Nadene Goldfoot 
A letter he wrote to Middle Eastern Catholics on the first anniversary of the October 7th attack (war) in Israel never mentioned Hamas by name or made explicit reference to its atrocities, including the hostages. The war began when Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, murdering 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. Almost 100 of them are still being held, and no one knows if any are alive or dead and it's now the 28th of December, 2024. Israel has explained that it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques. This is a fact and has been proven correct, but it doesn't change the Pope's pronouncement against Israel and nary a word about the Hamas terrorists that are really responsible.
This letter was to Middle Eastern Catholics, who have been severely impacted by the ongoing war. He urges that Catholics “must never tire of imploring peace from God” and calls for a day of prayer and fasting to “defeat our one true enemy: the spirit of evil that foments war, because it is ‘murderous from the beginning,’ ‘a liar and the father of lies’ ([John] 8:44).” (Ethan Schwartz, October 10, 2024) Biblical interpreters have long wrestled with the vicious anti-Jewish rhetoric of John's gospel including, mostly famously, when Jesus calls Jews “children of the devil” (8:44). Post-Shoah, the anti-Jewish rhetoric of John's gospel is even more horrifying.
The letter also quoted passages from the Gospel of John that have historically been used to fuel religious antisemitism. (RNS) — Regardless of Francis’ intentions, he invoked a dangerous legacy when he chose John 8:44 to characterize ‘our one true enemy’ in his letter to Middle Eastern Catholics. The enemy, he went on, was the spirit of evil that foments war, because it is ‘murderous from the beginning,’ ‘a liar and the father of lies’ ([John] 8:44).” It's said to be a disaster for Jewish-Catholic relations.
The Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, which modernized the Catholic Church and, as part of that process, renounced Catholic antisemitism — including the allegation that the Jews are eternally responsible for Jesus’ death. Pope Francis has championed Vatican II, earning him the adoration of liberals and the ire of traditionalists. This has made the Israel-Hamas war especially complicated for Francis.
I feel he should be honest about the doings of Hamas and what they have been doing to Israel for the past 40 years. Ethan Schwartz, writer of my resource: This is Dr. Ethan Schwartz - the newest member of our faculty. He received his Ph.D. in spring 2020 from Harvard, and comes to us from Chicago where he most recently taught at Loyola. He focuses his work on contemporary issues of Jewish-Catholic dialogue and seeks to demonstrate, through critical study, how the Bible can be religiously enriching for both Jews and Christians. said that "mortal fear of Catholics has been a common feature of Jewish history, but it’s actually new for me. I’m a professor at a Catholic university, where I teach biblical studies to eager Catholic students and maintain friendships with cherished Catholic colleagues. " He thinks that "Pope Francis has championed Vatican II, earning him the adoration of liberals and the ire of traditionalists," and this may be true, but I and others think that those were challenging words ready to bring on more anti-Semitism.
Ethan said, "He needs to balance his commitments to the Middle Eastern (including Palestinian) Catholic community and his relations with a global Jewish community that overwhelmingly supports Israel. His Oct. 7 letter reflects this balance, sticking to politically safe generalities about peace."
We see the letter completely different. It's what he left out that's bad; Hamas and their dealings, putting false notions in people's minds about Jews from the results of this war, the horrid atrocities of Hamas they performed on the Jews ; and the holding of hostages and the torture they are under.
What had upset Ethan also upsets me terribly. He said,
" What triggered my fear was not the Pope’s message but rather his citation of John 8:44 to articulate that message. As a Jewish Bible scholar, I know the phrases “murderous from the beginning” and “a liar and the father of lies” are not just any biblical references. Rather, they are part of arguably the single most anti-Semitic verse in the New Testament.
Foreign Ministry Director General Eyal (Eden) Bar-Tal summoned the Vatican's ambassador to Israel, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, for a meeting to convey Israel's displeasure at the Pope's blatantly anti-Israel public comments. The Gospel of John was written by a Jewish-Christian in the late first century A.D. for a community that had recently been expelled from their synagogue. The Gospel's language is sometimes intentionally antagonistic toward Jewish tradition and sensitivities. Although John affirms the Jewishness of Jesus, at times the evangelist has Jesus address the Jews as an outsider. According to this gospel, the Hellenistic Jews regarded Jesus as both lawbreaker and blasphemer. John even implies that the Jews as a whole were responsible for the crucifixion.
Killing G-d? Yes, they spoke of him and to him as a god, which he seemed to allow, though he himself wasn't written about to have said so. It was very similar to what has been going on in the politics for President of the USA lately, and running down each other's competition. Of course, Jews were warned by Moses to never accept a human as a god; and that there was but one g-d! That's what got us in trouble with the world in the beginning; all others were polytheistic and we were monotheistic.
Adolfo Tito Camacho Yllana (born 6 February 1948) is a Philippine prelate of the Catholic Church who works in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He has been an archbishop and apostolic nuncio since 2001, the Apostolic Nuncio to Israel as well as Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine since June 2021. His first diplomatic posts were in Ghana, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary and Taiwan. On 3 June 2021, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and to Cyprus as well as Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine.(As yet, there is no accepted Palestine.)
As for Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is the Catholic leader who presides over Latin Catholics in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus. The current Latin patriarch is Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who was appointed in 2020.
The Pope of Rome is the bishop of Rome and the leader of the Roman Catholic Church's government, known as the Holy See. The Pope's authority is limited to intervening in a diocese when a bishop violates Church law or dogma. The Pope's role is to maintain the unity of the Church, not to directly manage every diocese.
The Nuncio is another Catholic leader in Israel who has both diplomatic and theological functions. The Nuncio's role includes representing the Catholic Church, caring for the well-being of Catholics in Israel, and intervening with authorities on behalf of Catholics.
The Greek Orthodox Church is also in Jerusalem. It's also known as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem: Established in the mid-5th century, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is one of the oldest patriarchates in Christianity. It's considered to be the continuation of the first Christian community, with St. James, the brother of Jesus, as its first bishop. The patriarchate's headquarters are in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The patriarchate's jurisdiction includes around 200,000 to 500,000 Orthodox Christians in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. The patriarchate has been the main custodian of Christian holy places in Jerusalem since the 7th century. The patriarchate is led by the patriarch of Jerusalem, who is currently Theophilos III. The patriarch and bishops are all Greek and come from the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. There are many Greek Orthodox churches in Jerusalem, including the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Birthplace of the Virgin Mary.
Israel had a Christian TV Channel, but GOD TV: Was ordered to shut down in June 2020 for violating Israel's laws on proselytism. After all the anti-Semitism we Jews have had to endure during the past 4,000 years, we are sure of ourselves being one with our own religion of Judaism, so please respect us in this.
Resource:
Israel AM
Read Daniel Silva's books that take place in Rome with the different characters of the Pope and others.
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