Customer Reviews

Spiritual Pilgrimage: Texts on Jews & Judaism, 1979-1995

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I have been looking for this collection for years, yet for some reason had not discovered this collection. What I was looking for was the quotation in which Pope John Paul II stated that God's covenant with the Jews had never been withdrawn or invalidated. I had thought this was from remarks he made after visiting the Rome Synagogue, but it was actually from a speech he made In Mainz on November 17, 1980 (cited on pages 13 - 16 of this book).

Here we see the generosity and wisdom of Pope John Paul II as well as his heartfelt efforts to acknowledge not only the effects of the holocaust he witnessed in his native Poland, but also the two millenia old history of "structural Christian anti-semitism." The depth and breadth of knowledge this Pope possessed, and which is even more stellar in his successor, Pope Benedict 16, is awe inspiring. These men are brilliant.

As a serious Jew (observant though not Orthodox) I admire John Paul and Benedict greatly and am extremely grateful for their appreciation of Judaism and also of the United States. Beautiful nuggets are contained in this book.

For example, in the speech in Mainz, John Paul notes that the International Committee between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism took place in Regensburg in 1979. Was Cardinal Ratzinger teaching in Regensburg that year? Did any of that conference influence the famous Regensburg speech Pope Benedict 16 (the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) gave a few years ago?

Those of us grateful for the Judeo-Christian heritage of America, and aware of the Jewish roots of Christianity in general and the Roman Catholic Church in particular, will take pleasure in this beautiful collection.