn you against that ethical attitude that is
fundamentally and uncompromisingly anti-Jewish. It is
contradictory to Catholic ethics. It is permissible to love your
nation more than others, but it is not permissible to hate anyone.
Not even the Jews... You should close yourselves to the harmful
influence of Jewry... But you may not attack Jews, beat them, hurt
them, slander them. In a Jew you should also respect and love a
human being and your neighbor" |
| 1937 |
Austrian bishop Alois Hudal publishes a book defending Nazi
racial ideology, supporting laws preventing a flood of Jewish
immigrants, and criticizing the "Jewish" press for playing off
Austrians against Germans. His book receives the support of
Archbishop (later Cardinal) Theodor Innitzer of Vienna |
| 1938 |
In a speech before Belgian pilgrims, Pope Pius XI denounces
antisemitism and says: "Spiritually we are all Semites." His
comments are reported in various newspapers but not in the
Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano |
| 1939 |
Josef Tiso, a Catholic priest with a doctorate in theology, became
president of independent Slovakia. An extremist hater of Jews, he
allied Slovakia with Nazi Germany and, with strong objections
from the Vatican, deported most Slovakian Jews to their deaths in
the camps. He declared: "It is a Christian action to expel the Jews,
because it is for the good of the people, which is thus getting rid
of its pests." Monsignor Tiso was executed after the war as a war
criminal |
| 1941-1945 |
The "Final Solution" takes place in Nazi-occupied Europe. This
Holocaust, the killing of some six million Jews, "happened in the
'heartland' of Western Christian Europe... It happened with the
passive acquiescence or active collaboration of most European
Christians, and no decisive protest from church leadership,
Catholic or protestant" (Rosemary Radford Ruether) |
| 1941 |
In Croatia, Bishop Ivan Saric of Sarajevo appropriates Jewish
property for his own use. His diocesan newspaper declares that
"Jewish greed increases. The Jews have led Europe and the world
towards disaster, moral and economic disaster. Their appetite
grows till only domination of the whole world will satisfy it."
Bishop Aksamovic of Djakovic teaches that "today it is the sacred
duty of every citizen to prove his Aryan origins." Meanwhile,
Archbishop Aloys Stepinac of Zagreb preaches in a sermon that
"it is forbidden to exterminate Gypsies and Jews because they are
said to belong to an inferior race" |
| 1941 |
Provost Bernard Lichtenberg of Berlin's St. Hedwig Cathedral
publicly declares that he will include Jews in his daily prayers. On
October 23 he is arrested and sent to Dauchau, but dies on the way |
| 1941 |
The German Bishops' Conference issues a pastoral letter secretly
distributed and read from all pulpits. It outlines in detail the Nazi
assault on the Catholic Church, but makes no mention of the Jews |
| 1941 |
In Operational Situation Report USSR No. 54, the German
Einsatzgruppen A reports from Kaunas, Lithuania: "The attitude
of the Church regarding the Jewish question is, in general, clear.
In addition, Bishop Brisgys has forbidden all clergymen to help
Jews in any form whatsoever. He rejected several Jewish
delegations who approached him personally and asked for his
intervention with the German authorities. In the future he will not
meet with any Jews at all" |
| 1942 |
The French Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops sends a letter
to Marshal Pétain, head of the Vichy government, protesting
against the mass arrests and cruel treatment of the French Jews |
| 1942 |
Protest against the persecution of Dutch Jews is read from the
pulpit of all churches in Holland |
| 1942 |
In August and September, messages to be read out in their
churches protesting the deportation of Jews from France are
written by Archbishop Saliège of Toulouse, Bishop Théas of
Montauban, Bishop Delay of Marseilles, Cardinal Gerlier of
Lyon, Bishop Vanstenbergher of Bayonne, and Archbishop
Moussaron of Albi |
| 1942 |
Great Britain, the Polish Government-in-exile, Brazil, the United
States, and Uruguay press Pope Pius XII to condemn the Nazi
treatment of Jews. The Pope responds to this international appeal
with his Christmas radio address, but does not specifically
mention the Jews |
| 1942-1945 |
Cardinal Adolf Bertram, Archbishop of Breslau and head of the
German Bishops' Conference, opposes all public protest against
the deportation and massacre of the Jews. He maintains a cordial
relationship with Hitler, and in May 1945 he orders requiem
masses for Hitler be offered in all his parishes |
| 1943 |
At their annual meeting in Fulda, the German Catholic bishops
debate whether to speak out about the Holocaust and confront
Hitler with a direct accusation. They decide not to do so |
| 1943 |
Slovakia's Catholic Bishops protest the deportation of Jews in a
pastoral letter read in Latin from the pulpits. Many priests refuse
to read it or insert their own negative comments |
| 1945 |
Addressing the College of Cardinals after the end of the European
war, Pope Pius XII speaks of the hundreds of priests and religious
who died in Nazi concentration camps, but makes no mention of
the Jews |
| 1965 |
The Second Vatican Council issues its Declaration on the
Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions: "True,
authorities of the Jews and those who followed their lead pressed
for the death of Christ; still, what happened in His passion cannot
be blamed upon all the Jews then living, without distinction, nor
upon the Jews of today... The Jews should not be presented as
repudiated or cursed by God... The Church decries hatred,
persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at
any time and by anyone" |
| 1967 |
The Catholic bishops in the United States establish an Office on
Catholic-Jewish Relations, and promptly issues Guidelines for
Catholic-Jewish Relations |
| 1967 |
In an interview with a Los Angeles rabbi, Cardinal Frings of
Cologne, Germany, states that the Jews had been economically
too powerful in the 1920s, and he doubts if six million Jews had
actually been killed under Hitler |
| 1974 |
The Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews
issues its Guidelines for Catholic-Jewish Relations: "The spiritual
ties and historical relations between the Church and Judaism are
enough to condemn, as contrary to the spirit of Christianity, all
forms of anti-Semitism and discrimination" |
| 1979 |
Pope John Paul II visits Auschwitz and refers to the Holocaust as
"the Golgotha of our century" |
| 1980 |
The German Bishops Conference declares: "A serious dialogue of
reciprocal love and understanding must replace the 'anti-Semitism' which, to some extent, still lives on in Christians. The
spiritual bonds and historical statements that bind the Church and
Judaism condemn any form of anti-Semitism as contradictory to
the spirit of Christianity" |
| 1984 |
The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops declares: "All
forms of anti-Semitism must be condemned. Every unfavorable
word and expression must be erased from Christian speech. All
campaigns of physical or moral violence must cease. The Jew
must not be considered a deicide people" |
| 1985 |
The Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews
issues the document Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews
and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Roman Catholic
Church: "Our two traditions are so related that they cannot ignore
each other. Mutual knowledge must be encouraged at every level.
There is evident in particular a painful ignorance of the history
and traditions of Judaism, of which only negative aspects and
often caricature seem to form part of the stock ideas of many
Christians" |
| 1987 |
Pope John Paul II holds a controversial Vatican meeting with Kurt
Waldheim, President of Austria. The meeting causes an
international uproar because of Waldheim's reputation as a willing
bureaucratic accomplice under the Nazis |
| 1988 |
The Pontifical Commission "Justice and Peace" issues a document
on racism: "Amongst the manifestations of systematic racial
distrust, specific mention must once again be made of anti-Semitism. If anti-Semitism has been the most tragic form that
racist ideology has assumed in our century, with the horrors of the
Jewish 'Holocaust,' it has unfortunately not yet entirely
disappeared" |
| 1989 |
Reacting to Jewish efforts to remove a Carmelite convent
established at Auschwitz, Cardinal Glemp, the Primate of Poland,
says in an August homily: "Dear Jews, do not talk with us from
the position of a nation raised beyond all others and do not dictate
terms that are impossible to fulfill. Don't you see, esteemed Jews,
that openly opposing the Carmelite nuns hurts the feelings of all
Poles and violates our hard-won sovereignty. Your power is in the
mass media, at your immediate disposal in many countries. Do not
use it to spread anti-Polonism." The convent was eventually
removed. |
| 1993 |
The Holy See establishes diplomatic relations with the State of
Israel |
| 1994 |
Pope John Paul II hosts a concert at the Vatican to commemorate
the Holocaust. It is the first time that the Chief Rabbi of Rome is
invited to co-officiate at a public function in the Vatican; the first
time a Jewish cantor sings at the Vatican; the first time the
Vatican choir sings a Hebrew text in performance |
| 1994-1995 |
Bishops in Hungary, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, and the
United States issue documents condemning antisemitism on the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust |
| 1997 |
The French Catholic Bishops issue a Declaration of Repentance:
"The end result is that the attempt to exterminate the Jewish
people, instead of being perceived as a central question in human
and spiritual terms, remained a secondary consideration. In the
face of so great and utter a tragedy, too many of the Church's
pastors committed an offense, by their silence, against the Church
itself and its mission. Today we confess that such a silence was a
sin. In so doing, we recognize that the Church of France failed in
her mission as teacher of consciences" |
| 1997 |
The Swiss Catholic Bishops' Conference issue a document on the
role of Switzerland during the Second World War: "For centuries,
Christians and ecclesiastical teachings were guilty of persecuting
and marginalizing Jews, thus giving rise to antisemitic
sentiments... It is in reference to these past acts of churches for
which we proclaim ourselves culpable and ask pardon of the
descendants of the victims" |
| 1998 |
The Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews
issues the document We Remember: A Reflection on the 'Shoah':
"We wish to turn awareness of past sins into a firm resolve to
build a new future in which there will be no more anti-Judaism
among Christians or anti-Christian sentiment among Jews, but
rather a shared mutual respect as befits those who adore the one
Creator and Lord and have a common father in faith, Abraham" |
| 1998 |
The Italian Bishops address a letter to the Jewish community of
Italy, expressing the "hope that the maleficent plant of
antisemitism will be extinguished forever from history, beginning
with our cultural and linguistic habits" |
| 2000 |
Pope John Paul II visits Israel. He pays tribute to the victims of
the Holocaust at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Martyrs' and
Heroes' Remembrance Authority), and he leaves the following
prayer between the ancient stones of the Western Wall in
Jerusalem:
God of our fathers, you chose
Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the Nations: we are
deeply saddened by the behavior of those who in the course of history
have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your
forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the
people of the Covenant
|