VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Among his first messages, Pope Leo XIV expressed his intention to strengthen the Catholic Church’s ties with the Jewish community.
“Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration ‘Nostra Aetate,'” the pope wrote in a message to Rabbi Noam Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
Promulgated 60 years ago, “Nostra Aetate” affirmed the Catholic Church’s spiritual kinship with the Jewish people and condemned all forms of anti-Semitism.
The pope’s message signed May 8 — the day of his election — was posted on the AJC’s X account May 13.
The AJC is an advocacy group that “stands up for Israel’s right to exist in peace and security; confronts antisemitism, no matter the source; and upholds the democratic values that unite Jews and our allies,” according to its website.
Although Pope Leo did not address the Israel-Hamas war explicitly after praying the “Regina Coeli” with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square May 11, he called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip.
“Let humanitarian aid be provided to the stricken civil population, and let all the hostages be freed,” he said.
Pope Leo also sent a personal message to Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, “informing him of his election as the new pontiff,” according to a statement posted May 13 on the Facebook page of Rome’s Jewish community.
In his message, the statement said, “Pope Leo XIV committed himself to continuing and strengthening the dialogue and cooperation of the church with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Vatican II declaration ‘Nostra Aetate.'”
“The chief rabbi of Rome, who will be present at the celebration of the inauguration of the pontificate (May 18), welcomed with satisfaction and gratitude the words addressed to him by the new pope,” the statement added.
Jews have lived in Rome since long before Christ was born, and centuries of interaction between the city’s Jewish community and the popes means Jewish-Vatican relations in the city have a unique history, much of it sad.
In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI visited the Rome synagogue, the staff of the Jewish Museum of Rome, located in the synagogue complex, planned a special exhibit illustrating part of that history.
The centerpiece of the exhibit was comprised of 14 decorative panels made by Jewish artists to mark the inauguration of the pontificates of Popes Clement XII, Clement XIII, Clement XIV and Pius VI in the 1700s.
For hundreds of years, the Jewish community was obliged to participate in the ceremonies surrounding the enthronement of new popes — often in a humiliating manner.
Various groups in the city were assigned to decorate different sections of the pope’s route between the Vatican and the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the pope’s cathedral. The Jewish community was responsible for the stretch of road between the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus, which celebrates the Roman Empire’s victory over the Jews of Jerusalem in the first century. The Roman victory included the destruction of the Temple, Judaism’s holiest site, and the triumphal arch depicts Roman soldiers carrying off the menorah and other Jewish liturgical items.
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Contributing to this story was Cindy Wooden in Rome.