International Jewish Congress highlights ‘interreligious dialogue’ Francis promoted during his 10-year pontificate

Three days after the tenth anniversary of Francis’ papacy, the International Jewish Congress congratulated the Pontifical Sovereign for his career and underlined the “interreligious dialogue” which he has been promoting lately, considering it “one of the central aspects of his work”.

“Next Monday, March 13, it will be 10 years since the election of Pope Francis. Much has been said, and will be said in the coming days, about the milestones of his pontificate and the changes he has brought to the Church. In this sense, there is no doubt that interreligious dialogue has been one of the central aspects of Francis’ work throughout this decade”, indicates a press release published by this international organization.

In the letter, the construction of links with the different communities that Franciso put into practice was highlighted, especially with Judaism and Islam. “For those who first knew him as Jorge Bergoglio, it was not a surprise. For the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the encounter between religions has always been a personal mission, to which he devoted himself with pleasure and passion. And the change of location, language and clothing did not prevent the pursuit of this special hobby,” he said.

Claudio Epelman, executive director of the Latin American Jewish Congress, assured that “these very particular qualities have consolidated Pope Francis not only as head of the Catholic Church, but as a reference for all humanity”.

This is why, for the organization, to celebrate this first decade of his pontificate “is to recognize the fundamental role he played in bringing together religions, in particular the so-called “Abrahamic” ones, bringing the Latin-American experience American in terms of dialogue at a higher level, but without losing the simplicity, humility and closeness that have characterized him since his days in Argentina”.

The Latin American Jewish Congress noted that there are many steps that could be mentioned in this regardand which began almost simultaneously with his election as pope.

“That same March 13, the new pontiff communicated personally with the authorities of the synagogue in Rome to express his intentions to deepen the ties between Jews and Catholics. A gesture that could be considered purely ceremonial, but which symbolically denoted the priority Francis gave to interreligious dialogue,” its members said.

Over the past decade, the Pope He visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, prayed at the Wailing Wall and even made an unprecedented journey through several Arab countries. which resulted in the historic signing, with the Grand Imam of Al-Azahar, of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Common Coexistence. “There is no doubt that the rapprochement with the Islamic world has been distinguished by its novelty”, they underlined from the organization.

For its part, the link with the Jewish communities was made because of its depth and a confirmation of this was the last session of the Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress – the organization which federates the Jewish communities of the world – which took place no more and no less than in the hall of the Synod of the Vatican. Where cardinals usually meet to discuss church business, a group of 150 Jews discussed their own challenges.

It was a unprecedented facts, culminating in a kosher lunch, as dictated by Jewish law. “Because opening the doors of this mythical space to the Jewish community was not limited to receiving these hundred and a half leaders, but also to understanding their needs and respecting their habits and customs,” the statement concludes.

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