Knesset marks 50 years since death of Pope John XXIII

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The Knesset marks today 50 years since the death of Pope John XXIII, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who served as 261st Pope and head of the Vatican State, between the years 1958 and 1963. Before that, during the period of the Second World War, he served as a special Legate of the Church in Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria and worked to save thousands of Jews from extermination.

In an extraordinary reception to mark this day, held by the Chairman of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, in which the ambassadors of Italy and the Vatican took part, as well as intellectuals and academics in Israel, Edelstein said:

“John XXIII was a special person, who made an important contribution to the relations between the Christian world and the Jewish world, which influences our relations with the Vatican and with more than one billion Catholics throughout the world. This day to honor Pope John XXIII takes place as we prepare for the important visit of the Pope to our state in just ten days”.

The day was initiated by the former Minister of Immigration and Absorption Yair Tsaban, who addressed the Chairman of the Knesset in an emotional tone: “You have left a mark on the history of the Knesset. There has never been an event in the Knesset like this one since the day it was established. This is a very important event for our relations with the Christian and Catholic world. The figure of John XXIII must be a source of inspiration for every person with regard to the need for bringing people who are racially, religiously or ethnically different closer.”

The Vatican ambassador in Israel, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto said: “John XXIII was proclaimed a saint by the Church. He serves as a source of inspiration for many and will remain a blessing in our hearts”.

The plenary session of the Knesset held a special day today within the framework of marking the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Pope John XXIII. At the beginning of the session, the Chairman of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein said:

“There is no doubt that the Shoah of European Jews was an important turning point in European Jewish relations. When the terrifying extent of the Shoah was revealed, the heads of the Church realized that they had to stand up and distance the teaching of the Church from sayings that could be thought of as anti-Semitic. John XXIII was the one who led in these very significant changes, especially with regard to what was written, formulations of wide spread prayers and other things.

It is difficult to erase a history that is so weighty and steeped in blood with words along. It is the duty of the leaders of the Church and the leaders of the Jewish people to find the way to develop a respectful dialogue that preserves the faith, respect and independence of each religion.

I am hopeful that in the spirit and way of Pope John XXIII, the present Pope will know how to build bridges over the rivers of hate and pain among the religions and will work to create channels of dialogue between the Jewish people and the State of Israel and the Catholic Church.”

The leader of the opposition, Member of Knesset Yitzhak Buji Herzog (Labor Party), said in the discussion:

“When the first news reached my grandfather, Chief Rabbi Herzog (of blessed memory), he did everything he could to save Jews. In thee efforts, he met numerous times with Roncalli and he told that inthese meetings, Roncalli shed tears. John XXIII exerted enormous efforts in order to save Jews and thanks to him thousands of Jews were saved.

The uniqueness of his character was inthat he served only five years as Pope. He reached this job at the age of 77 and carried out a great revolution by determining that Judaism is the older sister of Christianity and thus cancelled any negative mention of Jews from the Christian prayer book. He convened a Church council and made revolutionary decisions with regard to the Jewish people. He helped the Jewish people in every way possible, with a deep sense of responsibility. He was not afraid to take responsibility and this in contradiction to the Pope at the time of the Shoah.

We leave at a time when unfortunately, disgusting actions are being carried out against churches and mosques, instead of realizing that inter-religious dialogue is one of the central symbols of our country and our state. There is no way to keep up the State without freedom of worship, thought and faith. We need to root out this evil from our midst, learn the lessons of history and educate our children to behave respectfully towards other religions.”

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