AsiaNews.it, Italy
Oct 19 2004
Christians and Jews to protect the sacred character of Jerusalem
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – `Jerusalem has a sacred character for all
the children of Abraham,’ and leaders must `respect this character
and prevent actions which offend the sensibilities of religious
communities that rely in Jerusalem and hold her dear.’ Religious
leaders are asked to `protest publicly’ against `actions of
disrespect towards religious persons, symbols, and holy sites’.
These are the main points in a joint statement issued today by the
bilateral committee for religious dialogue between the Chief
Rabbinate of Israel and the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for
Religious Relations with Jewry that met in Grottaferrata from October
17 to the 19.
The statement acknowledges that at present there `is no full
understanding’ in the respective communities `of the changes that
have taken place in Catholic-Jewish relations’.
Jews and Christians `are not enemies, but unequivocal partners in
articulating the essential moral values for the survival and welfare
of human society.”
Among the examples of deplorable actions against religious persons,
symbols, and holy sites, the statement specifically mentions `the
desecration of cemeteries and the recent assault on the Armenian
Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem’.