The Greatest Confession in 2,000 Years

I lived many years in Soviet Union and believe me, Pope had nothing to do with the fall of the Communism. They were mostly economiic reasons, plus inability of the system to function on other levels.
I don't have anything against the Pope but often when a person dies, people start giving him/her credit for things that he/she never had to do with.
It is nice that he apologized to Jews for the centuries of blood shed. Yet, this would od any normal individual in his position. Normal in terms of morale. However, what real good comes from him apologizing for what he did not do?
He diid not apologize for church, which in everyone's eyes is still with no sin. He apologized for people.
When the morality overall is low, iit is easy to see a good deed as just a good deed. It looks like it is blown out of proportion.
Please, let's not become confused because the person is dead. He was a good man, like many of us. Please, don't exxagerate.

It is too little, too late for the countless victims, but maybe, just maybe it may prevent some in the future from becoming victimized. It is hard not to forgive when a sincere apology is given! It does help the healing!

It is not the church members, or their individual sins or short commings that has caused the Catholic Church to sin over the last two centuries. It is the more pervasive theological sin of the majority of it's draconian doctrines. It is not as if the church has been pro-Jewish or Muslim and many have strayed and been taken away from the righteous path by many of its members. The sins of the Church lie in the fact that many holy and faithful members have simply attempted to be faithful to a doctrine/s that were in short-sighted error. The pope should have publically apologized for the sins of doctrinal error and theological narrow-mindedness and not for the faults of the evil inclination of some of its members. He leaves the world with the impression that the Church is not at fault but that simply some members over history have been. All of his apologies are in the end the effect of a 'corperate spin' on the issues at hand. He is not all that better than the rest of them who have gone before him in the end. None-the-less he has made an in road and set an important precedent for tolerance and change.

I had the unique experience as a Jewish student of spending a few years in a Catholic boarding school (long story). I came away a better Jew for the experience and with a deeper understanding of Catholcism, Xtianity and anti-Semitism. What few of us seem to realize is what a revolution in Catholic doctrine this pope worked: he destroyed a 2000-year tradition of antiSemitism in the Catholic liturgy and declared it void; "salvation" thru Yesha is the core belief of Xtian triumphalism, but this pope stated that Jews can achieve salvation through commitment to the Torah---completely undermining all Catholic basis for anti-Jewish, "we're superior to you and you're going to hell" bigotry. This pope deleted the traditional Easter-week preachings that the Jews are responsible for killing their god....we've lost a good friend, a powerful friend, and I can only pray that his replacement doesn't undo the good John Paul II did for us. He publicly embraced the Jewish people as his "brothers," and in doing so sent a pwerful message through his example for Xtians throughout the world, both Catholic and nonCatholic. Criticize if you wish, but also recognize what he accomplished for us.

Was the Pope good for the Jews? Well, he wasn't bad, and that's about as good as it gets.
Although he established diplomatic relations with Israel, he did NOT officially recognize Israel.
Although he allowed a VERY FEW scholars access to a miniscule amount of ancient Jewish manuscripts held prisoner by the Vatican library, these were but a tiny percentage of Jewish documents in their "collection" (which were stolen from the Jewish people).
On a more general topic, he only addressed the sexual abuse scandals - which had been going on since before his papacy and could not have been hidden from him - when lawsuits meant the Church would have to pay millions of dollars in damages.
Finally, where was the Pope when Terry Schiavo lay dying? Although he was ailing at the time, he still found the strength to personally wish the Prince of Monaco hopes for a full recovery - why could he not have done the same for Terry?
Yes, the "Vatican" (NOT a personal directive from John Paul) issued a very watered down statement affirming her right to live, but the Pope could have threatened excommunication to her husband.

I was deeply saddened at the death of Pope John Paul II, but experienced a sense of relief that his days of suffering were at last over. He survived an assasination attempt, cancer, hip replacement surgery. But when I saw TV reports of this once strong man on Easter Sunday my heart sank. He was unable to pray out loud, and the pained reaction he had when no words come out of his mouth told me that this days were few.

I am a former Catholic and yes, I fully realize the atrocities the church has committed against the Jewish people, but are all Catholics to carry the blood guilt for events that happened before they were born? I'm not suggesting that anyone just forgive and forget, but when someone like the pope makes a sincere effort to extend an olive branch, we should try to reach for it with an equal amount of sincerity.

My thanks to AISH for recognizing the death of John Paul.

In viewing a biographical sketch of the life of the Pope, I found it interesting to learn that as a youngster in Poland he often participated in sports activities with Jewish youth in Poland. Our activities and actions in youth are important indicators of our ways of dealing with life in maturity. There was a reference to a Jewish girl he attempted to save- and another version that he was very saddened by her flight to escape Nazism. Could he have done more at that stage in his life-I wonder. He lived very close to Auschwitz- surely they must have known what was happening. As Jews we appreciate his opening doors on injustice of many different kinds. We hope that future leaders of the Catholic religion will continue in this path and help bring forth an era of greater peace among us all.

Confession is good for the soul; I have always been taught and if it is good enough for me than it must be for other religions to confess any wrongdoings to one another so forgiveness can take place and healing can begin.

The author's statement: "If the Roman Catholic Church------can confess its gravest failing; what excuse this there for any religion--any'institution'--not to do likewise?" struck me as if he was saying this is something new for a religion to do. Perhaps it is new for the Roman Catholic Church, or other forms of christianity, or perhaps even for Islam; but the Hebrew scriptures are full of discriptions of the failing of the Children of Israel. These sections are used as lessons to teach just how people can fail to follow G-d's teachings and that we should always work on our self improvement. Also, Jews are commanded to work to make this world a better place. So instead of saying why don't other religions confess their failings, he could have said "It is about time that the Roman Catholic Church" acknowledged its brutal history.
I grew up in an Irish Catholic neighbor in the the Bronx before the writings of Vatican II. It was not easy to be a Jewish child in that area; and the Monsenior of that church did nothing to curtail any of the anti-semetic acts that were purpetrated against our family or any of the Jewsih people in the neighbohood.

I agree that the Pope's confession was humbling and courageous. However, I was struck by his unwillingness to extend the hand of the Church to palpably (restore reputations,churches, goods,money,land,antiquities,etc. to their legitimate owners)remediate past sins. Sometimes I wonder if the Catholic population,especially those whose forefathers have been Catholic for generations, have any knowledge of the Pope's confession and/or have any plans for reparation to those populations that have been sinned against. Until this happens, I foresee little change in the way Catholicism is viewed by Jews,Muslims and other Christian faiths.As my mother always said,"actions speak louder that words."

IT IS NOT THEIR TRAGEDY IT IS THE TRAGEDY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. THE CHURCH IS TRYING TO CREATE FALSE MEMORY BY PUTTING CHURCHES IN THE FORMER SITES OF DEATH CAMPS. THE POPE MAY HAVE BEEN A NICE FELLOW BUT HE NEVER LEARNED ANYTHING FROM THE HOLOCAUST WHICH HE WITNESSED WITH HIS OWN EYES. HE REFERRED TO JUDEA AND SAMARIA AS THE LAND THAT THE BIBLE SAID SHEPPARDS INHABITED?????

SHEPPARDS?????? DIDNT GOD GIVE US THIS LAND?

ANOTHER THING HE MEMORIALIZED ARAFAT AS A GREAT LEADER....i GUESS HITLER WAS A GREAT LEADER TOO...

WHY ARENT OUR HOLY BOOKS BEING RETURNED TO US?

In the next few weeks the new leader of the Catholic church will be chosen. He will lead 1 billion people on this planet. We as Jews need to beseach from HaShem, and flood the heavens with prayers that the new leader will be one of chesed/kindness as apposed to the former popes who encouraged pogroms and crusades against the jews. With hope for Mazel and Bracha, Bayla

With all due respect, I, as one Jew, cannot accept the Pope's request for forgiveness. The harm that the church placed on the heads of my forebears cannot be buried and be forgotten. As a living Jew, I cannot accept his request for forgiveness since the crime of the church was done to my antecedents. It is them that need to either accept or reject the former Pope's request. Thank you.

Yes, the late Pope has done some good things for the Jewish people and the world. Yet we should avoid the tendency to romanticize him. For example, as journalist Jonathan Tobin reminded us a few years ago, Pope John Paul II’s trip to Syria was seized upon by that country’s dictator as an opportunity to spread the worst kind of anti-Jewish libels to an international audience. With the pope beside him, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Muslims and Christians should join together against the Jews, “who try to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray the Prophet Mohammed.” The pope said nothing to counter Assad’s vicious attacks on the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

The Vatican said nothing later in reply to Assad, even after the Pope returned to Rome.

The leaders of the European countries also said nothing.

I remember searching the web with the hope of finding some response by the Church and European leaders to this vicious anti Jewish libel. All I discovered was silence.

Once when asked about what he thought of the Jewish people, Pope John Paul II said that he perceived them as the "big brothers" of Catholics. How different this statement is from the way the "synagogue" is portrayed in the facade of Strabourg Cathedral! Surely time changes concepts and ideas. One can acknowledge the fact (as did this Pope) that the Church had done great attrocities against the Jews, however Pope John Paul II (unlike any of his predecessors),attempted his best to remedy this. His visit to Rome's synagogue and to Yad Vashem in Israel including the public apology to Jews made on behalf of the Church is proof of this. I truly believe that he was a great man indeed!

As the most purposeful marketing scheme, the early church saught to deny the validity of judaism with the stroke of a single misnomer. The Torah became the "OLD TESTAMENT". This title carries with it the stigma of an out dated religion, revamped by a new one which is claimed to be the direction of Hashem himself through his "son" Yesus. In the middle ages there were open debates that usually ended with the deaths of those that opined on the side of Judaism. The outcome of those debates could not happen again today so why do we as Jews not demand our place in the sun by causing the debates to yake place again, in the open, for the entire world to see. For far too long now we have allowed ourselves to be down trodden as weak in mind, body and spirit. Is it not time for our most orthodox and most brilliant to return the pride to our people in the eyes of our enemies? Those that deny us as a valid religion made up of a valid people, supporting a valid doctrine will always be correct until openly proven wrong. Where are our great leaders that will bring us back the strength of rightness that we so deserve?

As a non-practising polish catholic, I must say this was a very well written article. Although I grew up in catholic schools, all the way through universities, I am no fan of the catholic church, for the reasons noted in the article. But, I am glad the Pope has had some positive impact, beyond the confines of catholics in this world.

Thank you for authoring this article.

Ron

Regardless of how I personally feel about what the Roman Catholic Church has done over the millennia, the world has lost a great nefesh. I cannot express fully why I felt attracted to this Pope. Perhaps it was exactly what was written by Mr. Jacoby. His willingness to admit the church’s “errors” and to ask forgiveness overrode many of my objections to what the office of Pope traditionally stands for.

Charismatic he was. I vividly recall his relative youth and vitality when he was first elevated to his post. I liked him, as we say here in Texas, from the git-go. He didn’t disappoint me in some ways and in others; he was (in my eyes) a total failure. So I am saddened by his passing but glad that his years of suffering are over.

One can only hope that his successor will inherit some of John Paul’s wisdom and love for those not Roman Catholic.

To my many Catholic friends and acquaintances, you have my heartfelt condolences; we have all lost a wise and compassionate world leader.

How ironic that Jacoby writes as he does, when Jacoby was one of the only journalists to portray Arafat as the evil murderer that he was.

Since their historic first handshake in 1982, Yasser Arafat had a precious ally in Pope John Paul II, who always championed the "natural right" of the Palestinian people to a state.

Their first meeting was in September 1982, when the PLO leader was viewed as a terrorist by the civilized world, and was neither a Nobel Peace Prize laureate nor a president.

At the time, then Italian prime minister Giovanni Spadolini refused to greet Arafat, but the pope "had no difficulty at all", said another former prime minister Giulio Andreotti.

That the pope did other positive things in no way diminishes his support for an evil man, responsible for countless deaths of both Jews and non-Jews.

I agree with the talmud: How can a dead person get a pardon from a Killer or killers. I sent this page to my Rabbi Nephew in North Carolina for comments.

I just wanted to add~that Pope John Paul worked to hid Jewish while he was in the clandestine studies for priesthood in Krakow's underground seminary during 1942.If you could add this to my commentary I would appreciate it.