Catholic World News News Feature

Catholic, Jewish leader urge respect for Jerusalem October 19, 2004

A three-day meeting of Catholic and Jewish officials has concluded with a joint statement urging political leaders to respect the sacred character of the city of Jerusalem.

The statement punctuated the 4th session of dialogue arranged by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, together with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. Rabbi Shar Yishuv Cohen of Haifa led the Jewish delegation; Cardinal Jorge Mejia, the retired Vatican archivist, was the top representative of the Holy See.

After three days of discussions in Grottaferrata, just south of Rome, the group issued a three-part statement. It began with a clear commitment to continuing the inter-religious dialogue: "We are not enemies, but unequivocal partners in articulating the essential moral values for the survival and welfare of human society."

The statement went on to affirm that "Jerusalem has a sacred character for all the children of Abraham." The group asked world leaders "to respect this character and to prevent actions which offend the sensibilities of religious communities that rely in Jerusalem and hold her dear."

The third point of the joint statement was directed at religious leaders, asking them to "protest publicly" against "actions of disrespect toward religious persons, symbols, and holy sites." The statement specifically mentioned a recent violent assault on the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch of Jerusalem and the desecration of cemeteries.

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