Jews are 'our big brothers,' Pope says at Kristallnacht commemoration

[Baluarte]

Jews are 'our big brothers,' Pope says at Kristallnacht commemoration

Obama, Merkel and thousands of ordinary Germans among those commemorating the 75th anniversary of the 1938 pogrom.

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/...-news/1.557283

Pope Francis commemorated Kristallnacht at a mass in front of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, describing the Jewish people as the "big brothers" of his Roman Catholic flock.

Riots organized by German authorities on November 9-10, 1938 killed 91 Jews and destroyed 267 synagogues. The rioting was followed by the deportation of 30,000 Jews to concentration camps.

The attacks, which came to be known as the Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht) anticipated the mass slaughter of European Jewry launched three years later.

Kristallnacht marked a step towards the Holocaust and should not be forgotten, the pope said: "We renew our closeness and solidarity to the Jewish people, our big brothers, and pray to God that the memory of the past and of the sins of the past helps us to be always vigilant against every form of hate and intolerance."

Pope Francis, who co-authored a book on inter-faith dialogue with Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Argentina while he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, has pledged good relations with Jews. His election last March was welcomed by the world's Jewish associations.

Obama: 'The tragic consequences of silence'

In the United States, President Barack Obama said that the lesson of Kristallnacht was to speak out “against anti-Semitism and intolerance.” In a statement marking the 75th anniversary of the pogrom, the president said that “Kristallnacht foreshadowed the systematic slaughter of six million Jews and millions of other innocent victims."

Seventy-five years later, Obama said, Kristallnacht "now signifies the tragic consequences of silence in the face of unmitigated hatred. As we mark this anniversary, let us act in keeping with the lessons of that dark night by speaking out against anti-Semitism and intolerance, standing up to indifference, and recommitting ourselves to combating prejudice and persecution wherever it exists.”

Kristallnacht was commemorated in Germany with candle-light vigils in many cities and towns. People listened to Jewish survivors share memories and met at Jewish cemeteries to remember the victims of the pogrom.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Kristallnacht "was an event that humiliated Jews in an unbelievable way ... a real low point in German history had been reached."

She added, "Unfortunately, later on German history developed in an even more dramatic way which eventually ended in the Shoah (Holocaust.)" The chancellor also called on Germans to never forget the past.

Across Berlin, guided groups of residents walked through their neighborhoods, noting sites where Jewish stores, schools and other locations once stood before being destroyed by the Nazis and their supporters.

[Baluarte]

Unsurprising:

The Roman Catholic Church capitulated to the Revolution of 1789 at the Second Vatican Council

[YeshAtid]

If a Jew renounced Judaism, and became a virulent Catholic. Would you still have an issue with him? Eg- Benjamin H Freedman

[Kiyant]

If a Jew renounced Judaism, and became a virulent Catholic. Would you still have an issue with him? Eg- Benjamin H Freedman

Isnt that the weirdo who said jews are Khazars?

[Lucifer]

If a Jew renounced Judaism, and became a virulent Catholic. Would you still have an issue with him? Eg- Benjamin H Freedman

crypto jew

[Baluarte]

If a Jew renounced Judaism, and became a virulent Catholic. Would you still have an issue with him? Eg- Benjamin H Freedman

As long as it's genuine, no, not at all.
Problem is, that Jewish converts have a history of faking their faith and continuing to identify with that specific identity. It seems the tribal belonging is really hard to erase.

The best example is Jean Marie Lustiger, who even after becoming a Cardinal position kept identifying as a Jew and continuing the rambling about antisemitism and defending Israel, etc.

Some of the key figures behind Vatican Council II were Jewish converts.

[YeshAtid]

As long as it's genuine, no, not at all.
Problem is, that Jewish converts have a history of faking their faith and continuing to identify with that specific identity. It seems the tribal belonging is really hard to erase.

The best example is Jean Marie Lustiger, who even after becoming a Cardinal position kept identifying as a Jew and continuing the rambling about antisemitism and defending Israel, etc.

Some of the key figures behind Vatican Council II were Jewish converts.

These are probably isolated incidents. The "conversos" I know tend to be very staunch Catholics, even going so far as to deny any claims of having once been of the Jewish religion. I've noticed you use the term "tribalism" frequently in your posts. It isn't a word I would use personally, as it possibly creates a misconception about Judaism. I assume you take Judaism at its core to be a religion, with cultural elements. There is very little unity amongst the world's Jewry, if any at all. Hence, the proverb "Jews rarely agree with each other". And this is shown by the very broad spectrum Jews cover. You'll probably argue Zionism as being a unifying factor, but which one are you referring to? Labour zionism, centrist zionism, revionism? They all take very different approaches to Israel, and to a large degree the way it should work.
There's also a Talmudic take on this: any Jew who renounces Judaism is no longer Jewish ". The main reason I think as to why people refers to themselves as Jewish is largely cultural and for convenient's sake. People like Gilad Atzmon are admittedly non Jews, and are regarded as such, regardless of his anti Zionist stance.

[mr. logan]

Is this the last Pope? Prophecy says he betrays his faith. Jews rejected Christ and got him killed.

[Acquisitor]

Is this the last Pope? Prophecy says he betrays his faith. Jews rejected Christ and got him killed.

wow, people living two thousand years ago rejected a narcissistic philosopher and got him killed. its clearly worth mentioning over and over again.

and "prophecies" are very important idd.

[Baluarte]

Is this the last Pope? Prophecy says he betrays his faith. Jews rejected Christ and got him killed.

According to all the fatalists, yes.
Following the countdown of both Nostradamus and Saint Malachy he is the last pope, and recently I heard that Michel Angello had left open spaces for the portraits of ulterior popes in the Sixtin Chapel. but only till this one. In other words, there will be no more space to draw the face of the hypothetic successor of Bergoglio.