Rome – At Vatican Service, Persecution of Jews Is Invoked

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    Rome – A senior Vatican priest speaking at a Good Friday service compared the uproar over sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church — which have included reports about Pope Benedict XVI’s oversight role in two cases — to the persecution of the Jews, sharply raising the volume in the Vatican’s counterattack.

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    The remarks, on the day Christians mark the crucifixion, underscored how much the Catholic Church has felt under attack from recent news reports and criticism over how it has handled charges of child molestation against priests in the past, and sought to focus attention on the church as the central victim.

    In recent weeks, Vatican officials and many bishops have angrily denounced news reports that Benedict failed to act strongly enough against pedophile priests, once as archbishop of Munich and Friesing in 1980 and once as a leader of a powerful Vatican congregation in the 1990s.

    Benedict sat looking downward when the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, who holds the office of preacher of the papal household, delivered his remarks in the traditional prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Wearing the brown cassock of a Franciscan, Father Cantalamessa took note that Easter and Passover were falling during the same week this year, saying he was led to think of the Jews. “They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms,” he said.

    Father Cantalamessa quoted from what he said was a letter from an unnamed Jewish friend. “I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful by the whole word,” he said the friend wrote. “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.”

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    15 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    “The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.”

    are there LESS shameful aspects of anti-Semitism?? are some kinds of sex abuse “not as bad” as the others??

    Logic613
    Logic613
    13 years ago

    So stupid, they were the ones who did most of the persecution of the Jews.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Intersting the Vaticav should be experts on anti-semitism having been the sponsors of this for many centuries. Even as late as WWII. Pope Pius was famous for this.

    They have some chutzpa invoking this comparison being the sponsors of anti-semitism over the generations

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    how can you compare persecution of the jews which included killing entire communities and thousands of years of pesecution, for no reason, to being accused of a sex scandal. Especially since they aren’t even explaining their complexity in it

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    They have the chutzpah to compare covering up pedophilia in the Catholic Church to anti-semitism? There SHOULD be an uproar about the cover-ups, IT’S WRONG! What exactly is wrong with being born Jewish? Every time those Vatican idiots open their mouths I want to punch them in the face, luckily I’m not the violent type.

    ChelmiTe
    ChelmiTe
    13 years ago

    MAH NISHTANAH???? Is anyone surprised?

    HaNavon
    HaNavon
    13 years ago

    which is comically ironic since the vatican was the greatest cause of antisemitism for the past 1500 years!
    i truly believe that we should bring a lawsuit in the world court against the vatican for reimbursement to the jewish people for all of the centuries of rape, murder, war crimes and theft that we incurred at their hands.

    esther
    esther
    13 years ago

    sickening!!!

    Jewish mother
    Jewish mother
    13 years ago

    Did you think that Christians are our best friends? And Muslims are our enemies?
    Our only friend is Hashem.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    No.9. Very eloquent. You have a way ,with words .

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    Much of the violence against the Jewish people was led and fueled by the Catholic Church. The present Pope was a Nazi in his youth.
    Let the Catholics not use us as an ally. Let them leave us alone. We’ve had enough from them.