Relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people took a significant step forward with the signing of a concordat yesterday. The Vatican-Israeli agreement may pave the way for Pope John Paul II to visit the Holy Land.
The new accord follows years of careful negotiation since the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican in 1994. Essentially, it regularises the legal standing of the Catholic Church and its institutions in modern Israel.
Commenting on the agreement, Vatican senior spokesman Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls said: "The Holy See hopes this can be a stimulus for peace, justice and security between Israel and the Palestinian people and between Israel and the other states in the region. We think that every time two sides get together and reach an agreement, this encourages others to take up the same path . . . Dialogue is the only path possible."
Rabbi David Rosen, director of the Israel Office of the Anti-Defamation League and co-liaison officer to the Holy See, hailed the agreement as proof that Israel was not a theocracy but a modern democracy, adding: "It (the concordat) heralds another milestone on a remarkable journey, not just of diplomatic normalisation but of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people. This is a historic precedent, as no ruling authority in the Holy Land has ever granted any church such de-jure status."
Catholic-Jewish relations have improved steadily since the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, which rejected any lingering concept of the collective guilt of the Jews for the murder of Christ. Pope John Paul has not only asked forgiveness for past Catholic sins against Jews, but also made symbolic visits to the site of Auschwitz concentration camp in 1979 and to Rome's Jewish synagogue in 1986.
Only two weeks ago, the process of mea culpa instigated by the present Pope prompted the Vatican to hold a symposium examining the roots of anti-Semitism, which rekindled oft-heard Jewish calls for a Vatican document on the Holocaust.
While Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Mr Aharon Lopez, yesterday expressed the belief that the Pope will visit Israel before the end of millennium, Dr Navarro-Valls was more cautious, pointing out that the church and Israel differed about Jerusalem being recognised as a city holy to three great religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism.