May. 13, 2009
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Vatican was "surprised" at negative reaction in Israel to words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI at Yad Vashem on Monday, Holy See spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said Tuesday. "We are a little surprised at the negative reaction to the pope's speech," said Lombardi in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. "At Yad Vashem the pope's speech was a meditation on a very specific theme: shem, or name. The pope spoke of memory, of remembering the names of those persons and the crimes committed against them so that it will never happen again," he said.
Lombardi added that in the past, Benedict had "emphasized other aspects of the Holocaust." He was referring to speeches the pontiff had made during a 2005 visit to a synagogue in Cologne, Germany, and during a trip to Auschwitz the following year in which he singled out Nazi German culpability.
In response to a question by the Post, Lombardi said the pope was not disappointed with Israelis.
"He is a very patient and sympathetic person," Lombardi said. "But he does believe that he has not been well understood. Israelis have not understood the speech."
Several prominent Israeli figures criticized the speech, including the chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate, Avner Shalev, the chairman of its Council, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, and Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin.
The focus of the criticism was on Benedict's failure to apologize for what Israelis see as the Church's relative inaction on behalf of Jews during the Holocaust, and his omission of the word "Nazi" or "murder."
The Church's position on the Holocaust became even more problematic in January, after the pontiff lifted the excommunication of Bishop Richard Williamson, a Holocaust denier. The move drew fire from numerous Jewish leaders.
Another controversial issue has been the proposed beatification of Pope Pius XII. Pius served during World War II and has been the focus of much of the criticism about the Church's wartime inaction. Benedict's willingness to continue the beatification process, which could lead to sainthood for Pius, was come in for severe criticism in Jewish circles.
Finally, the pope's German origins, his membership in the Hitler Youth - which was mandatory for all German boys at the time - and his service in the German army after being drafted by the Nazi regime, have all been widely publicized in the local media.
As a result, expectations were high among Israelis that the pontiff would go to great lengths to distance himself from that past.
However, Lombardi said the pope had already made clear his position on the importance of remembering the Holocaust, fighting Holocaust denial and emphasizing Germany's guilt.
"He need not repeat himself all the time," said Lombardi. "At Yad Vashem, the pope had a different message to convey, one of remembering."
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1242029512782&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
I WAS in Jerusalem last week on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I saw the Pope's 2 speeches. First one in Jerusalem and then at Yad Vashem. I will tell you this to try and help the man!
ReplyDeleteWe live in the 21st Century; a century of electronics! Get the guy a teleprompter! He is NOT a great speech maker, and He did not even look up and simply read his speech, looking down at the paper the whole time!
#1 rule of public speaking is that you HAVE TO MAKE EYE CONTACT! You can't do that by looking down.
I'm not even Jewish, and I was embarrased for the man! Here He is trying to apologize for the attrocities from WWII, and also the errant comments by one of his guys denying the Holocost ever existed, and He came off looking like a paper weight! He could've done those speeches from the Vatican! Look up occasionally Sir!
He also stayed WAY TOO LONG! 1 guy screwed up hundreds of thousands of real tourists, making their pilgrimage, like myself, by staying in the Holy City for 4 days or longer! The security had to keep major roads closed, causing many older people much suffering by having to walk everywhere, just because HE was in town. None of the busses could get to their drop offs an pick up spots because security had to be tight for the Pontif's safety.
He's going to be Pope until he passes away! He needs to be more compassionate to the rest of the people who weren't there to see him speak!
He should stay No More than 1 night there, PERIOD! He can go back a few times a year and see all he needs to without making the tourist industry fall to their knees praying for him to leave town, so they can get their customers to their appointments at venues!
Come on Vatican! You can't be moving the World forward by irritating the very people who are hosting you!
I hope you take this as constructive criticism to better relations with israel in the future!